Caribbean Bound

I will wrap up my second career in a few short years and head for warmer waters before winter arrives in the great Northeast. In anticipation of the annual migration south, we’re scouting the Bahamas and Caribbean for suitable anchorages. The requirements are quite modest: tropical climate, steady breezes, sandy beaches and fun!

The latest scouting trip was to the island of St. Maarten compliments of good friends Joe and Donna who graciously made their villa available for a week in March. St. Maarten is part of the Netherland Antilles. It's located about 185 miles east of Puerto Rico, 1,000 nm ESE of Miami and 1,600 nm SE of Albany as the crow flies. The weather is rather boring—sunny and 85 degrees every day with steady 15 knot winds from November to April.

There's a great anchorage for Serena at Simpson Bay with an adjacent lagoon that offers fabulous protection from bad weather. The St. Maarten Yacht Club is near the entrance to the lagoon, along with several fine restaurants, shops and a grocery market. The Princess Juliana airport is within walking distance in case there's a need to return to the states to escape the “boredom” of the island.

Here are some photos of this wonderful island that's definitely tops on the list of cruising destinations.

Cruising is for the Dogs!

Bella here.

So, here's a play-by-play account of our cruise from the only point of view that matters - MINE! There's much to be said for our trip:

• Because we were captive to this 42' vessel, I got lots of attention and a heavy dose of dog treats.
• We stopped at many cool places I've never been so I got to do you know what to make my mark.
• Some eateries were very accommodating and dog friendly - more on that later.
• Nothing beats the sunny breeze rustling my floppy ears and the sound of waves lapping on the hull.

There are, however, some downsides for those of us of the animal persuasion:

• Cap'n Mike likes to cruise all day long and I can't go all day long, if you know what I mean.
• The docks at most marinas are not dog-friendly - got my paws stuck between the slats in a few places.
• There's lots of walking involved when we go sight-seeing, so I just pretend I'm tired so they'll carry me everywhere.

Here are my favorite photos from the cruise.

Do you see a pattern here? I'm mostly lounging or being carried. We stopped at a few restaurants along the way. For all you dog cruisers, here are my reviews:

• Steel Pier Restaurant, Kingston - 3 paws: They let me dine at a table on the deck overlooking Rondout Creek. Food and service were good.
• Hudson Water Club Restaurant, Haverstraw - 0 paws: I was denied access - not a dog-friendly establishment.
• Liberty House Restaurant, Liberty Landing - 4 paws: Excellent five star restaurant with a spectacular view of the Hudson River and lower Manhattan. I dined on the patio and was lorded over by the staff. This place is great. And, they know a classy dog when they see one.

The Cruise to Nowhere

Sailing...the fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense.

Our Summer 2009 cruise was supposed to be to Block Island for a few days of rest and relaxation. Last minute scheduling conflcts shortened our curise window from two weeks to 10 days so we scaled back our plans and set our sight on Long Island Sound and the north shore of Long Island. Even this abbreviated cruise was not meant to be, but I'm getting adhead of the story.

Bad weather delayed our departure a day and we finally cast off mid-morning on a partly cloudy August 29th. The run from Albany Yacht Club to Kingston was uneventful. We turned up Rondout Creek and tied up at the Hudson River Maritime Museum's dock behind a spectacular schooner, the Belle Adventure. Here are a few photos of the Belle Adventure and our stay at Kingston.



The second day we continued down river past the West Point Military Academy. This section of the Hudson River offers spectacular views of the Catskill Mountains. Just north of West Point, the Bear Mountain Bridge spans the River.

Our destination was Haverstraw Marina located north of the Tappan Zee Bridge. This is a large marina (1,000+ slips) on the west side of Haverstraw Bay. We grabbed a slip on the T-dock, enjoyed a relaxing evening and turned in early so we could get an early start on the third leg of the trip down the Hudson River to New York Harbor.

We arrived at New York Harbor late afternoon on Tuesday and pulled into Liberty Landing Marina to take on fuel. That's when the excitement began. As we were topping off the starboard tank, the fuel dock attendant asked us to quickly move Serena to her slip so a large motor yacht could dock and take on fuel. Admiral Mary went to start the diesel and it was totally dead. We had experienced this starting problem in the past and was told by a mechanic in Annapolis that it was most likely the neutral safety switch on the transmission lever. Jiggling the lever had always solved the problem. However, nothing seemed to work this time.

We summoned a mechanic who fiddled a bit with the wires and starter switch. The diesel finally started, but the mechanic had no idea why. So, we moved Serena to her slip and decided to stay in New York Harbor a couple of days to regroup and find a Yanmar (the make of our diesel) repair facility.

New York Harbor is always exciting. Liberty Landing Marina is located in New Jersey directly across the Harbor from Lower Manhanntan and just above the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. There's a large park with scenic walkways along the Harbor. Here are a few photos and a panoramic view of the Harbor from Liberty Landing Park. Double click on the panaromic shot to see a larger view.




We departed Liberty Landing early Thursday morning and headed back to Haverstraw Marina where we had located a Yanmar service facility on the internet. The folks at Samalot Marine Service were fantastic. We arrived at 2PM and they quickly dispatched a mechanic to check out our starting problem. After about an hour of checking and testing, the mechanic determined that we needed to replace the starter switch, tighten a loose cable connection at the main battery switch, and clean up some corrosion where the main ground cable attaches to the engine block. Our trusty Yanmar now starts like a champ. We're confident the starting problem we've had since 2002 is finally solved.

By the way, the mechanic was quick to point out that our vessel does NOT have a neutral safety switch. Much to Bella's delight, it would appear our wiggling of the shift lever all these years has been nothing more than a human illustration of the phenomenon of classical conditioning made famous by Pavlov's dogs!

We stayted an extra day at Haverstraw to relax and then continued our journey up the Hudson River. We stopped for a night at the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club and then made the final run to Albany, arriving at the Albany Yacht Club about 5PM on Sunday, September 6th.

Hudson Celebration

Admiral Mary here.

2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's epic sail up the Hudson River aboard the Half Moon in search of the Northwest Passage. Unfortunately for Hudson, his voyage of discovery ended near Albany, NY in late September, 1609 when the river became too shallow for passage. Fortunately for us, Hudson and his Dutch sponsors left their mark on Albany and we had an opportunity to be a part of the quadricentennial celebration in their honor.

On June 13th, we rounded up our crew and headed south from the Albany Yacht Club where we joined the flotilla of heritage ships at Castleton. With the stately Half Moon in the lead and an escort of two Coast Guard cutters, the boat parade departed Castleton about noon for the run north to Albany.

Onlookers lined the shores cheering the parade of heritage ships and boats sailing north. The flotilla reached Albany about 1pm. Here are some photos of the flotilla--ships and people--compliments of AYCs photographer Will O'Leary and "the Marys" Donovan.

Serena's Security & Safety Officer Speaks Out

Bella here.

So, did you read Cap'n Mike's June 11th post about the Memorial Day Coast Guard debacle? Cruising the river without all the necessary safety equipment?? If you're thinking what I'm thinking, there's only one word for this hapless Cap'n and crew: LAME! If it were up to me, I'd toss 'em all in the brig!

I take my role as Serena's Security and Safety Officer seriously. Check out my personal flotation device (PFD). Not only does it make a powerful fashion statement, it's totally functional. As you can see, I wear it all the time, even when I'm patrolling the docks. If Cap’n Bly Mike messes up at the helm and we get swept overboard, I’ll be floatin’ like a cork.

See that bright yellow plastic detergent bottle I fetched? Probably something Cap'n Mike tossed overboard in violation of the Refuse Act of 1899 and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (MARPOL ANNEX V). Good grief - am I the only one on this vessel who pays attention to this stuff?

Safety at Sea

Memorial Day - a time to remember those who fought for our freedom and a time to remember the myriad safety rules, regulations and equipment attendant to boating. We did well with the former, but not so well with the latter.

We departed our slip mid-afternoon with a full crew for a short run north to the railroad bridge along the Albany waterfront. It would be a brief shake-down cruise. After all, we had just launched the boat and were still slepping gear and equipment from our condo to the boat. She was not yet fully equipped. Not to fear, we had the essentials aboard - life jackets and fire extinguishers. Besides, what could possibly happen on a one-mile run to the railroad bridge and back?

The Coast Guard happened! Just as we made the turn at the bridge and eased Serena along the west shore so our guests could view the Albany waterfront, we saw the Coast Guard charging toward us with lights flashing. I did a quick scan thinking I would spot the object of their pursuit or another vessel in distress. We had the whole River to ourselves, so the only plausible conclusion was that they were bearing down on us.

The Coast Guard vessel pulled along side in a jiffy and we were instructed to "prepare for boarding".

The Coast Guard overtaking our vessel

We welcomed the Coast Guard officers aboard and Admiral Mary went below to assist them with their safety inspection while I manned the helm as our vessel drifted down river in the current. In response to many of their questions, I heard Admiral Mary respond, "I don't know" or "we don't have that aboard 'cause it's back at the condo", or "oh, we were supposed to keep those? I tossed 'em out"!

After what seemed like an hour, the officers returned topsides to confer with the Captain. The good news is we scored high marks for life jackets, fire extinguishers, alerting devices (bell, whistle, horn) and the such. The bad news is none of the vessel's documentation was aboard (back at the condo) along with the Type IV throwable life ring. The flares we purchased in Cape May in 2002 were a bit long in the tooth and had expired. And, our waste and oil disposal placards had mysteriously gone missing and were presumed to have fallen victim to Admiral Mary's fall cleaning last season.

Cap'n Mike and Kevin discuss vessel safety with the Coast Guard

In all, the Coast Guard folks were very professional and courteous. We truly appreciated their attention to detail and concern for our safety. Needless to say, we fetched the required equipment from our condo the next day and refreshed our supply of flares. Here are some more shots of our Memorial Day and "Safety Awareness Day" outing compliments of our good friend and talented photographer, Jeannie.