Ten Months on the Water; One Nautical Mile at a Time

GRATIA departs SYC September 8th, 2010 down bound and makes Longueuil in one day with calm weather and luck with the Seaway Locks. From Longueil it is on to Sorel, then on to Lake Champlain via the Richelieu lock system. Arriving at Rouses Point, NY to clear customs and obtain a Cruising Permit we waited out a severe blow at the Lighthouse Marina for 3 days while it blew 35 knots plus. (Customs/Homeland Security/Boarder Patrol Staff were not pleased when we arrived in 3 foot waves at their plastic unprotected docks but never bothered to come aboard to inspect the boat, we had our permit in 20 minutes and continued 200 feet to the marina.)

September 15th we ran aground for the only time in our entire trip about 1000 yards from Whitehall NY – UNBELIEVABLE – at the south end of Lake Champlain, a moment of indecision at a final fork in the river (the last miles of Lake Champlain are a small river) without stopping forward progress (neutral is not a brake) and the sand bar came up and grabbed the boat and held it fast! A tow from the Marina in Whitehall and we were on our way again.

Hudson Locks completed we stepped the mast at the Castleton-On-Hudson Yacht Club (nice folks) a few days later. While stepping the mast our starboard outer shroud became trapped in the toe rail bending the end fitting. A temporary lashing was tied and held until we arrived at the Haverstraw Marina who built and installed a new shroud. We adjust the mast, hank on the sails and we were off down the scenic Hudson River with it’s fall colours as the autumn leaves begin to turn, mountains, cliffs – impressive.

September 21st we are passing through New York harbor and all it’s splendor. The view of Manhattan, the Empire State building, Statue of Liberty and all the bridges are amazing. The water and air traffic is crazy. A Carnival cruise ship glides by Gratia and makes us feel very small indeed. As a storm is approaching we opted for good shelter in Great Kills Harbor NY. For the first time we praise the chart plotter because finding the entrance of Great Kills Harbor at night in shallow water and unlit markers is almost impossible without it. The very next day we endure a heavy thunder storm and high winds in peace, securely at anchor. The delta 35 anchor is holding well.

September 23rd we are now heading south, motor-sailing, for Manasquan inlet on the New Jersey coast. Later that night we are nicely nestled at anchor in a very small area. A solo sailor on a small catamaran anchors very close to Gratia in spite of our strong protests. Let’s keep in mind that the boats are going to shift due to the change of tide and the inevitable happens the cat rams GRATIA in the starboard bow with no apparent damage while trying to set his anchor. The catamaran left feeling very apologetic. From Manasquan we set sail for Atlantic City. The wind is shifting on the nose. The sea is building and the tide has turned. By 17:15 we are motoring only. A big wave hits the boat hard enough to dislodge the Danforth anchor from its supports. Being well tied to the toe rail it is now bouncing in the disturbed sea. After putting the engine in neutral we both manage to bring the anchor back on board and secure it. The GRATIA is painfully making headway and it is taking longer than calculated to enter the Atlantic City harbor.

At 19:30 we finally drop the hook exhausted, that last hour is the only one we would be pleased to erase from the entire log book. A few days of rest and we are eager to continue our journey to the south. After struggling with poor weather we make it to Cape May in good spirits. We visit shops and stuff our bellies at the “Lobster House” on the Fisherman’s Wharf. The seafood cannot be fresher or tastier.

On September 29th we head up Delaware Bay where we encounter the first dolphins swimming around GRATIA. At 1100 a gale warning for late afternoon is announced on the weather channel. We decide to enter the Cohansey River and anchor near the town of Greenwich, a well protected area with ample swinging room for us to let a tropical storm go by. GRATIA is doing well at anchor for 3 days of strong wind and pelting rain and very little wave action but plenty of shifting currents.

The morning of October 2nd is clear, sunny and warm. Would you believe the anchor will not come up! We learn from locals that we had anchored over an old railroad bed. This was not mentioned in any of the guides and charts we looked at. Scuba divers would not go down because of dangerous current. Our only choice was to cut the line and lose the anchor instead of risking someone’s life. It was a brand new anchor and it hurt to let go. The purchase of a new Delta 35 in Annapolis is now on the shopping list. For the time being the Bruce 22 is the primary and the Danforth 25 becomes the auxiliary anchor.

By October 11th, we are nicely anchored in Back Creek Annapolis MD savoring a warm and sunny day when we are paid a visit by the border patrol. They check our passports and boat papers which are all in good order, but they reprimand us for the fact that we had not reported to US customs and border protection since entering US waters in Rouse’s Point NY. We point to the cruising permit where it is written black on white that we did not have to report. The border patrol insisted that from now on we comply when entering a new state. There is no point arguing with them and it is only a phone call to keep us out of trouble. Savoring the warmer climate and the change of scenery we slowly cruise our way south. At Norfolk VA we enter the Intra Coastal waterway (ICW) at statute mile O. It is very important to know the time and height of tides when anchoring in a small creek, with a 9 foot tide you need to make sure that at low tide your vessel still floats. When navigating the ICW there are bridges to be opened to let you through, some will open on request others at specific times. If the current is too swift it is prudent to wait for slack tide. When planning the next day’s trip, knowing the distance to travel, your boat speed, the change of tide and the bridges on the way results in arriving at your next anchorage safely. Where inlets from the Atlantic Ocean meet the ICW there are shifting sand bars with which to contend. By keeping a keen eye on the depth sounder and any changes of the water colour you should avoid running aground. The chart plotter is of great help! Paying respect to the channel markers is vital!

Day by day, one nautical mile at a time we glide from state to state without incident. It is in South Carolina that we encounter the highest tide of 8.9 feet. The length of the docks going from the houses to the water is absolutely phenomenal.

On November 10th we are on the verge of entering Florida. The fog is so thick we cannot depart before 10:30. With a visibility of 1/4 mile we weigh anchor because passing the next bend *R60* at high tide is a must and high tide is at 11:42 with a 7.7 foot height. At 13:00 we cruise by Fernandina Beach Florida. We have already navigated 710 statute miles in the ICW.

November 13th the engine has a tendency to quit (time for oil and fuel filter changes according to the hours run). Tomorrow we take the day to change the oil and filters and inspect the impeller, motor parts etc… The weather is perfect and we can savour a sunny 77 degree Fahrenheit day with a gentle breeze. Life is good in Titusville.

We reach Vero Beach City marina November 16th take a mooring and launch the tender. We end up staying there 10 days celebrating a US Thanksgiving “potluck” with 200 other boaters, sharing stories with the many Canadians heading for the Bahamas. We use the free bus service in Vero Beach and take the opportunity to use the free WIFI service at the Publix supermarket as the WIFI is not working at the marina. Vero Beach is a great place to wait out bad weather. Pump-outs are done at the service dock or they come to your boat, very convenient.

On November 28th we have traveled 1885 nautical miles. Setting the anchor in North Palm Beach FLA, we now await a suitable weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. In preparation for a 10 hour crossing we top up fuel and water, secure dinghy, anchor, jerry cans basically anything that could move on deck. Organize an abandon ship emergency watertight bag containing passports, boat papers, food-water, flares and GPS. The Spot and a strobe light secured to the flotation vest of each person on watch. We fasten “jack lines” on both sides from bow to stern to which we clip the harness making sure that we clip on before exciting the companion way and unclipping after being safely inside the cabin. Prepare sandwiches, granola bars and hot drinks with easy access in the cockpit. We verify running lights and enter way points for the route we will follow into the Chart Plotter. Confer with our traveling contacts for the crossing – *Sojourner* *Messenger* and * Civil Twilight* via VHF.

December 8th we have a window and are ready to go. A call to the family is done and a Spot is sent. 1315 we weigh anchor, light wind – sunny day. By 1500 we are sailing in the Gulf Stream. By 2000 5 ft seas long fetch full sails up with the engine on and we are making good time. We keep in touch with the other 3 sailboats via VHF. It is a nice ride. 2330 We arrive at the 1st way point on the Little Bahama Bank. The sea is calm almost flat. We roll in the jib but keep the main hoisted. It is so peaceful we decide to keep on going. Keeping 3 hours watches works just fine.

The sunrise is splendid. It is a melting canvas of colors making it hard to say where the water meets the sky. Navigating in 20 feet of clear turquoise water with a white sandy bottom since we arrived on the Bahama Bank is a discovery, WOW! By 1600 Dec 9th we are approaching Allan’s Pensicola Cay and there is a sudden vibration from the engine which is turned off promptly. Thank God for some wind, we hoist the sails to get closer to the island for protection then back down on the hook under sail. Darkness is creeping up so tomorrow we will attend to the problem. We are now in the sea of Abaco 147 nautical miles from North Palm Beach.

December 10th, we find a broken rear motor support. With an ESE 10 km wind we sail toward Powell Cay. By 1100 the wind dies and the rain is pelting so we anchor and let the tropical shower go by. A few hours later and the sun and wind are back. We make good time and sail all the way to Green Turtle Cay where we anchor under sail near New Plymouth, outside of Black Sound harbor in 25 km wind, 80 feet of chain is let out, the sails are secured, way points put in and we retire for the night. The next morning the wind is calm enough to pull GRATIA with the tender into Black Sound at high tide to a mooring ball.

Safely inside the harbor we clear customs and are free to venture the island of Green Turtle Cay. Tonight is the Christmas boat parade. The evening is perfectly calm and clear. What a treat. December 12 is day one in Black Sound where we will be spending the holidays among wonderful people. Our boat neighbor brought us a little home-made Christmas tree, what a nice and thoughtful gift. For the next month and a half, while getting things fixed, we live on Bahama time and life style, meaning relaxed and laidback. Time is of no importance. The Christmas pot-luck takes place at Brendal’s Dive Center in White Sound. Santa Claus is very cheerful but sweaty. The food is excellent and plentiful where the atmosphere is festive with cruisers anecdotes and pleasantries. Again the weather is perfect. We celebrate New Year’s Eve at Leeward marina in Black Sound with pot luck appetizers and happy hour. The kids have a good time in the heated fresh water pool while the grown ups enjoy a good drink and relate memorable fishing or diving experiences. Of course you cannot pass New Year’s Eve without a splendid firework display above the sea of Abaco. New Year’s Day is warm and sunny. It is time for the “JUNKANOO“ parade in New Plymouth. We get to taste the flavor of the islands. Adults and children dressed in colorful costumes dance and play the drums making lots of noise, parading around the town. It is lively, festive and entertaining. In addition to the variety of Bahamian dishes and drinks available there are performances by a local band “The Gulley Roosters” on the basket ball court where the parade comes to an end “but not the party”. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!

A little bit of knowledge regarding Green Turtle Cay anchoring:

• Black Sound has a grassy bottom and service marinas (including haul out) and really no anchoring only mooring balls (very small anchoring patch NW) sand bar/reef at entrance, sailboats transit at high or rising tide
• White Sound has a white sand bottom some moorings, not great holding but there is room to anchor, no overboard discharge area, fuel (G&D) & water available, a great restaurant, entrance fairly shallow enter at high tide

January 31 the repairs are completed. Both rear mounts were removed and reinforced with a welded gusset. The new flexible coupling is installed and the motor re-aligned – we are good to go.

We left Black Sound at high tide and anchored outside near New Plymouth.

At 0845 the next day we set sails heading south to Marsh Harbour. There is a gentle roll passing Whale Cay cut where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Sea of Abaco. The scenery of emerald crystal water bordered by endless white beaches under a blue sky is really breathtaking. This is paradise.

Looking in the water gives you the feeling that it is easy to just stretch an arm and grab a colorful starfish 20 feet down.

Now our time is spent cruising from island to island. We mostly at anchor reaching land by tender. The days are filled visiting, walking, snorkeling and savouring delicious Bahamian dishes.

Marsh Harbour is a bustling town situated in the middle of the island of Abaco. We stop here to resupply. There are wild fires burning intensely near the harbour. One morning we wake up with our boat covered with ashes. Time to move!

Treasure Cay, with a pure white sand beach stretching for three miles is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It is pristine and gives the feeling of walking in salt. It faces the sea of Abaco where the sky melts into the water, it is really hard to describe.

Elbow Cay is famous for the Hope Town candy stripe light house. Hope Town is small, very pretty with narrow streets filled with cascading bougainvillea, colorful homes and resorts with a great new coffee house (free WIFI), moorings only.

Man-o-war has a very quaint little harbor – moorings only north end. The entrance is very narrow but there is plenty of water. It is known for its international boat building & repair reputation. It has beautiful ocean beaches. It is a pretty place to walk the small streets and explore.

Great Guana Cay has excellent snorkeling reefs on the five and a half mile long ocean beach which is one of the longest in the Bahamas. There are good anchorages such as Fisher’s bay – need to avoid the reef in the middle.

We had great sailing, much more than expected. Sad as it was it was time to head back to Florida.

April 9 we depart from Great Turtle Cay with no wind to speak of. We motor 59 NM to Great Sale Cay and set the anchor under a starry night and calm sea. The next morning we head for Little Bahama Bank and spend a calm night at anchor. April 11 at 0715 we leave the Bank to cross the Gulf Stream heading towards Fort Pierce. We motor all day on a milk pond ocean. We pray the engine does not fail because sailing is out of question. NO WIND.

71 NM later at 2230 we drop the hook in Fort Pierce.

After clearing customs at the airport we wolf down the best fish & chips of all at the marina restaurant.

NOW THE DEBATE… Do we leave the boat in Florida or not? We both agreed on the “or not“.

The journey north begins with an uncooperative outboard engine. We spend 5 days in the Vero Beach city marina for 3 reasons:

1. get the boat insurance in order for the return home
2. have the outboard engine fixed (new fresh water impeller & tune up)
3. bad weather (any excuse is good to stay – some “no-seeums” but free bus transportation to town for shopping, theaters, West Marine Express etc..)

April 19 – Making the trip back north turns out to be revealing in that we stop at different places and make more discoveries.

Wind and current really cooperate. By motor/sailing every day we make good time in conditions that would prove to be hard under motor only.

April 29 approaching Charleston S.C. and fighting a strong current we are motor/sailing. Homeland security patrol boat decides to board our vessel. Two patrol men jump aboard GRATIA while Bob is struggling to keep heading and speed in the narrow current filled area passing under a bridge while staying clear of other vessels. We provide our papers and info, 20 minutes later they jump back on their boat while still underway. Talk about taking your job at heart but they did not slow us down and were very courteous and friendly.

We take a slip at the Charleston City Marina for two nights. A new prescription for medications is first on the list of priorities for our stop in this scenic city.

May 1st back en route, again making good time and yet in no hurry to get north as it is not recommended to venture on the Hudson River before mid June. It is hazardous in early spring due to the numerous pieces of large debris floating up and down with the tides and current.

In North Carolina there are a lot of wild fires creating fog and smoke smelling air.

In Virginia state, tying at Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake city, we notice Nixon’s Presidential yacht “SEQUOIA“. The motor yacht is being refurbished on the hard, quite the project!

Passing Norfolk we observe tugs maneuvering a war ship into the channel assisting her out to sea. We slowed down and circled to give them space, impressive maneuvering by the two tugs.

North bound on the Chesapeake we spend a couple of days in St-Michael’s. It is worth while to visit the maritime museum. The town is very historic, pretty and fun to walk around browsing in various art shops.

Leaving St Michael’s we headed north to Kent Narrows where we set the anchor NW of the high bridge. 3 hours later Tow Boat US advises Bob not to stay at anchor for the night due to a very strong shift of current. So we weigh anchor and tie up at the fuel dock of the adjacent marina. The anchor was dangling from the bow roller with the chain wrapped around the DELTA like a pretzel. In 25 years of navigation this was a first. It could have been a disastrous experience our only regret was not taking a picture of the fouled anchor.

May 26th heading south on the Delaware Bay toward Cape May, the sea starts to build considerably around 1000 with 20 knots of wind which was forecast at only 5-10 knots at 0600. Delaware Bay can be treacherous and we respect it greatly. By 1100 the waves are 5 ft and breaking over the bow. At 1130 we set the anchor in the Cohansey River at the first bend with excellent protection. The vessel being in an eddy of the river never moved with the shift of the tide. The following day we motor sailed to Cape May in an agitated sea. The other vessels we saw under power only were hardly making headway. With the sails up we were doing very well.

From Cape May to New York harbor we split the trip in 4 stages:

1. Cape May to Atlantic City 42 NM
2. Atlantic City to Barnegat Inlet 34 NM
3. Barnegat Inlet to Manasquan 25 NM
4. Manasquan to New York Harbor 48 NM

June 1st we are motor sailing again among the large vessels in New York Harbor’s anchorage field. There is a tornado watch with a severe thunder storm advisory for 1730 so we take a mooring ball at 79th Street Marina. We pass by Prince William’s 3 masted royal sailing ship which is about 200 feet long. The air is heavy and still. The storm never materialized and the night remained calm.

As we progress on the Hudson River we notice more of the surroundings like West Point’s impressive complex, the famous Sing-Sing prison up on the banks and numerous chateau-like residences.

Roundout Creek in Kingston N.Y. is very pretty and easy to get into. We docked at the Steel House restaurant. They let us stay over night for free.

June 9th we take the mast down at Castleton-on-Hudson, fasten the tender on the foredeck and get back to the mooring ball just in time before we are hit by a squall.

After the Troy lock we make a left turn to enter the Erie Barge Canal. No more tides! Traveling the Erie Barge Canal waterway is very scenic. Many towns provide free docking with power and water for the boaters. The docks are well built usually next to a nicely landscaped park. The canal is well buoyed. There are many locks to go through and the lockmasters were all very helpful. It is worth the experience. A 10 day pass for $37.00 provides ample time to enjoy the beauty along the canal.

It is prudent to choose a clear and calm day to cross Lake Oneida. It is long, shallow and can be very nasty in any significant winds.

June 16th at 0500 we cross Lake Oneida from Sylvan beach arriving in Oswego at 1600. There is free docking at upper lock 8. We took a short walk to the marina to organize the schedule for mast-up and dockage for two nights.

With the mast up GRATIA is again fit for sailing! We are back in known territory and eager to cross Lake Ontario.

June 21st after an uneventful crossing from Oswego to Collins Bay, we check in with Canadian Customs in record time (5 minutes on the phone). As it is still early in the day we continue on and that night anchor south of Beaurivage Island near Gananoque.

June23rd we take a mooring ball at SYC, sending our last SPOT at 1638.

1700 Bob Branchard comes to us welcome back in the rescue boat, he had received our final SPOT.

10 months traveling a total of 4181 NM proved to be a wonderful journey filled with unforgettable memories and experiences.

We crossed paths with interesting people and shared great moments.

We had several “challenges” and encountered some inconveniences but nothing really dampened our spirit nor put our lives in danger.

We witnessed breathtaking sunrises and sunsets all along our route and we had great weather in the Bahamas (best weather in 5 years according to the locals).

It was really paradise …but then again so is home!

By Gratia & Robert Bissonnette, February 2012