Crew Log for May 10th – 12th, 2023
Trip Summary:
• Cape May to Staten Island
• Trip Distance of 125 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 4,698.8 NM
Just when you complete one difficult stretch, you wake up and realize there is another challenge facing you. We had worked hard to get out of the ICW, beat our way up the Chesapeake and navigated our way down the Delaware River. Our next hurdle was to get up the Jersey Coast, a more than 100 mile stretch from Cape May to Sandy Hook. We follow the coastline and tend to stay within 5 to 10 miles off shore, but it is still the open Atlantic Ocean.
The 3 other sailboats here with us, Beyond, Sensai and On y Va, were all planning to stop in Barneget Inlet, about halfway up the coast. They are all bigger boats and have more horsepower than us, so they can travel faster. Based on our average cruising speed, we won’t reach the Inlet until early evening, and would have to leave early the next day in order to reach Staten Island. An all-nighter made more sense for us.
We had hazy sunshine and lighter winds from the south. The report from our weather router indicated that, it was a “great day to be on the outside”. We also liked what we saw for the next couple of days, so we decided to head out at 0800 hours.
There was a bit of chop leaving Cape May Inlet where the outgoing tide meant the waves, but otherwise the conditions were very smooth. On long passages, we routinely go with a reefed main so we don’t need to worry about making an adjustment in the middle of the night or in rough conditions. We usually go with a full jib, reefing it if we have to. In lighter winds, we will use the motor on low RPMs if our sail speed drops below 5 knots.
We were headed to the Great Kills Yacht Club on Staten Island, about 125 nautical miles away, which if we maintain our average boat speed, should take us 24 – 25 hours, putting us in there at breakfast time the following day. One rule we follow, without exception, is we never want to enter an anchorage or an unfamiliar place, in the dark. We have on occasion had to find an alternative spot for the night when we didn’t think we could reach our original planned destination. We’ve also gone further when we have made better time than expected.
The wind picked up around noon time, so we were able to shut the motor off and enjoy the peace and quiet. It was a little rolly, but comfortable. So comfortable in fact that I feel asleep sitting in the cockpit. Several other boats sped past us heading up the coast, all motoring. We were in no rush. We had all night!
Shortly after supper, the winds lightened a bit so we turned the motor back on. I immediately noticed a distinct difference in the engine sound and shut it down. Unlike a car, engines on a boat don’t have radiators to maintain the coolant temperature. A sailboat pumps seawater into a heat exchanger and discharges it through the engine’s exhaust.
While Judy continued to sail Elizabeth M down the coast, I went below to troubleshoot the issue. My first thought was that we had sucked debris into the raw water strainer, however, there was surprisingly little in it. My second thought was the impellor in the raw water pump.
To check the impellor, you have to remove 6 small screws holding a cover plate on and pry the rubber impellor out. I generally check the impellor every time I do an oil change but forgot when I changed it in Cape May. It’s a relatively simple task. Simple that is when you are stationary and tied to a dock. We were moving, about 7 miles off shore and the sea state had gotten uncomfortably rolly, with the waves hitting our starboard hind quarter. The effect was to get rolled side to side and at the same time, getting "hobby horsed".
Generally, the worst place to be in uncomfortable conditions, is down below. I even have trouble reading or looking at my phone while sitting in the cockpit, although Judy seems to manage it. Here I was, trying to focus on getting 6 tiny screws out, while rolling around on the floor of the boat like a “Weeble”. Remember that TV ad, “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down”. Maybe not, but I was sure as hell rolling around!
Good news. Well sort of. The impellor was OK, but I decided to change it anyway. The bad news was, I still didn’t know why it wasn’t pumping water. The even worse news was, I had to get those 6 tiny screws and the cover plate back on, before we could use the engine again. So I once again did my best Webble impression.
With everything back together, I tried the engine and all seemed fine. Crisis adverted, but the mystery was still not solved. I eventually attributed the issue to a loose belt. Once I tightened it, everything seemed to work fine.
The conditions had improved marginally, although the wind was dropping, so it was good we had use of the engine. We actually had to keep trying to slow the boat down through the night since we were projected to get in before daylight. It turned out, we had nothing to worry about, given the strong currents around Sandy Hook.
We were off Sandy Hook by about 0300 hours, well ahead of our anticipated schedule. As we made the turn towards New York, our boat speed immediately dropped from 5 – 6 knots, and we struggled to maintain 3.5 knots. The tidal currents here are amazing. We inched our way towards Great Kills on the east side of Staten Island, arriving at the Yacht Club at 0700 hours, 23 hours after we left Cape May. Right on schedule.
There were several reasons why we came here. First, transient slips cost US$2 foot, plus US$10 per day for electrical. We were on relatively new floating docks, had access to unlimited power and water, shower facilities and other club amenities (common areas and a bar). Great Kills Yacht Club was a 5 minute walk to the express coach bus, which for US$6, would take you into downtown Manhattan and drop you anywhere between Wall Street and Central Park. And, sv Beyond and Sensai were both planning to stay here as well, so we’d have some familiar company.
Our plan was to leave the boat for a few days and head into New York City, for an early 65th Birthday Celebration for Judy. We technically weren’t supposed to leave the boat unattended, but the Beyond crew agreed to check Elizabeth M in the evenings when they got back.
What we didn’t know about Great Kills Yacht Club before we got here, was how incredibly friendly everyone was. Other than insisting on calling us “Loopers”, they were very kind and genuinely happy to have us there.
John C., was the volunteer dockmaster. I chatted with him briefly on the phone. He insisted I text him when we got to Sandy Hook, “regardless of the hour”, so he knew we were OK. I texted at 0300 hours. He came down later in the morning to properly greet us and apologized for not being there when we arrived. He provided a package of helpful information, a form to fill out, and when we figured out how long we were staying, to put the money in a baggie and leave it in a cooler on his boat. He was in no rush for it.
Our first day on the dock was pretty quiet as you might expect, given our 24-hour sail. Neither one of us slept very well on this passage but had no issue falling asleep once we were in our proper slip.
Great Kills Yacht Club and neighboring marinas were severely damaged in Hurricane Sandy several years ago. At Great Kills, the tide surge lifted the floating docks off of the pilings and pushed the docks and all the boats attached to it, several hundred feet on to shore. Several other boats on stands in the boatyard toppled like dominos. I recall seeing pictures of it at the time. It was heartbreaking to see.
The next morning I headed off to the bank to get cash to cover our slip fees. As I was walking to the bank I passed a number of CBD dispensaries, tattoo parlors, along with a collection of restaurants and other shops, including the Italian Market, which was amazing. There were also a few hair salons and barbers.
I dropped into the trendiest looking one and the male “stylist” threw me an angry glance and asked me what I wanted. “A haircut”, I replied confusingly. To which he explained, he only cut hair, “by appointment” and almost implied that there was some sort of application process or vetting before I could actually book an appointment.
I embarrassingly made my way out, when I spotted “Mike’s Barbershop” across the street. It definitely didn’t look like the place that required appointments and the sign indicated that they had been in business for several years. I walked in and confidently announced that I was “here for a haircut”. To which Mike’s wife, a straight-talking Armenian women said, “well that’s obvious…you need one”.
Sitting in Mike’s felt like a scene from the Godfather. There were all these tough looking Italian guys with thick New York accents chatting back and forth, while multiple people tended to their personal grooming needs. While Mike’s wife was the only one looking after me, the guy beside me, let’s call him Vinny, had a guy cutting his hair, a woman giving him a shave with a straight razor and another woman giving him a manicure.
Mike’s wife asked me how I wanted my hair cut. I told her I wanted to keep some length, but needed it cleaned up a bit. She pointed to Vinny, and asked if I wanted it as short as his. NO. In my day we’d say Vinny had a brush cut. She then showed me 12 pictures, all of which had basically the same haircut. I reluctantly said number 8, just so we could move on.
I figure I lost several pounds with the haircut Mike’s wife gave me. When she finished, she looked at me and simply said, “..done…next time don’t wait so long…”, and with that I made my way back to the marina, feeling the sun on my ears and neck for the first time in months. Not only was Mike’s wife pleased with my haircut, more importantly, my wife, the birthday girl, was over joyed with my new look. Happy Birthday Jude!
John, the dockmaster’s reaction was pretty funny too. “Oh my goodness…he came in here yesterday all Shaggy and everything…and now look at him…I didn’t recognize him…hey…so and so…look at this guy…he went to Mike’s and got a haircut…”. Seems everyone was happy with my new look. Well, everyone except Corky, who seemed to be only one to really embrace my “urban hobo chic” look.
That afternoon, sporting my new Italian haircut, we headed off to the Italian market. In addition to a wonderful selection of Italian groceries, they also did “made to order sandwiches”. Although, “made to order” is a bit of false advertising. You can tell them what size sandwich you want and what meats you want, after that, they decide how it is going to be made. It is hilarious to watch their reaction when someone asks for a condiment that they clearly don’t believe belongs on the sandwich. A huge conversation in Italian breaks out between the staff and the clerk eventually comes back and asks the person who ordered it, if they are sure.
Great Kills Yacht Club is a favorite stopping spot for “Loopers” wanting to visit the Big Apple, before heading up the Hudson. A marina in NYC would easily cost 5 times what they charge here and, in the city you are exposed to the constant wake churn off of NY harbor. Consequently, any transient boater visiting Great Kills, is a “Looper”. In fairness, there were 6 trawlers here, all doing the loop, and only a couple of sailboats. There were also reports of over 200 “Loopers” making their way up the Chesapeake, 3 times the normal number for this time of year.
However, Great Kills Yacht Club is far from perfect. That evening, they were having their “Opening Meeting”, which was strictly enforced as a “men only” meeting. There was a social the following weekend, all were encouraged to attend, “and all ‘ladies’ should bring a dessert”. I am not sure what would happen if a woman infiltrated the men only meeting or a man brought a dessert to the social. As far as we could tell, no lines were crossed.
It wasn’t all bad though. As the men had their meeting and argued over who knows what, the women were all camped out on the docks or on their boats, sipping beers and White Claws. They all complained about the “men only” meeting, but when pressed, none of them wanted to attend.
We were excited.
In the morning, we were packing our bags and hopping on the express coach to Midtown Manhattan and spending 3 nights, in a real bed, in a real hotel, in New York City.
But more about that, next time.
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