New York, New York; June 1, 2011

Left NYC on a smoggy, foggy, humid day 

Statue of soldier carrying wounded at Liberty Park

Ellis Island, a small island in New York harbor off New Jersey coast,
 famous stopping point for  immigrants in the 1900's.

Hazy, crazy, bird-less New York

Captain watching traffic in the busy harbor

Hot and sunny day

Miles of tall buildings

War ship was in port for fleet week. This one was getting ready to pull out.

Coast Guard boats zoomed all around

George Washington double decker Bridge

More hills and trees further away from the city, but still lots of buildings

Barge pulling squashed cars - probably from Mr. R's  

Tappan Zee bridge had a net covering the underside in the center 

Scenery was gradually changing to steep cliffs with trees on the west side

Back yard for the night

Link to anchorage north of NYC via Google Maps

Statue of Liberty; May 31, 2011

Lady Liberty - Beautiful !

This is the first time we have seen the Statue of Liberty - here are a few factoids we learned:

• Crown has 7 rays for the 7 seas
• Torch is for light because if darkness is eliminated, fear is gone
• Right foot is raised and on the move - not standing still - always moving forward
• Left food tramples chains of tyranny and slavery
• And our personal favorite...(drum roll plz) her 25 foot long sandal is US shoe size 879 ! lol

Security making itself known -
only tour boats are allowed to get close

The free anchorage is on the Lady's backside
Link to anchorage behind Statue of Liberty via Google Maps

NYC on the Hudson River

Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge from 3 miles away
Suspension bridge connects Staten Island and Brooklyn

Its the longest suspension bridge span in the United States

Here's a pilot boat taking a harbor pilot out to meet a visiting ship.
The local pilot takes command of the ship because of his local knowledge of the waters. 

Just one of the many ships you see in a busy harbor

Staten Island Ferry's were hauling back and forth

This ship is for transporting other vessels.
It lowers beneath the water until the ship is over it and then  comes up.

Several lighthouses marked the shoals along the New York Bay

We've seen lots of buoy's, but these had big bells clanging with the swells to mark the channel -
probably because of the perpetual haze in NYC !

New Jersey / New York water border; May 28, 2011

Link to anchorage in Sandy Hook Bay

Sandy Hook is a barrier peninsula - 7 miles long
Entering from the ocean, you can see the Manhattan skyline on the north
 The Highlands are on the south and are highest point on the entire eastern seaboard

Our anchorage in Sandy Hook Bay looking north

Jersey Shore right after heading into the Atlantic

Swells were a gentle 2-3 feet
We love the ocean

NYC we're coming there next - clear up the smog plz

On the beach in Jersey; May 27, 2011

The next part of our journey takes us into the Atlantic Ocean along the Jersey shore to NYC.

While we wait for a travel day of seas less than 5 feet, we had a plan.

A small island the locals call "Treasure Island" was perfect for beaching Lollygag.

At high tide, we pulled over the beach and dropped bow and stern anchor's.

In the morning we were completely aground.

Anchor's on shore

Depth sounder transducer got a good cleaning

Hot sunny day was perfect for a swim

First time Lollygag has been out of the water in over a year.
Glad to report everything looked good.

Fogged in; May 26, 2011

Weaving our way through fishing boats in the channel.
We were hoping the fog would lift before getting into the ocean.

Fog was worse outside of the channel. Can you see the boats?

We turned around - you can see the breakwater in the distance.
Coming in, a local fisherman gave us a thumbs up and said, "Good decision."

Manasquan NJ; May 25, 2011

2,000 miles on the Loop so far!!

Looking forward to the next 3,000 +

Friendly people in Jersey! Big hug for all the help.

Good Luck Point Marina

Great marina with cheerful people that went out of their way to be helpful. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Entering the Point Pleasant Canal which takes you to the Manasquan River and the inlet to the Atlantic Ocean you need to continue traveling north.

These escape ladders were seen throughout the 2 mile canal.
Guess its the only way out if you fall overboard 

Leaving the canal into the Manasquan River

Anchored for the night.

Link to anchorage on the Manasquan River via Google Maps

North of Atlantic City, NJ; May 22, 2011

Link to anchorage in sight of Atlantic City via Google Maps

Close as we want to get to Atlantic City, but its pretty at night

Traveling north today we went through bigger towns that were closer together. 

There were several low bridges that had to be opened even with our masts down.

Waterway went right through Atlantic City

Houses built over water is strange to see

row, row, row your boat

Yellow triangle on buoy shows you are in the right channel -
sometimes it gets confusing