Taurus Great Loop

 

This morning we took one last cruise as part of our Great Loop experience. We left Port Washington on Long Island Sound and made our way to our home marina. The Long Island Sound was fairly flat and the current was pushing us, so we made good time.  The water looks so blue!  I didn’t remember the Sound having such blue water.  But compared to some of that river water we saw … We saw a tow, which we don’t remember seeing in the Sound in this configuration before. Usually we see the tows here pulling the barges, but this one was pushing them.  A tow pushing a barge We also saw a lighthouse out in the middle of the water; it’s marking a shoal. And here’s Taurus all tucked into its own home slip And now it’s time for some reflections.   Deb Our first day on the Great Loop adventure was June 26, 2021. Looking back, there was so much we had to learn. We had never done a lock, we were in different marinas almost every night. That means a different way of tying our line...

This morning we left the marina and went to see if we could get pictures of Taurus with the Statue of Liberty, as there was too much traffic yesterday.  Can you see the tiny white boat at the base of the Statue?  That’s Taurus! As we left NYC, we got back on the East River (remember Hell Gate?). We had a very strong current coming right at us, so our progress was slow. We should have been moving at 8 knots, but were only moving at 6 knots, then 3.5 knots. Boats going the other direction were flying with a three knot current pushing them! The red and green buoys had large wakes - in place. Other than that, Hell Gate was not a problem.  Thank goodness. We passed by the center of NYC - we saw the Empire State and the Chrysler Buildings.  Brooklyn Bridge and Hell Gate Chrysler Building on the left Empire State Building in the middle This building looks like it's going to fold in half And a tall ship This is the Throgs Neck Bridge.  It is the division between the Eas...

Today is special because we completed the Great Loop at the Statue of Liberty. It was 11 months ago that we started the Loop with our 6 year old grandson. Today we “crossed our wake” meaning that we have completed the Great Loop.   Here’s where we started the Loop in 2021 And today This morning at 6:00am, we left Cape May to take the ocean route to New York Harbor which is where we started the Great Loop 11 months ago.  The Atlantic Ocean had 3-4 ft. swells. Fortunately, we were traveling directly into the swells. Then later this afternoon, the winds died down and we had 1-2 ft. swells.  And no, I didn’t get seasick 😃  This morning’s sunrise Look how blue the ocean is! We passed by Atlantic City And the Captain drove from the inside at the lower helm.  It’s harder to see around the boat down there, but we were more comfortable.  The water was splashing up on the fly bridge on top of the boat, not to mention being very uncomfortable.   Liberty Har...

Our next leg of this Great Loop journey is for Taurus to pass through New Jersey. Cape May is the southernmost tip of the state. In order to do this, we must travel on the “outside” (in the Atlantic Ocean) due to the ICW being too shallow for our 4.5 ft draft (waterline to the absolute bottom of the boat - in our case - the propellers).  According to locals, you’ll be lucky if the depth of the NJ ICW is 3 ft. Apparently, the State of New Jersey doesn’t dredge the ICW as the other states do.  Now, if you have been reading this blog, you are probably aware that the Atlantic Ocean and I are not on good terms. Every single time, personal vessel and cruise ships, as soon as the boat turns into the Atlantic, I get seasick.  So I am not looking forward to tomorrow.  The plan is to leave the dock at 6:00 am.  The weather is calling for wind at 10-15 knots with 20 knot gusts, out of the north, and 2-3 ft swells. We have 144 miles to travel.   But, if all goes well, ...