1983 (9) - South to the Chesapeake

Motoring past Manhattan.  The Twin Towers are standing in the background.

To go to the beginning of this book, Tropic Moon: Memories, click HERE.

We made a late start heading south from Maine, not leaving till October 1st.  We did an overnight sail to Provincetown, MA, then put in for a week of visiting with our friends on Nantucket.  We had decided to head to the Chesapeake Bay for the winter, and to travel along the coast, as neither of us was interested in an offshore passage in late October weather.  That meant taking "the long way around," but it brought us to new harbors, and gave us an intensive course in coastal navigation. 

Cruising down the East River.

* * *

Approaching Manhattan.

Highlights from that trip:  Day sails along the Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut shores into Long Island Sound.  Sixty miles of night sailing through Long Island Sound with favorable current and reasonable weather, deciphering the myriad lights of buoys, lighthouses, shore side lights, and the navigation lights of night-time shipping.  

Ed at the wheel.  It was cold - Ed's wearing his
wool watch cap, and a wool scarf around his neck.

***

It was a special day for us!

Reaching New York City, and cruising down the East River, enjoying an exciting day of traveling along the famous concrete world of Manhattan.  

Looking back at the bridges, and the way we'd come.

***

The Statue of Liberty!

Passing the Statue of Liberty on our way to northern New Jersey.  An overnight sail down the Jersey Coast past the bright lights of Atlantic City.  

Motoring through the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.

A day trip up the Delaware Bay and through the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.  And, at long last, reaching Annapolis in the Chesapeake Bay on October 31st.  

Oxford Boatyard.  The marina where Tropic Moon spent the winter.

In Annapolis, we checked for dock space for the winter, without any luck.  We moved on, and found a good marina for Tropic Moon in Oxford, Maryland.