The repair of the radar turned into the install of a radome a wind transducer and a second MFD (Multi-Function Display ie. Chartplotter). This required several electric kick-scooter trips to West Marine for miscellaneous switches, cables, etc. We had to pull the inside roof of the pilothouse down in order to snake cables between the two helms (Pilothouse & Flyberidge). This took several days.
PH Wiring
Flybrridge Break Out Panel
We met our neighbors Capt. John and Charlie who were bringing a 55′ Sunseeker Manhattan to Florida. If you are interested it’s for sale on YW (YachtWorld.com). $2.25M
2021 Sunseeker Manhattan 55 For Sale
Capt John was very knowledgable about boating technology and we discussed everything from LiPO4 batteries & BMS (Battery Management Systems) to Chinese diesel fired heaters. Capt. John had many projects going on with his own one-off sailing yacht called Myth.
SV Myth
We got a late start but it felt good to be moving again. We slipped past a lonely lighthouse before entering the East River. Soon we were passing the massive prison ship in the Bronx. Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center (VCBC)
Prison Ship
The clouds looked like cotton balls as we cruised West down the East River.
Lady Liberty always reminds me freedom is what everyone wants in this world.
Our Lady Liberty
Freedom
As we scooted beneath the Verrazzano Bridge we passed a large container ship entering NYC harbor.
Cargo Ship
As the day came to an end we decided to drop the hook behind Sandy Hook, NJ for the night. As the sun disappeared beneath the horizon we tucked in for the night.
We spent the night on anchor in New Haven Connecticut because the marina we had planned did not have room for us. The anchorage provided decent protection from the south winds in the middle of the night. The next day we set out for Port Washington, NY where we had reserved 5 nights due to a low pressure off the coast that was causing strong winds and waves.
Cruising
W05L003 Route
When we weighed anchor and headed out into LIS (Long Island Sound) the south wind was making the boat rock so we headed directly into it until we hit the LI shore and worked our way west to Port Washington. We were passed by this cool looking boat.
I love the look of this boat
Soon we were passing Execution Rocks Light. It has been rumored that the island got the name “Execution” after slave owners murdered slaves by chaining them to the rocks on the island and waiting for high tide to drown them. I can only hope that that horrible story is not true or the way the island came to be known as Execution Rocks.
Execution Rocks Light
We tied up at Safe Harbor Capri marina in Port Washington and doubled up on our lines for the predicted strong winds. A small tugboat came in behind us.
Tug Boats
Not a Nordic Tug
Yacht identification is a hobby of mine. I like to guess yacht manufacturers. It’s never easy and rarely can I say with certainty the manufacturer and model of a passing yacht. Some manufacturers make it easy to identify by always incorporating their signature design element into all the yacht models they produce. Even classifying a yacht as a trawler or as a tug boat can start a religious war among other boaters who argue which design elements make a particular boat a tug vs. a trawler vs. a motor yacht, etc. This particular tug intrigues me as most recreational tugs I see are Nordic Tugs, American Tugs or Ranger Tugs. All nice looking boats in my opinion. Less often I see tugs such as the Gozzard Pilgrim 40 (no longer in production) . This particular tug reminds me of a Lord Nelson Victory Tug?
Nordic Tug 49C
American Tug 485
Ranger Tug 43′ Command Bridge
Gozzard Pilgrim 40′
Lord Nelson Victory Tug 37′
Tug Boats I often see on the water
Damaged Radar
When we arrived I planned on repairing our Furuno 1942 MK2 marine radar system which had stopped displaying targets shortly after we anchored next to the USCG boat in Fishers Island. I often wonder whether powerful military style radar systems that output much higher power microwaves can damage our low power 6.0 KW system?
Naval Submarine Base
Once when I was near Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay there was military testing operations going on around me. The warship hailed me on the VHF and warned that if I got within a mile of their vessel that it may result in damage to the sensitive electronics aboard my yacht. That started me thinking… it would be useful for military ships to be able to damage the sensitive electronics on a hostile boat by emitting a focused high energy pulse. Older style marine radars like our Furuno 1942 MK2 (circa 2005) emit analog microwaves using a magnetron like you find in your household microwave oven. These magnetrons have a predictable lifespan. Newer marine radars use lower power digital rather than analog microwave emissions.
Electronics Upgrades
After diagnosing the radar I believe our magnetron had given up the ghost. We need to have radar to travel safely so I ordered a new modern radar system as well as some other electronic navigation upgrades.
It would be days before I could have the needed electronics delivered to the marina so we decided to go into NYC and visit my nephew who was living and working in the city.
LIRR
We took an Uber to the Port Washington station and hopped on the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) into NYC (about a 45 minute ride)
Uber Selfie
LIRR Selfie
Rail Car
Uber to the LIRR
We arrived at Penn Station and should have just walked to upper Manhattan but we decided to take a NYC cab ride instead.
NYC Cab
NYC Cabs Have Sunroofs So You Can Look Up!
NYC Cab
I’m not sure I understood any of this conversation
Colin
Waiting for us when we stepped out of the cab was my nephew, Colin who we were very happy to see. We. made him take pics with both of us for the blog. Either we are very short or Colin seems to get bigger every time I see him.
Marty & Colin
Teresa & Colin
Mandatory Photo Op
We grabbed lunch at a great little middle eastern deli and Colin had to run back to work. We thanked him for showing us around and we headed off on foot to Central Park just a block or two away.
As we walked downtown in search of a decent pub we saw many interesting sights.
Times Square
When we arrived at Times Square we took a moment to look around
By this time our feet hurt and we both agreed we needed a margarita and an IPA. It was almost Margaritaville until it was the Yard House.
Times Square
Sloop Juice Bomb
Yard House
Margaritaville in Times Square
On the way back to Penn station Teresa hailed a cab and instead a strange man pulled over and said he was a cab. We both laughed thinking our parents had told us never to get in the car with a stranger but we hopped in anyway. It turned out to be a $20 ride to go the short few blocks to Penn station but our sore feet said it was worth it.
Work on the Boat
Back on the boat and some of the new electronics had arrived. I quickly began to wire them up in the pilothouse to test before the actual installation.
Testing connections
System Devices Query
24″ Radome
Electronics test install
Now hopefully the removal of the old radar and install of this new tech goes smooth tomorrow… Stay tuned.
I purposely got a late departure from the marina in Port Washington because I wanted to catch a fair current. When I went to leave my slip the gale force winds were on my beam. When you are solo you must untie and leave only a front a back looped over the cleat so you can climb aboard and flick the lines off and go. The problem this morning was that after I flicked off the stern line and ran through the boat to get to the bow line I’m sure the boat would be sideways in the slip. I opted to tie the boat with a single line, jump aboard, flick the line of the cleat and try to get out of of my slip before the wind had it’s way with me. Lucky for me the slips are very wide as were the fairways.
Pulling out of Port Washington a sailboat was following me.
Blue-hulled sailboat reminds me of my old Hunter sailboat before I bought my trawler
Port Washington is just around the corner from the east end of the East River.
Port Washington is a great staging location to wait for a fair current
Under Bridges
Throgs Neck Bridge is the first bridge as you enter the E. River. You can see the Bronx – Whitstone bridge behind it. The fair current boosts my speed from 6.5kts to 8.6kts as I zip along under the bridge.
Throgs Neck Bridge East end of the E. River8.6 kts thanks to the current
Passing Traffic
Almost immediately I’m being passed by USCG & NYPD boats as well as other boat traffic. They are everywhere as you navigate the East River.
Dystopia
The NYC skyline can be seen in the distance. On this cold grey day I can help but think it looks like a scene from some dystopian future SciFi flick.
Dystopian future skyline
Push Me Along
As I approach the infamous Hell’s Gate where the E. river & Harlem river converge my speed jumps to 11kts.
work pajamas on feet in the helm
Right of Way
Soon I had an oncoming boat that was crossing my port bow. They were on a collision course so I sounded my airhorn for a 1 whistle pass. They did not change speed or direction. I blew my horn again and again with no reaction from the oncoming boat. I finally laid on the horn turned to starboard. We exchange some hand waving before the captain got on the VHF calling me a moron. I simply explained that he did not have the right of way. He was on a collision course. He did not respond to my sound signal and left me no choice but to stop. No response.
Staten Island Ferry
As I pass the souther tip of Manhattan I see the ferry terminal and the Staten Island ferry docked.
They never stay docked very long. NYC’s fast pace as passengers rushing off and on and they are underway again passing me.
A Sexy Girl goes Past
As I’m passing the Statue of Liberty I see a radar return for something passing me on my starboard side. She’s a beauty. MV Arriva from England.
Hustle and Bustle of NYC
This is the busy part of NYC harbor and all sorts of traffic is passing me.
USACE (US Army Corp of Engineers)
Maersk Containership entering NYC harbor
The Jersey Shore
As I pass under the Verrazanno Bridge and past Sandy Hook the sun is setting and at first it’s a beautiful yellowish orange.
Yellowish, orange sunset off Sandy Hook
But minutes later it’s very pink
Pink sunset off Sandy Hook
Serenity
My AIS shows a 66′ foot yacht approaching from my stern.
AIS info transmitted between boats digitally over VHF CH#70
hmmm… 33 feet of beam I think as I wait to snap a photo of this boat with the sunset above. MV Serenity VII is a Lagoon 63 – 4 cabin, crewed power catamaran for charter. You can reserve it here for about 30K/week in the Bahamas if you like? I’d guess the crew are bringing the boat south to the Bahamas for the start of the chartering season.
Red Light District
As the sun sets I swap my salon LED lighting from blue over to red to keep my night vision.
The rest of the trip was a long dark ride to Atlantic City. The sea was calm and I was scheduled to arrive around 4AM. This leg of the journey was 16 hours. I had planned to anchor in Brigantine Bay but it was dead low tide when I arrived and every attempt at getting in the narrow entrance channel ended with the bow slowly riding up on a muddy silty shoal. Being as tired as I was, I simply found a place to drop the hook near the Golden Nugget. The anchor was no sooner set and I curled up on the pilothouse berth and was sound asleep. I plan to wake in 2 hours when the sun comes up and as I have another long 100+ NM day.
W04L003
The 113NM third leg of my Winter 2020 journey looked something like this.
After being awake for 20 hours, I caught about 3 hours sleep before waiting for first light to weigh anchor. Last night’s anchorage served it’s purpose. It was only 10 minutes off my path and was an easy-in / easy-out in the dark.
You can see my track – easy in – easy out
I headed west down Long Island Sound toward NYC. The wind was blowing from the south so the waves were building as they crossed over from Long Island to the Connecticut coast where I was. It made for a choppy wet ride. I decided to cross to the LI side before turning again to the west. This made for a much more comfortable ride heading west.
Demonic Possession
I always set Simple Life’s throttle to 1400 RPM which is 2 gallons/hr burn rate. Depending on the currents I average around 6kts. Doing the math, that’s 3NM to the gallon or about $1/mile. I’ve always thought it’s a pretty inexpensive mode to travel since you are moving you and your 40,000 lb home. However this home might need an exorcism?
Cummins smart craft tachometer showing my 2.0 gal/hr burn rate and 666 gallons burned.
Wait… They don’t go to Heaven?
I cringe when I watch people release mylar ballons to go to heaven in the name of a lost loved one.
They don’t go to heaven
Traffic Jam
At one point I had to change course to take the stern of a tug pushing a barge. I thought maybe I could follow the barge close and let her flatten out the sound but alas at 8.5kts I was burning a lot more fuel and salting up the topsides.
Salt spray was washing my muddy anchor pulpit
I no sooner gave up on following the tug and I was dodging other traffic.
Pilothouse Pleasures
As I plod along I am happy that I am inside on this cold rainy day.
I had left my marina in Warwick, RI on the same day as another B-Dock member, MV Leap of Faith. I had managed to slip ahead of them but not for long as I watched them speed past me.
Girl Power
Soon I pass an overturned sailboat. I think to myself… wow that must be cold as you swim back to the boat and attempt to right it. As I pass I see that it’s two women sailors. I feel a little like a woosie as I wrap a afghan over my feet which feel cold just watching them.
Route Planning
As I get closer to the west end of Long Island Sound I start to plan my upcoming routes. A quick check of the weather tells me I might enjoy the next two nights in a marina rather than anchored at the foot of the Statue of Liberty as planned.
Marina Hideout
I found a great marina called Safe Harbor Capri in Port Washington. I’ve stayed here before and the Dockmaster Rob is very accommodating. Nice place to sit out the wind & rain.
As I pull in there is a dock hand there to catch a line for me. It’s raining hard so I make sure to tip him well. The slips here are large and it looks as if you could dock another boat in my slip right alongside Simple Life.
As I sit and eat some spaghetti I pull out my laptop to renew my EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) with Search & Rescue for the next two years. I have emergency contacts incase it should ever be automatically triggered by a sinking.
As I sit inside, the wind is trying to blow the dog off the chain. I step out and see that as protected as this marina is… there are still waves rocking the boat.
At the end of the video, you see a sailboat on a mooring whose main sail has unfurled and is flogging. Not good.
Man of Leisure
My new Apple Watch gives me a haptic nudge. I glance down and see that all the boats rocking has tricked my watch into thinking I’m exercising. It believes I’ve just had my longest “move streak” to date. I chuckle to myself and think … I’m a man of leisure.
Apple Watch 6 thinks I have my longest move streak
Weather Window
Now checking the weather I can see it’s going to get worse for the next two days but there appears to be a 5-6 day weather window for running the coast starting Tuesday afternoon.
The weather has been very stormy lately. I would have expected all the tropical storm activity to have ceased but even now in November there are storms forming in the Caribbean.
Go With the Flow
I now need to plan my exit to align with an ebbing current in the East River. Throgs Neck Bridge current station is right at the entrance to the East end of the East River. It’s sort of broad there so you don’t expect too strong a current. However, at Hell’s Gate where the East River and the Harlem River come together you can see there is a 4.73kt max current. The last thing I check is the timing of the currents at The Narrows which is just before I duck under the Verrazano bridge and out into the Atlantic Ocean.
W04L002 is in the Books
Leg #2 of my Winter 2020 journey was only 46.4NM and looked something like this.
We departed Port Washington and perfectly timed our arrival to the east end of the East River. We had a fair current giving us a strong push on our stern all the way through the East River and into NYC Harbor.
East River
Once in the East River you come upon Laguardia airport and Rikers Island.
A wee bit further down the East River and you come to an infamous location known as Hell’s Gate. This is where the Harlem River dumps into the East River. Our planning placed us here at max ebb current because it’s a great feeling being pushed in such a strong current.
Buddy was at the helm calmly making helm corrections as quickly as possible to keep the pointy end of the boat pointing in the right direction.
We had planned on spending a couple days in NYC harbor and visiting Manhattan but our weather heading down the NJ coast looked great for the next 38 hours. We had a quick discussion at the helm and decided that we would go offshore. Stopping in NYC would have meant being trapped for the foreseeable forecast.
Sunday 4-6′ Seas
Need to be South of NYC by Sunday
Offshore Voyage to Norfolk, VA
Going offshore to Norfolk would require a helm watch schedule. We like to call it a port & starboard watch meaning that there would be two teams. Team 1 = Buddy & Renee. Team 2 = Marty. When you’re on “helm watch” the other team is relieved of any responsibilities other than to rest up for when your watch starts.
Night watches means keeping an eye out the pilothouse windows for any lights. The moons phase was only a sliver of a crescent and it did not rise till 4AM. We chose a route between 2-3 NM off the coast and that allowed us to see the twinkling lights of shore as we made way south.
For those uninitiated in night watches you will have to become comfortable with staring intently at your radar screen while you push into the blackness. Looking forward out the pilothouse windows all you see is black and the few instrument lights that reflect off the inside of the glass. You’ll need to determine if any of those red, green or white lights are coming from a boat or a buoy. If the light blinks, it’s a buoy. If it’s solid, it’s a boat.
One night I come off watch and lit the underwater lights so I could stand on the stern as the propeller wash boils up from below as the lights of shore pass.
Here is a short video of a boat passing on our starboard side. You can clearly see the other vessel’s red-portside-light as well as it’s white-steaming light. When I zoom in the camera was able to pickup the white water wake in their stern light.
When I left my home port in Warwick, RI, a few fellow boaters, friends were also making the trip south for the winter. MV Ship Happens, a large sport-fishing boat, was heading south and we had been communicating thinking we’d cross paths eventually. I received a photo via text from Capt. Dan and to my surprise it was of MV Simple Life as they zoomed past us. Although MV Ship Happens left port days after us, she has a much faster cruise and eventually overtook us.
Capt. Dan snapped this pic of us on the way past us
During the day we were graced with the presence of whales. I captured a short video of a whale coming to the surface off our starboard side.
Whales off the Jersey Coast
While we were off the coast, our VHF crackled to life with the USCG issuing a securite broadcast about an overdue 43′ Benneteau sailing vessel out of Jamestown, RI called the “Carol K”. They had left before us and were somewhere along the coast with us. We attempted to hail the Carol K but got no response. We hoped that they would be found safe and several days later they were found 100 miles of Cape Henry, VA.
The trip down the busy channel into Norfolk, VA is best done in the daylight. I could tell you a story about nearly getting run over by a warship a few years back but that story is best told over a few beers. 😉
We searched our Aqua Maps charting app for an Active Captain anchorage and found one called “Concrete Ships”. The wind was out of the east but the forecast predicted the wind would clock around to the south and strengthen. This particular anchorage offered the best lee from the wind within the distance we were willing to travel.
My website/blog has a button that you can click to see the real-time location of MV Simple Life. Here are some pics of that my Garmin InReach Satellite communications device makes available to you.
Working our way down the East Coast
Arriving at the Concrete Ships Anchorage
Days past, I have made the trip south from Cape May, NJ to Norfolk, VA by going outside along the coast before. Those times, I had chosen to anchor nightly along the coast. There are few decent anchorages along this stretch of coast. One anchorage I have used before was inside the Great Machipongo Inlet. I recall how tricky getting through the shifting shoals dotting the inlet was. As we passed, I could not help but notice that the latest update of the NOAA charts shows a similar sized vessel to MV Simple Life wrecked on those same shoals. (Me thinks…) I’m happy I bailed on my inlet entry that stormy night.
Ghost Ships
When it comes to ship building there are many hull materials to select from. One such material/method is ferrocement construction. It’s a cheap way to build a hull/boat but has fallen out of favor with the advent of materials such as FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic).
We had arrived at our anchorage with plenty daylight left. We shot some video and snapped a few pics of the ships as we arrived.
Standing on the bow at night in the breeze we were flanked by ghost ships with their ghostly pale white shapes faintly materializing though the inky black of night.
The Uber driver was a software developer who drove Uber on the side. Him and I traded a few techie jokes and he proved to have a wicked sense of humor.
Funny Uber Driver
The next morning we will time our arrival to the East River before 9AM which I’ll detail in the next post.
Along the way the sun came up in the East and since we were heading due West it was directly on our stern.
The boat was running great and it was time to drop the throttle to the pins and see what she’ll run at. I had hoped that she would reach WOT of 2800 but alas we only hit 2700. Proof that the boat is running a bit heavy and we may need to re-pitch the prop in the Spring. I almost did it this Fall but with the moving the ballast around I figured she may run a bit different at WoT (Wide Open Throttle).
2700 RPM ain’t 2800 and maybe re-pitching the prop will fix that.
Along the way we got a “low voltage” alarm at the helm and after troubleshooting it it turned out to be the VSR (Voltage Sensititive Relay) that was not working properly. When you have a boat with 3 battery banks and 2 charging methods (alternator on the diesel & shore power battery charger) you need a VSR that combine the battery banks when there is a charging source (above 13V) and something that disconects the battery bank from the others when it drops below 12V. By isolating the battery bank you prevent all the battery banks from being depleted while allowing a single or multiple sources to charge all the battery banks at once.
Cockpit lazarette power panel. Two VSRs and 3 battery banks.
Anyway.. long story short our VSR was not combining the battery banks and I could use a manual override to force the diesel alternator to charge not just the single 8D battery for the diesel but also the Qnty 3 8D AGM (Acid Gas Mat) house batteries.
By the way. I just replaced those batteries at 160lbs a piece. I needed to be a bit younger. I’m not as strong as I was….
W02L02 (Winter 02, Leg 002) looked something like this…
OK that does not include our nighttime arrival into Port Jefferson, NY (in Long Island).
Even funnier were the dogs. They get nervous when the sea starts to get rough. That said the sea state was smooth but they were just out of practice. Chief Martin Brody was a bit nervous so by sitting on his big sister makes him relax. I’m not sure Happy agrees with this …
That’s all for tonight… I’ve been following the weather and it’s forcing us to run 12 hours days into the night to stay ahead of the NorEasters that are bringing high winds and heavy seas. We just need to get South down the Jersey coast before the Gale Force Wind warnings that are so commonplace during a NE winter…
We are anchored until sunrise @6:38AM on Tuesday. Until then.. this is our view of Port Jefferson..
W02L002 – Leg #2 From Point Judith, RI to Port Jefferson, NY
We left Morris Cove Anchorage at 5:30AM. It was dark, very dark. We had woken up around 4 AM. I had pulled up the anchor, spun the boat around and MV Simple Life started going bow up, bow down. I thought… the winds were not supposed to increase until Thursday afternoon (per the NWS – National Weather Service Gale Warning). In the words of Gordon Lightfoot, “The winds of November came early”. We used our searchlight to spot the buoys on our way out of New Haven Harbor’s channel.
Jay Marques, you asked for video in addition to photos so these links are for you.
Sorry, that video is the lightest of the three I recorded. With the winds out of the south it meant that the 16 mile fetch of water from the NY side to the CT side was making the CT side of the sound lumpy. I heard the VHF radio crackle alive with a tugboat captain complaining that the winds had been honking all night long. Here is a video after the sun came up and we were slogging our way South across Long Island Sound from New Haven, CT to Long Island’s Huntington Bay area.
When Kelly & I first met I had a 1998 35′ Beneteau 352 Oceanis ,S/V Saltyhacker, (I’ll upload a pic of SV Saltyhacker later) that had only a dodger (the see-thru plastic and canvas that covers the companionway opening into the boat. We sold her to a great couple from Canada and bought a 2001 45′ Hunter 450 Center Cockpit. (I’ll upload a pick of SV Skull & Swords later, promise). The Hunter was owned by friends of ours who were living aboard her in Exuma Key, Bahamas and ever since we’ve said someday we’ll spend a few months on anchor there. We loved the Hunter for it’s liveaboardness; for it’s fully enclosed cockpit and interior space but Kelly would often quip that unless we are sitting in the outside cockpit you don’t get to enjoy the scenery. So we decided to buy a new boat that met our mutual demands. Kelly wanted a boat that was easier to move around in (Kelly has a habit of twisting / breaking ankles when underway or simply aboard). After spending 10 hour days at the helm outside and often cold, I was fancy on an enclosed pilot house. In the video above you will just have to imagine as the cold sea spray is hitting the pilothouse windows that I’m sipping my coffee in my PJs at the helm (smile).
Todays trip looked something like this..
As you approach the East-end of LIS you enter into the East River that takes you from the Bronx to the Statue of Liberty. As many times as we have made this trip we still find ourselves taking pictures of the scenery as we go down the river. Below are some of the photos we snapped along the way…
After going by Riker’s Island Jail you pass the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center. This is a 47,000-ton, five-story barge with 800 beds spread over 16 “dormitories” and 100 proper jail cells. At 625 feet in length and 125 feet wide, it also holds a gym, a basketball court, a library, three chapels, a rooftop exercise area
Brooklyn Bridge – built in 1870
Whirly Birds buzz the East River and land just North of Battery March
Water Taxis are everywhere and as a captain you must be alert and ready to dodge them
We timed our trip down the East River to make sure we caught favorable currents that saved us easily an hour during our transit. After arriving in NYC harbor we hailed Liberty Landing Marina and requested our slip assignment. The wind was gusting but an attendant met us at the slip and caught the lines that 1st Mate Kelly threw to him.
MV Simple Life tied off at Liberty Landing Marina
Tomorrow we’ll take the water taxi and find somewhere to grab a IPA & Capt-Pepsi -NFL (No-Flipping-Lime) & a bite. Tonight we’ll just relax 😉
MV Simple Life 
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