Ending One Adventure and Starting Another

To think that a short 15 months ago we sailed off on the start of our Great Loop Adventure, traveled over 5,000 miles, meet many new friends and saw and experienced things we never dreamed we would see or do.  The last three months we have spent living on our boat in Mystic, CT and preparing for our next adventure.  We traveled to our home weekly and began the task of packing our belonging in preparation for our move to Florida.  Recently Bob has been busy winterizing the boat

and the marina has hauled her and stored her on the hard for the winter.  Below are some photos of the marina staff hard at work.

The marina must move the boat manually since the engine has been winterized

Underway with the marina workboat as the tow

Being lifted out of the water

Eeeeww, what a mess!

A little spray washing will take care of all that gunk

All clean and being placed on the trailer

Getting ready to be moved to our winter storage spot

High and dry and almost ready for winter.  We just need to shrink wrap and Erika Lin  will be all set for the winter weather.

 

 

Meanwhile, the movers are expected to arrive at our home on October 15th and we will head off to our new home in sunny Cape Coral, Florida for the winter.  Our plans are to spend winters in Florida and return each spring to Mystic, CT to spend summers on the boat in New England.  

They Say It's Your Birthday.....

June 14, 2012

Well, it's my birthday too!!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!!

The day after we arrived in Mystic, Lynda's mom and brother Dave, came to Mystic to pick us up and bring us back to our house in Middletown to get Bob's car.  On Monday, we had Bob's car serviced and discovered that the air conditioner needed to be replaced.  Since we were driving to Florida in another week and a half, that was a must to fix!  Of course, first things first.  On Tuesday, Bob went off to play golf and Lynda did some yard work at our house.  Justin and Megan did a great job taking care of the house, however, the bushes needed trimming and some weeds needed weeding!  Then on Wednesday, back to the Middletown area again.  Bob had his car fixed and also had a doctor's appointment with the orthopedist for his elbow.  The doctor drained his elbow again, checked it out and said it was no longer infected and he was good to go, yeah!!  Today, Thursday, is Lynda's birthday, so we went to dinner at the Ancient Mariner in Mystic. 

Veal and Shrimp Marsala with shrimp and asparagus ravioli, YUM!

Back to the boat (which is where we are staying for the summer) and a sunset to enjoy 

Great Loop Adventure COMPLETED!!

Date            June 8, 2012                            
Day             346
Departure    Brewers Bruce and Johnson's, Branford, CT  7:30am
Arrival         Brewers Yacht Yard At Mystic - HOME -  1:20 pm
Miles                49.8            
Cumulative   5779.6

Another beautiful travel day, light winds, clear skies and smooth seas.  We are getting close.  Here are some pictures of familiar sights as we travel up the Mystic River!

Morgan Point Lighthouse, now a private residence

Famous Abbott's Lobster

Ford's Lobsters

There it is, our home port - Brewer's Yacht Yard at Mystic - as we proudly fly the new Gold Looper burgee!

Our home port

See that empty slip to the right of the sailboat?  We are HOME!!

Our immediate plans are to hang out and relax for a bit.  In another week or so, we will drive to Cape Coral, FL to switch cars, leave Bob's car there and return with the car we had purchased in Florida.  We will then get caught up with doctor's appointments and  maybe try and catch up with some Looper friends in the area.

We won't be posting to the blog on a daily basis, but check back periodically, as we will try to keep everyone somewhat updated as to our continuing travels.  It's been quite a ride and we have enjoyed the previous year immensely.  Sadly, we will miss the daily contact and camaraderie of other Loopers on the journey.  

Almost Home!

Date            June 7, 2012                            
Day             345
Departure    Brewers Glen Cove Marina, Glen Cove, NY  7:45am
Arrival         Brewers Bruce and Johnson's, Branford, CT  2:00 pm
Miles                54.4            
Cumulative   5729.8

We slept a bit later this morning and left just before 8 am.  We had a travel perfect day. Long Island Sound was close to flat and smooth with next to no wind.  The boat traffic on the sound was non-existent, quite a change from yesterday traveling through New York City!
The greatest natural resource of Branford where the marina is located, is granite, it's biggest cruising hazard.
Those Loopers that have already cruised Canada's North Channel will be familiar with the sights in the pictures below.  Those of you that haven't been there yet, get ready for some rocks!!

Tomorrow our loop adventure will come to a close as we return to our homeport, Mystic, CT

We Did It - Loop Completed!!

Date            June 6, 2012                            
Day             344
Departure    Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor,
                   Atlantic Highlands, NJ 7 am
Arrival         Brewers Glen Cove Marina, Glen Cove, NY 12:10 pm
Miles                46.0            
Cumulative   5675.4

What a beautiful, clear morning!  Only 19 miles to go to cross our wake and fly the gold, AGLCA Looper flag.  We arrived at the Statue of Liberty at 9:20 am and officially marked the crossing of our wake.  We tried to get a picture of the two of us in front of the Statue of Liberty.  Unfortunately, there was no one to steer the boat and the boat would not cooperate, so we will have to be happy with a sliver of the Manhattan skyline in the background!!

The gold flag indicates that we have completed the Loop!

Lady Liberty

The new Freedom Tower (tall building on the left) being built where the Twin Towers stood

New York up close

New York skyline

Brooklyn Bridge and the new Freedom Tower

After we left the hustle and bustle of the downtown New York waterways, we went down to the bow of the boat and replaced the white Looper flag with the new gold Looper flag.

As we traveled along the East River towards Hells Gate, we enjoyed a 4.6 mph push by the strong current

 As we continue into Long Island Sound, the New York skyline fades into the distance.

Tonight we are staying in Glen Cove, NY.  Tomorrow we will head to Branford, CT then on Friday we will continue onto our homeport of Mystic, CT.  If you ever get the chance to visit Mystic, CT please be sure to look us up at Brewers Yacht Yard!!

Still in Atlantic Highlands

Date            June 5, 2012                            
Day             343
Departure    No Travel Today
Arrival         Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor, Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Miles                 0.0            
Cumulative   5629.4

Thankfully, a day of rest-no boat travel today.  We took a walk into the town of Atlantic Highlands.  Everything you might need is on the main street; from laundry to bagels, school and police station, restaurants to a grocery store and a place to work out! 

It's a dog's life!!

Remember in yesterday's post I mentioned the docking situation.  Well, here is how it looks at high tide and then at low tide.

High tide -  only one step on the ladder and almost even with the dock

                                                                Low tide - six slimy steps,
                                                                plus we had to duck                                                                          UNDER the dingy to                                                                 get onto the dock!!   














The Verazano Bridge and Manhattan skyline at night from our fly bridge.  Tomorrow we will get an up close view before we continue on up the East River.

So Very Close in Atlantic Highlands

Date            June 4, 2012                            
Day             342
Departure    Howell's Marina, Manasquan, NJ 7:10 am
Arrival         Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 11:15 am
Miles                39.3            
Cumulative   5629.4

Not the best day to travel, but we wanted to make headway since we knew the next few days were forecasted to be unsettled.  Today's travel started with partly cloudy skies and fairly smooth seas.  Before too long, the skies had darkened and the seas became lumpy with a swel1 of  2 to 3 feet.  We knew we didn't have far to go so we forged on and then the rain came!  We arrived at Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor as the rain was pouring down.  The dockmaster assigned our slip over the VHF radio and said he would try to have the watchman come to the slip to help with the lines.  Right, it was RAINING!  No luck on having any help with the dock lines here!!  The docking was rather interesting.  The slip arrangement is a fixed dock and pilings.  There is no side dock, so we had to back into the slip as far as we could to enable us to reach the ladder.  We then had to clamber off the swim platform and climb up to the fixed dock in order to get ashore.  The tidal range here is approximate six feet, so getting off and then back onto the boat is quite challenging!  Due to the rain, the only pictures I took were as we approached Sandy Hook, NJ.  New York is sooo close and only 19 miles to go to cross our wake!!!  Unfortunately, due to unsettled weather, we have to wait until Wednesday to be able to fly the gold looper flag.

New York Skyline-so close, yet so far away!

Verazano Narrows Bridge