https://www.marinedepotdirect.com/stainless-folding-rear-entry-pontoon-boat-ladder-with-extra-wide-step.html

We love ours. 4 years installed. 316 Stainless would be better than 304. But it does not seem to be bad.

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We are here in Merrick NY, home town of Hal & Laurie Goldschlag. Tonight they introduced us to their favorite BBQ restaurant, Big Daddys.

First, we have to thank Hal Goldschlag of Gemini who suggested a fantastic, safe, and easy route from our anchorage near East Rockaway NY to Blue Water YC in Merrick NY.

The charts offered many different route choices. However, there was *something* wrong with each of them. Hal used to run a commercial Towing service in these waters. So I asked him for his advice on, “Which choice was the best?”

Hal responded, “I’m going to suggest an altogether different route that avoids several of the pitfalls that you are trying to avoid!”

This route enabled us to ignore the slack tide challenge and simply chose a time that worked for incoming WEATHER and some incoming high tide where we needed it!

Masterful HAL! Thanks.

… and where we’ll stay till the day after Nick’s 31st birthday on June 4.

Happy Memorial Day! Our ensign is a bit faded. Each year, I usually change our American flag and the US Union Jack for July 4.

Since I’ve already purchased and received the new flags, this annual task may make it on the to-do list today, or at least sooner than the 4th of July.

It was SOOooo good to be hangin’ with these two young people again after months away.

Addendum

Here are the actual turns taken.

Bannister Creek (South)

Reynolds Channel (East)

… becomes Hempstead Bay / State Channel (East)

Under “Wreck Lead RR Bridge” 14ft vertical x 85ft VHF 13 opens on demand, (avoid weekday rush hours). LIRR

Under bascule bridge 20 vertical x 100 horizontal

LEFT on Sea Dog Creek – North- Green “SD3” ((Do not go straight under Loop Parkway Bridge w/narrow horizontal clearance. In current, this bridge will come by and whack you!))

Sea Dog Creek curves from North to the EAST.

Go straight across Long Creek (the North-South creek from Jones Inlet.)

“SD_” ATONs become “FB_” ATONs. (Sea Dog to Fundy Bay)

RIGHT (South) onto Swift Creek at Red-Green “FB”

Under bridge 20 vertical x 50 horizontal

Back to State Channel: go EAST around Green “SW1”

Under M3 Meadowbrook State Parkway 21vertical x 50horizontal aka Sloop Channel on the charts.

LEFT (North) Haunts Creek around Green “R1” this becomes Broad Creek Channel to the north.

Finally, take a LEFT at RED-GREEN “W” to Blue Water Yacht Club on Nick’s Point.

We have a short passage tomorrow from our Bannister Bay (Lawrence NY) anchorage to our Blue Water Marina (Merrick NY) slip for a week to see our son Nick and celebrate his 31st birthday.

But we see a window between systems where we can move the boat safely in a couple hours in-between starting at. 7:30 or 8:30am.

Many thanks to Capt Hal of Gemini for giving us a very creative route thru Great South Bay’s crazy labyrinth of creeks for the safest, easiest track to follow when we start in a few hours. More to follow on that!!!

This is a compressor cycling on and off in the middle of the night. 120vac mode, using our inverter.

This 2nd fridge also runs on 12vdc; I just need to wire it up. We’ll see which is more efficient. Dometic tech support says it’ll be more efficient in 12 volt mode.

Stay tuned for more details!

Addendum 6/4/2024:

As of Tuesday 5:15pm, this unit is now on DC power!

One cycle of the Dometic on 12 volts DC:

Then on to Bannister Bay, Lawrence NY.

Dockage at Captain Bills Landing? New strong fixed docks / between pilings, with a 4.0 to 4.5 foot tide, no shore power or fresh water, with lots of man-made wake, and lots of mother nature’s currents. Bills is an ‘OK’ place to come into late and leave early. Single throne room was rough, not good enough for the Admiral aboard, (and only available during business hours.). Staff was very helpful and friendly.

Bottom Line:

In a harbor with few options to anchor, Bill’s might be the bargain better than nothin’.

Alternatively, go south a bit through the Point Pleasant Canal. A friend, Capt Troy from my home town near Boothbay Harbor, reported the Metedeconk River anchorage just south and west of the south end of the Point Pleasant Canal was a very nice anchorage for their northbound route on the inside this week from Atlantic City.

Metedeconk River is #5 on the WWG map below. (Very bottom of this image.)

Troy skippers Melody. He and Linda & Brian aboard Destination all reported success taking the NJ ICW inside route to Manasquam Inlet from Atlantic City this past week (May 2024) so long as they timed it with the tides. Both boats have drafts of 3.5 to 4 feet.

As reported yesterday, we chose the outside from Atlantic City with a dozen or more PCs Friday.

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Of course, to get north from Manasquam, the outside is the only route. Below was our passage of choice, as our son and his GF live on Great South Bay GSB in Long Island. We love Bannister Bay in Lawrence as our next hop to and from GSB to head north or south.

Also, as reported yesterday, The on-site restaurant, Red’s Lobster Pot, is great. But make reservations!

We (and over a dozen other pleasure boats) picked the perfect weather window / day for the long outside passage along the NJ coast today.

Key points: two friends chose the inside route yesterday, from Atlantic City NJ to the Manasquan River, Both reported they succeeded without incident. One reported that they left Atlantic City 1 hour before high tide and they never saw less than 5 ft the whole way. Harmony & Destination were boats choosing the inside.

But several of us held out for what turned out to be a near perfect day on the outside.

“Days like this on the outside are few and often far between.”

We took on fuel and ice at Captain Bills Landing; we decided to stay here for the night after a cruise that started at 5:50am and went for 7.5 hours. The longest day this season for us. ((NJ doesn’t offer lots of good choices for transient cruisers.))

Special thanks to Katie for taking this pic for us all. She was a master of composition to have the M/V Shellerina in the background and worked to have radiant smiles on everyone’s face!

Shelly’s love for Soft Shell / long neck New England “steamers” was the primary culinary “entertainment”. Shelly has simply has not seen them on any menu in a couple years as we travel… and they are her fave!!! The menu indicated these clams were from Ipswich MA, very close to where she grew up.

SHELLY SAYS:

Saves money. Improves taste and quality!

They are going to brave the inside NJ ICW right from here in Atlantic City … probably tomorrow morning at high tide. We are *thinking* of following them, but if not we will certainly be calling them later in the day to see how they faired.

They are yet another example of the great people we meet in our cruising and Looping… and they came prepared to exchange boater cards. We have our second 1000 waiting for us when we get to Long Island NY in a few days. (Vistaprint.com $50 for 1000 cards… lasted us about 3 years).

They have explored some places we are expected to get to ourselves. So, it was good to pay their fee for free advice! LOL

To the left is the large Farley State Marina at the Golden Nugget hotel and casino. To the right is Rum Point Basin anchorage. The wide Absecon Inlet is close-by towards the bottom of this image.

We came in 1 hour after low tide, (so nearly 12” of water above MLLW) we saw no less than 6.9 feet of water today around 2:30pm.

We dropped the hook in about 6.5 feet. We’ll certainly stay here again.

Full Moon in just a few hours from now.

We use Windy and Predict Wind to augment “civilian” weather forecasts. But keeping an eye on REAL actual buoy observations can also shed some light on what is going on out there.

The chart above is from NOAA buoy # 44065 which is out to sea near the Ambrose Channel [entrance to NYC]. It is a valuable resource when setting up to head north from Cape May.

If I knew these conditions were the case for this Sunday afternoon, our “No Go” call may have been a “Go!” for the 43 mile trek to Atlantic City.

I sleep well trusting MY ground tackle. But please do not expect me to trust YOUR ground tackle anchoring right on top of where my anchor has been set! If I have to move, the situation is not safe if I have to come up close to your boat to weigh my anchor… especially in wind and CURRENT!

Sometimes I think it is Shellerina’s ‘magnetic personality’ that makes folks anchor so close to us! <wink>

Radar, iPad Pro with Wyze CAM v3, AIS, running lights are all on for low visibility conditions (moderate rain).

It is remarkable, how much more we can see through the forward and aft cameras (angled down to minimize rain drops).

I caught the tail end of Tim’s 4:00pm “briefing” about the Delaware River and Bay. The customers attending were VERY appreciative of Tim’s advice on a challenging passage that is different every time from Del City to points south. Weather and tides combine for this being different on any given day.

FMI See also:

https://shellerina.com/2022/04/30/dbofs/

I’m not certain on what the charges were. But Gene definitely did not put up a fight. Perhaps they mistook Galene for OUR boat getting too close to the FS Key Bridge in Baltimore a few days ago ?!?!

“See ya in the fall, Patty and Gene!”

Have fun up north! It was great buddy boating with you for most of April.

This spot almost became our nation’s capital! Washington DC won out by ONE vote in Congress.

We have not gone ashore to see the town yet due to rain. But I think we’ll be trying tomorrow.

Many cruisers like AGLCA Harbor Host Foster Schucker and friend Capt Gene of Galene speak highly of this port where we have never been.

Stories about very good dining around town and great homemade ice cream at Bomboys are common. So, we landed at C-Basin of Tidewater Marina.

We signed up for one night, but we are thinking a second night is essential to learn more about this port.

We were here two years ago:

https://shellerina.com/2022/04/25/bowleys-middle-river-md/

Addendum

At 5:02 pm ET we heard a very large explosion. We think it might be part of the demolition project at the FS Key Bridge in Baltimore MD.

Below: Controlled use of explosives to clear the bridge from the bow of m/v DALI container ship.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/EyLaCTa55UbijLXe/?mibextid=xCPwDs

This demolition took place a few hours after we were on the scene.

We are right in the thick of things this time!

FYI:

There is a difference between the “Annapolis City Docks” (black piling covers) as shown above. Then there are the “Annapolis Town Docks” (white piling covers). Both are great, and right in the downtown “village”.

The city docks are managed by the city. The town docks are managed by a private entity. So where and how you make reservations determines where you end up. Both are great and “close to the action.”

Both also had umbrellas in-hand for today’s topsy-turvy weather.

So, get good directions when making your reservations, so you don’t have to move your boat after you’ve secured (and have had a cocktail or two).

(Rates are identical as of this writing.)

It is common to see cadets from the US Naval Academy in full dress uniform walking around Annapolis village. None were seen today… perhaps they are all visiting their moms for Mother’s Day!

A N D: Washington DC is only 10 minutes away!!! But, UBER & LYFT appear to be gouging customers for over $50 each way. SO, we will have to ask an AGLCA Harbor Host for some advice!!! (Next visit).

We weigh anchor soon for Annapolis MD. We have a dock space right downtown in the thick of things!

There really is only room for one in this anchorage marked on both Navionics and Aquamap.

There was 8+ feet of water all the way in, (mid tide coming.)

The channel is well marked with both day markers and illuminated beacons.

It was SOOooo good!

We highly recommend CD Cafe in Solomons for your dining in this part of the Chesapeake. Our choices:

Our server was “Holly”. The CD Cafe name was named after the founders’ initials of this local establishment. Today, the new owner and executive chef is Claarissa Meinhardt, who was the chef working for the founders who first opened this restaurant in 1996.

Shelly and I are confident you will totally enjoy your meal.

We had no problem getting in on a Thursday night in May. Reservations may be a good idea during peak season, or weekends.

$116 before taxes and tip including a bottle of the house red wine. Total under $150. Not out of line for a special night of fine dining, once in a while. Buy your diesel fuel at AYB so you can treat yourselves to this special place. <wink>

Most moderately sized cruisers use the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays (and the C&D Canal that joins them to the north because there are not many good ports and anchorages on the outside route. Larger, faster cruisers will often opt for the more direct outside route.

http://tangier island

The island is famous for a unique dialect spoken by the locals, and the island’s geology is causing it to gradually sink. Some parts of the island are no longer inhabitable. Sea level rise isn’t helping matters.

Took on fuel, water, and ice at Chesapeake Boat Basin near this favorite anchorage of ours on the west side of the Chesapeake. Ray *almost* went for a swim as the seawater was close to 70°F and it was muggy. The afternoon rain predicted never materialized, and the WX Radar is clear at this hour, as seen below.

This morning *leaving* Horn Harbor was a lot more relaxing, as our chart plotter had its own bathymetry from yesterday, plus we had an extra 12” of water beneath us, having timed the exit at high tide.

The sea state on the Chesapeake was flat dead calm today! A bit of fog/haze, but nothing alarming. Cloud cover varied for the whole passage from thin to full overcast and back to thin again. Temps were comfortable all day. Perhaps too muggy once secured in the anchorage. Blue skies came thru for 50% of the sky late in the afternoon.

We tried out two new places this week, north of Norfolk. The mission was to fit in some ‘short hops between rain drops!‘

Mill Creek is a handy stop to get out of the busy port of Norfolk, setting one up for a clean exit to the north when the time is right. We will stay there again… there several other cruisers who selected that anchorage with us last night. Even with the marked cable areas in this anchorage there is room for a dozen or more. The large marina there looked like their docks were aging. But there is a breakwater to reduce the roll. We found it to be 100% acceptable out in the anchorage. We saw two couples dinghy-ing into town, but didn’t try that out.

Mobjack Bay is on the SE end of Chesapeake Bay. Horn Harbor is just north of that.

This lesser-known (or lesser heralded) stop called “Horn Harbor” is a convenient 31 sm from Mill Creek. And it is right on our way north! NOT a long side trip from the ICW, which we like.

We arrived with about half tide going out (0.9 to 1 ft above MLLW). “Can’t be scared!” … was our thinking.

We read all the mixed reviews and decided we had to evaluate this one first hand.

The shallowest depth that Shelly read off to me was 5.6 ft. Most of the entrance was 6-7 feet. The channel was well marked, and the popular e-charts gave an accurate picture of what we signed up for to make this harbor.

We dropped the hook between R 18 and G 19 not too far from the marina. We were glad to see a variety of boats in that marina that probably had a similar draft to us, or even more, as there were a few “rag hangers” in there.

Horn Harbor Marina & Boatyard 804-725-3223

Port Haywood VA

I have not dinghy-ed in to make myself known to the marina yet. But I may. It’s only 2:00pm as I write this.

All in all, Horn Harbor absolutely makes our “will return” list because it is right on the way and well protected. We’ll probably choose an arrival and departure closer to high tide though “just because!”

https://waterwayguide.com/marina/horn-harbor-marina-and-boatyard

Bonus:

WWG reports their diesel price is $3.399 !!!

I am SOooo glad we got a little adventurous to check this place out.

Also, there are also many northbound pleasure craft like us.

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First we saw Kenny and Rhonda of Nine Lives at Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB) in Great Bridge VA. ($3.50 gallon diesel!)

We were all out of film. So no pics of Nine Lives crew, sorry to say. Their boat in on the hard for a few months as they RV north to Montana etc! I suspect they’ll be back before the snow flies…

I chin-wagged with Brian Shultz of Tiger Paw for 30 minutes or so. He is attending his first AGLCA Rendezvous this week at Waterside in Norfolk. Those are great Looper networking events. We have a busy summer float plan, so we will not be attending the AGLCA festivities.

Tiger Paw’s home marina is Wacca Wache, hailing port Awendaw SC. His boat (another MS390 like ours) is impeccable! Very well cared for.

Last but not least, Ray got to see Mimi and Mike of Islena at Tidewater. This blog post details how they came to our rescue a couple years ago. https://shellerina.com/2021/09/12/log-a-diles/

The night before the log-anchor incident we accepted their hospitality aboard Islena with Mac & Deb of Janthina.

https://shellerina.com/2021/09/12/uber-dinghy-by-islena/

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I also got to exchange “Looper Cards” with a new friend, Tamara of WH-T-T who was tied up beside us on Tidewater’s F-Dock.

No less than 6 ft of water at center entrance. 2-4 feet more once we were in.

We decided to keep going to Coinjock ICW mm 50.0.

It was a 55.5 mile day for us.

This marina is known for the restaurant on-site and its prime rib. However, other cuts are also expertly prepared, such as the filet mignon, as shown below.

Kathe and Bonnie

FB: Loose Moose on the Loop

We anchored with these folks on April 9, 2024!

Three Mainship 390-s (+ Galene + Shellerina)

Nice Navy Blue hull! I like!

Well, we finally got to meet them up close.

https://shellerina.com/2024/04/09/buckhead-creek-ga/