My new boat:) I am now at Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor:)

Garffin · #1 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

Hi all and thanks again for the info. I left yesterday from Collage pt. Queens at around 8:45 heading south. My first night from oyster bay I made it to Hells gate but decide to go back to collage pt. and what for day and the tide. I tied up at night at some working broken down landing just west of the airport. I stayed there one night then moved to collage pt. I stayed at collage pt. for one night then left at around 9 ish heading south. I made it through Hells Gate with no problems spent a few hours at Liberty Landing Marine talking to a guy name John from Canada on a 35' sail who was trying to get 4 new batteries. He had so much gear. Solar,wind gen,a gen. set, etc.... Man by my being poor and not being able to buy all the gear I want and or need sure keeps it simple. I hung out with John until his battiers got there then took off at around 1ish heading south through the narrows toward Sandy Hook. As soon as I felt the wind I put the sails up and took off. I had to motor alot through the narrows just in order to keep from being run over. LOL Alot of big traffic out there. I sailed along the western shore of NJ until around 4:30 ish. I lost track of time and forgot that I needed to be on anchor by night. I then started my track toward the southern point of Sandy Hook. Now this is where a chart could and would have saved me a potently bad experience. There is this long pier sticking way out just west of Highlands Marine. I thought that it might be a working dock or State dock so I headed toward it. I did see the red buoy and green buoys east of it and so I made my track really close to this dock. As I got closer to it thought that it looked a lot like a navy sub. thing that I use to see up in Hood canal in Puget Sound. Any no subs or Ships in it but as I got just east of it out comes two young guys in a very fast boat with all the bells and whistles going off. Anyway I found the white buoys with a little escort from some very happy navy kids who thought that I was crazy for trying to take a boat such as Cloud down to NC. They could have used deadly force they told me. I told them thank God I just ate some Spam and felt like dying hehe. They didn't laugh. So now I plain on waiting for Sunday to try the outside run. Oh one more thing. As soon as I pulled out of Collage pt. My outboard died. Lucky for me I quickly cut the line from the fuel filter bypassed it and it started right back up. I am getting a new one right now from Napa here in town. I have pics. On my laptop I should try and upload them. I do have one old NE waterway book with a few maps in it. It helps to show where the marines are for the most part. Thanks alot guys Dan
One more thing! The Statue of Liberty and all the sights from the water almost made me forget what I was doing a few times. All I can say about the view of Manhattan and all is WOW!

JohnRPollard · #2 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

Dan,

Good to hear from you.

Wait for a decent weather window before heading down the Jersey coast, alright?

And try to get hold of some updated charts! They are well worth the cost.

Garffin · #3 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

I am going to try now to upload the pics. I wish I could log in everyday just to say yes so far so good but it’s sort of tough without a dingy. The guys at the marinas don’t like for me to park for free.  I understand but I would just like to park for a few hours in order to internet ect… I’m lucky today that I am getting a new filter for the outboard so they are letting me stay tied up until around 1ish. Eian from the marina gave me a lift in to town to get the filter. I ordered it from Napa will get it today. So I have a few hours to get some food and talk to some folks about my run down NJ. I am thinking that if the weather is good on Sat or Sun. I will head out. When I got out into the Lower Bay under sail yesterday it felt so good to see out into the Atlantic. I can’t wait to feel them swells under my boat.  Oh one thing that did happen to me that was funny when I left was heading toward Hells Gate the first night from Oyster Bay is that I had my Main sail up while I was motoring when all of a sudden the sail came down. Not good. When I headed back into Collage pt. at night, I found a half-sunken dragger of some sort with two big aft steel towers sticking up out of the water. I pulled up tied off, climbed up with a gaff in my hand reached all the way up standing on top of this thing and reached my clip for the main. I was the able to pull it down. I have now started to zip tie the clip so that it will not come loose. I think by my motoring with no wind and the main flapping around somehow caused it to become unclipped. Anyway my mast is about 35’ off the water. So it was a little sketchy but I got it done lucky that I didn’t have to climb a piling.

Garffin · #4 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

I had to make a face book accout and upload pics there. I need to find a way to post pics. sorry about wrong url. My face book is Dan Yarbrough

Garffin · #5 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

Or garffdan@gmail.com seeya

hellosailor · #6 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

"They could have used deadly force they told me."
See now, that's gonna happen when you use the Exxon road map instead of the NOAA charts that show the restricted areas which have become so common these days. There are MANY places, some limitary, some government, some simply designated as "target rich" like the UN or monuments, and if you come too close, you can expect to be boarded or worse.

CalebD · #7 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

Dan,
You can download those booklet charts that JRP linked you to some time ago. Once downloaded you do not need to be connected to the internet to review them.
Glad to hear you had fun getting through NYC. I would not have wanted to spend a night that close to LaGuardia airport either. Way too many flights and Riker's Island jail is right nearby.
The traffic in NY Harbor is quite busy.
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING...
The winds should be out of the north by Sunday and Monday.
Keep checking in as you make progress.

cb32863 · #8 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

Great to hear things are going relativly well for you so far. A little adventure going on, nice. Keep us posted.

deniseO30 · #9 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

Dan, Many of us use photobucket for uploading pics Hope your not "lost at sea"!!! No charts?

lapworth · #10 (**permalink**) 10-30-2009

They should have 7-11 on the water then you would know when to hang a right of the ocean and get a cup of coffee. Good luck and keep posting.