The Mighty Chack Chack is on her last leg

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We are off tomorrow to rejoin Chack Chack where she has been stored inside their spar shed after we completed the trip from Jeckyl Island, GA to Chesapeake, VA. This trip will take us up the Chesapeake Bay, through the C&D canal, down Delaware Bay, up the New Jersey coast and to New York Harbour. We will be at Liberty Landing Marina for a few days around the fourth of July, then it will be up the Hudson to Coeymans Landing Marina where we started our Great Loop Trip three years ago.

Eric
 
Eric , we enjoyed meeting you in Apalachicola , and hope we cross paths again on the next adventure ! Enjoy the last leg of the journey !
Marc
 
Eric
Sounds like a great trip and an accomplishment to be very proud of! Bob and Betsy came up from Virginia a couple weeks ago on their 25 cruiser"SeaPal", along the same route you mentioned. I am sure you already are aware of things along the New Jersey coast but thought I would mention what Bob and Betsy told us. They ran into lots of very shallow water, areas that had not been dredged in a while, kicking up mud even with their engines up. It sounded to us like one of the worst areas along the eastern seaboard and I had heard much of the same from a friend that was down that way last year. Anyway be careful, happy cruising and congratulations! :thup
Rich
 
Eric,

We may see you in New York, Toni and I are in Deltaville, Virginia for a few days and hope to be in New York about the same time. We are calling Liberty Landing today to check on availability.
 
Well we made it out it out to Norfolk late on Monday after a cross country flight from Medford. We made the late night stop at the super WalMart to provison{sorry Marc}, then off to we were off to Atlantic Yacht Basin to get everything together, and organize the boat.

We managed to fuel up at AYB and make the 8 AM Great Bridge opening and then our last lock through at the Great Bridge lock, which was our 120+ lock through.

From there we cruised through Norfolk, past the Atlantic fleet and made the turn North on the Chesapeake to Deltaville. We spent the night at Doziers Regatta Point Marina. They were ever so helpful. Poor Deltville has recently taken a direct tornado hit with stupendous damage to a defined portion of the town.

We wanted to run over to Crisfield today but the weather report is pushing us North and we had a pleasant run to Solomons Island today

Solomons is fun and would make a great spring or fall long term stop

Best
Eric
 
Today we left Solomons around ten and made the run up to East Bay and then down to St. Michaels. Its another pretty town with lots of small shops and nice restaurants. Very interesting architecture as you walk through town.
We will be off to Annapolis tomorrow then up to Balitmore to stay in the inner harbour Saturday and Sunday.
Eric
 
Eric, wish you'd stopped at our place. We're at the mouth of the Potomac. If you ever get back this way, we'll look for you. We had Russ and Toni from Traveler here last weekend as their boat was being worked on in Deltaville.

Water and power at the pier!

Charlie
 
We cruised Chack Chack from Solomons up to St Michaels on Thursday, then left on Friday morning for Annapolis, which is a great city for on foot sight seeing and a nice downtown within easy walking distance of our marina, as well as the US Naval Acadamy.

From Annapolis we came up to Balitimore to Inner Harbour East. Easy walking to everything along the revitalized waterfront, up to Little Italy for dinner and cannoles last night. We will catch a Orioles game today, then since we have a favorable weather window we will be heading down the Delaware Bay tomorrow to Cape May.

Charlie thanks for the kind offer!
Eric
 
Any time Eric. Say hello to Russ and Toni on the Ranger 27 "Traveler" for us. They will be in NY for the 4th, I think at the same marina you're staying at.

Charlie
 
When we did the Loop, we circumnavigated Long Island - a delightful trip, protected by sand bars from the ocean and the cruise through Long Island Sound was beautiful. Then the dramatic circumnavigation of Manhattan Island with the big liners, ferries, towering buildings .... A lasting memory. Enjoy the last leg. And congrats in advance.
 
Eric , sounds like a great leg . I just delivered sasscom's Tomcat to Annapolis and got a short but thorough waterfront tour . Beautiful and so much history ! Ill forgive you for the side trip to China ,I mean Wallmart , as long as you promise to stop twice somewhere that they make something or sell something that supports Real American Small Business !
Marc
 
We bummed around the Baltimore waterfront after I went on a early morning run, the inner harbour is just beautiful and nicely redone. We went to the Orioles games this afternoon at Camden Park which is a classic and was almost as much fun as the White Sox vs Cubs game we went to when we were going through Chicago.

Because of the weather forecast for the Delaware Bay we left Baltimore late today and cruised up to Summit North to be staged for the run down Delaware Bay in the morning. We will be in Cape May, then start working North up the the NJICW, picking up my daughter, Morgan and her friend Hanna who are flying in to meet us for the trip into NYC for the fourth of July and up the Hudson back to Albany

Its obvious you could spend a lifetime cruising the Chesapeake Bay, I think best done in a sailboat and we have obviously not even scratched the surface but our Great Loop completetion calls us on. We will get a couple of beach days in on our way up the Jersey coast before we cruise into NYC.
Best
Eric
 
If you are going through Cape May there is a great marina there called South Jersey Marina. The Lobster House is close by and offers great dinner solutions. Plus they have an outstanding seafood market if you would want to cook for yourself. Right next to the Coast Guard station in Cape May is a great anchorage which is on your way over to the ICW that heads north. Ocean City New Jersey is a really nice beach town. They have a nice boardwalk and great facilities. It's a dry town (no alcohol sold) but just across the bay in Sommers Point on the mainland has everything you would need. As you head north and you wanted a short side trip at marker 139 on the ICW (just north of Atlantic City you could look on your chart for Oyster Creek and take a short ride across Great Bay and up Oyster creek to the Oyster Creek Inn which is rustic but has great food. About twenty minutes off your trail. It's kind of how New Jersey used to be. Hope you enjoy the trip up through New Jersey and New York. Well, the whole trip really.
D.D.
 
Chack Chack had a pretty uneventful run down the Delaware Bay today, a little on the nose bashing halfway down but then that all seemed to settle down. We pulled into Ulrich's today (I didn't see Will-C's post until this afternoon), refueled and then went into to Cape May. Somewhat of a long hike into town, and we decided not to walk back on the beach as the City of Cape May charges $5 per person for a pass that is required if you are going to be on the beach - first time I have ever seen anything like that. All in all its a nice tourist based town. We will head North up the New Jersey coast tomorrow.

Eric
 
I think all beach towns charge for going on the beaches (beach badge), with the exception of Strathmere, which is just north of Sea Isle City and South of Ocean City. Just off the intercoastal waterway about 24 miles north of Cape May. They usually rake the beaches for trash with large tractors in the am to clear of debris and a unsightly items as a couple years ago they had some medical waste issues. Most beaches have public bathrooms etc that have to be maintained. Pretty clean now. After labor day the beaches are free again.
If conditions are nice you might get tired of all the no wake zones on the ICW and decide to run up the coast out in the ocean. Stay in about 35 feet of water off the beach.
You also might consider as you hit the Hudson splitting off to the right running up the East river to the Harlem river which will take you back out to the Hudson. No bridges to lift interesting ride the Harlem River is usually like glass it will take you by Yankee Stadium lots of great bridges etc.. Not too far out of your way.
D.D.
 
Actually, if you run the Harlem River from the East River to the Hudson, there is one bridge that will have to lift, even for you. That is the Spuyten Duyvil Railroad Bridge right where the Harlem joins the Hudson which has a 5 foot clearance when closed. Since the bridge carries both Amtrak and Metro North (commuter) trains, it is frequently closed.
 
We have had a nice time on the NJICW. While most of the Great Loopers bypass most of New Jersey we have made stops in Cape May, Ocean City, Atlantic City, Beach Haven today and tomorrow we will take the NJICW to Point Pleasant, then make the run up to NYC. Each town has been pleasant, we stayed near Longport while in ocean city with access to two beaches and a nice downtown, just over the bridge from the marina. Atlantic City was interesting and my daughter Morgan and her friend Hanna flew in from Portland to finish the rest of the trip with us. Beach Haven is a super stop with beach access a few blocks away and a nice town for walking and shopping. There have been a few skinny spots in the NJICW but no real problems.
Appreciate the advise for NYC too!
Eric
 
Liberty Landing was a great stop for us - you can see the Manhattan skyline, especially beautiful at night, right from your boat. An easy walk to the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. A water taxi that will take you to the Financial District. NYC was a true highlight, as well... took in a Broadway show, searched for the best pizza and hot dog, walked through Central Park, took the bus to Brooklyn and Harlem, ate real Italian, toured, gawked, and then came back to the boat each night at Liberty Landing.

Have fun with the last portion of your trip and congrats!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Chack Chack made Manasaquan, NJ today coming up the NJICW. We saw one skinny spot where some of the bigger boats were churning up the mud but again had no problems. Today is off to the boardwalk with Hannah and Morgan and then some pool time. Tomorrow we are set to make the run to New York harbor out Manasaquan inlet, then past Sandy Hook, then North to the City

Eric
 
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