RACING VIDEO

          

When we are not cruising, we're racing on Lake Dillon. Check out this awesome video of us racing;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqn3PLQZdNY

NEW YORK CITY to DELTAVILLE, VA (Aug.7 - 19, 2013)

          

Sailing out of Manhattan takes some guts. There were so many ferries zipping back and forth to New Jersey, going full speed, they seem not to notice the little guys or they simply don't care. All eyes were wide open looking 360 degrees. I said good bye to the Statue of Liberty and to friends Vicki, Sasha & Simona.

We stayed only a few nights at Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club. The little town had all the necessities however it is a very small, quiet town. Really, not much going on but a nice place to re energize. The laundry mat was closed due to renovations however the owner was there and offered to do my laundry for me, BONUS ! I certainly liked that.
During our short stay, we took the local bus and visited the nearby town of Red Bank. It had a nice little shopping area and nice marina. It was so hot, we ended up having a cold drink in a very air conditioned restaurant.

We sailed overnight along the shore of New Jersey to Cape May passing Atlantic city. It's really neat to see all the lights in Atlantic City from the ocean. Tim & I did 2 hour watches which seem to work well however maybe we'll try 2.5 or 3 hours next time. We arrived in Cape May around 7am and dolphins were there to welcome us.

You just cannot miss Cape May. This was one of my favorite places. The walk down Washington street is like walking thru time. Most of the homes are beautiful Victorian houses all very well maintained and decorated. Near the beach is a pedestrian walkway with cute shops and several restaurants. We took out our folding bikes one day and visited a bird sanctuary and the lighthouse on the point. It was hot and humid so swimming in the ocean was a real treat ! We stopped at the Fisherman's House and waited in line to buy some Macaroni & Cheese with Lobster, fresh fish and desert. This market had so many choices of fresh fish it was making me dizzy. I would certainly like to return to this city one day.

 We then sailed on the Delaware Bay from Cape May to Reedy Island. As soon as we finished anchoring, a Policeman came up to us and was the nicest guy ever. He welcomed us and just wanted to make sure we knew about the tides and what to see around the area. Oh my, if we had a welcoming party like that everywhere we anchored, it would be heaven ! I'm sorry I didn't get the guy's name.

The very next day, we motored thru the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the North end of Chesapeake Bay. We sailed down the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis. We had the best sail ever ! The winds were at 25 knots and we were at a broad reach going 9 knots ! YEEHA !

We arrived at Annapolis City Marina on a Wednesday race night ! All the racing boats sailed by our boat so we had a great view. Etchells, all sorts of J boats, you name it, they were there. The most exciting part was that they sailed thru the buoy field to their finish line. A bit strange and dangerous if you ask me but it was exciting to watch.
Annapolis has this water way called "Ego Alley". It is a short and narrow water way with open bars along the side. Everything passes thru there, dinghies, paddle boards, kayaks, seadoos, sailboats and huge multimillion dollar yachts, therefore, calling this place "Ego Alley". It's a hoot to watch.
Right at the end of Ego Alley is the dingy dock and the downtown area. You can walk past all the shops and restaurants up on the hill to visit the state Capitol. This state capitol was once the US Capitol for about 6 months in the 18th century, I'm not sure why. Don't miss the $1 oyster shots and do have a cocktail at Pussers on Ego Alley. We visited the Naval Academy which we could see from our boat. Definitely, this is not to miss.

From Annapolis, we took the city bus to Washington, DC at 7am. It was quite direct and only took about 75 minutes. We walked all day visiting every memorial you can imagine along with the White House, Capitol and Botanical gardens. An old friend from Montreal, Franca, met us in DC. I had previously been to DC but it meant more this time being an American. My feet were killing me at the end of the day. Franca drove us back to Annapolis and we of course, had cocktails and dinner at Pussers. After dinner and too many cocktails, Franca wanted to see our boat. Franca wasn't used to climbing on board our boat and proceeded to drop her camera in the water. OOPS ! Not good. A bit of a bummer to end the day however she was a good sport about it. BTW, thanks Franca for the Champagne !

Soon to be named "Alpenglow", she is now on the hard in Deltaville. Next Blog, probably middle of November.
To view pictures, click on the gallery.

MANHATTAN, NYC (Aug.4 - 7, 2013)

ALMOST IN NYC !



79TH STREET BASIN, NYC

 As soon as we arrived at the 79th street Boat Basin Marina, friends Vicky, Sasha & Benji were there to greet us. They treated us to lunch and brought us walking 'The High Line' which is a railway turned into an incredible park. I was most impressed with the Chelsea Market which is an enclosed urban food court & shopping mall. The fish selection was incredible ! We passed by the Carrie Bradshaw's apartment ('Sex in the City' TV show). They weren't kidding when they say there's a lineup to the Magnolia bakery where the girls frequented. Crazy tourists ! We were royally treated to an incredible Indian dinner that evening. It was so nice to see my old friends from my years at McGill University.


SUSAN & VICKIE AFTER SEVERAL YEARS

SPICE STORE AT CHELSEA MARKET



CARRIE BRADSHAW'S HOME

BIKING ON THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

The next day, we biked from our boat along the Hudson River's bike path to the World Trade Center Memorial. That's always something not to miss. We went thru Wall street but only saw tourists, not many suits. The Exchange building is heavily guarded.

FREEDOM TOWER

 



EATING DRAGON FRUIT IN CHINA TOWN

OK, then it was rush hour and we biked thru China town, Little Italy then thru the center of the city back to our boat. It is indeed suicidal to bike thru NYC especially without a helmet, YIKES ! Biking thru Central Park was much more safer. That night, we walked thru Time Square & the Empire State building to see all the lights. Our last day brought us to the Statue of Liberty, dinner in Little Italy and a walk thru Central Station. I especially liked walking in China town where I ate a Dragon fruit for the first time. Don't miss going thru a Chinese market, I saw some marinated tongue & live frogs for sale, YUM ! 

 

STATUE OF LIBERTY

We had an awesome time in NYC...time to move onto Atlantic Highland Yacht Club in New Jersey.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN to CATSKILL, NY (July 30 - Aug. 2, 2013)

       

AT LAKE CHAMPLAIN

Busy month of July ! After purchasing our boat in June, we finally boarded her on July 2nd with 200 pounds of tools, galley essentials and a few clothes. On July 4th, while sitting on deck, we saw 7 firework shows around Malletts Bay. As much as we wanted to stay on the boat, we had prior
family commitments so off we went to Montreal & Shediac, New Brunswick to celebrate my Mother's 80th birthday.

Back on the boat in mid July, we set off to stay the night at Spoon Bay on Valcour Island with some friends from Montreal. We were awaken at 1am by 40kt gusts. Oh joy ! Our anchor held however we were too close to shore for comfort. Off we went to the lee side of the island and got some sleep.
My friends did great! I'm sure glad we didn't scare them away.

At the end of July, we took our mast down for our trip south thru the Champlain canal & Hudson River. There were a total of 12 locks we went thru. I was quite impressed thru the first lock as it was my first time ever !



TAKING THE MAST DOWN

Tim & I were very grateful that the previous owner of our boat, Randy, helped us thru the de-masting process, going thru the locks and stepping the mast. Honestly, the whole process went extremely well, only just a very few minor issues.

Our next stop will be New York City !
 

FIRST SLEEP OVERS (July 22, 2013)

After visiting family & friends in Montreal and Shediac, New Brunswick; eating lobster, listening to Acadian bands, going to bed too late ect ect.... we are finally back on our boat on Lake Champlain, Vermont.

We had our first visitors sleeping over for the week-end, my very good old friends, Nat & Max. We got just about every possible weather over the week-end from torrential rains, to 40 knot winds , 3 foot waves in the middle of the night, hot & cool temperatures but mostly sunny & comfortable.

We attempted to sail from Mallets Bay to Spoon Bay on Friday however 40 knt winds made us turn back for the night. After we hooked up to our buoy, torrential rains came but not for long. We saw one of the nicest sunsets I've ever seen along with a rainbow. Just spectacular !

The next day, we were able to sail to Spoon Bay for the night. Around 1am, we were awoken by rough 3 foot waves. Many boats were leaving already or getting ready to go. Our anchor was holding however we were close to shore so we decided to motor to the lee side of Valcour Island. That was a good choice and we all slept better after that. We found out later that the storm hit hard in Montreal, just north of us and took out power lines.

Lesson learned: Never forget to wear shoes while sailing ! I hit my little toe so hard, my toe and half my foot is now black & blue. Also, don't touch the BBQ; my arm is now burned. Tim also cut his finger and left blood all over the boat. These little cruising accidents are more painful than racing bruises !

WE BOUGHT A SAILBOAT (June 2013)

After several years of dreaming, thinking about 'it', planning and searching, we finally bought a 38' Island Packet cutter rig. She is currently in Malletts Bay, Colchester, Vermont. Her current name is KRISTINLY and after the required ceremony, we will change her name to ALPENGLOW.

Why the name Alpenglow you ask? Alpenglow means 'The rosy light of the setting or rising sun seen on high mountains'.  We live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where there is lots of Alpenglow.  We also got engaged at the Alpenglow Stube restaurant in Keystone, Colorado.

Randy, the former owner will be helping us bring her down the Champlain canal and onto the Hudson River this summer. We are very lucky to have Randy help us with this as he's done it several times. We will end up in Virginia until after the hurricane season then onto the Florida keys and Bahamas this winter. After that, you'll just have to wait and see !