We went as far as Catskill, NY, stayed a couple of days at Catskill Marina and were Cat'n Around Catskill - a Quadrientennial Celebration with over 59 "Cats" along Main Street. It was fun!! We did not continue farther up the Hudson due to a week of predicted showers and thunderstorms.

We once again passed by "Lady Liberty" and up the East River against the current, scary but we made it. We met very good friends on "Spindrift" at Mattituck Inlet on Long Island Sound for the weekend of July 25, arrived home Sunday afternoon on July 26. We recommend the cruise to anyone or even a train ride along the "Hudson."

The Hudson is the Intracoastal Waterway with shallow depth and crab pots, Maine without the lobstra pots. The Palisades were stunning and the Tappan Zee which translates roughly from Indian and Dutch as "sea of cold springs," was a sailing delight. The area of Bear Mountain Bridge had beautiful mountains which made our cruise both a new adventure and a renewal course in the 400 year old history of the Hudson River. We were especially thrilled to view West Point from our own sailboat along with all the history and scenic discoveries.

We left homeport on July 15 to Greenwich. Anchorage had planes, trains and a fleet of 50 or more Wednesday night racers which skimmed on either side of "Sunset." Left the next morning to cruise one of our favorite rivers - East River - then up the Hudson River, our first time. We saw the new home of "The Concord," which had passed us in New York Harbor on a barge in October 2008.

The wind creased, the water temp was 77 degrees, the air temp was 94 degrees and the humidity over the top. We pulled into
Tarrytown Marina just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge and grilled dinner in a gazebo overlooking the Hudson River and a sunset.

We've washed "Sunset" and taken showers and are headed for an anchorage in Haverstraw, NY to continue our adventure of new places, new friends and the challenge of very little water on the shores of the Hudson.

We are HOME! We left Norfolk, VA on Easter Sunday after attending a Sunrise Service right where we were docked in Portsmouth, VA, a beautiful old historic town.

We fought wind and waves up Chesapeake Bay and took on a ton of water over the bow, which ended up in the bilge. After that our jouney up the Bay was made in a record-breaking three stops to the C & D Canal. A fast trip down Delaware Bay - Rod took scary shortcuts - and we arrived at Cape May. Determined to go home, we left the next morning for Atlantic City. Our favorite place is Caesar's Pier Shops with an incredible Water Show with music and all the bells and whistles. We chanced it and made the 79 nautical mile run for Sandy Hook the next day. Arriving in time to hunker down for a wicked nasty April 20. Winds gusting to 30+ knots, waves 4 feet or more in an anchorage with a breakwater. The wind forced out all 155 feet of chain and broke the snubber and we were scared it would break the rope rode. We woke to fog, grabbed a mooring and headed for New York City at noon. We saw the "Lady" for the fourth time and up the East River which we love. Secured a slip at City Island which we were curious about. Wow, everything is very expensive, restaurants all over the place and all seemed to be owned by "Sammy." Like kids waiting for Christmas, we anxiously awaited morning and were on our way HOME at 6:30 am on April 22, 2009. It was a great adventure, wonderful people, wildlife and we totaled 3,112 miles and our fuel cost exceeded our 2006-2007 trip by a small amount. This is our last trip South, but already looking forward to a trip up the Hudson River.

We forgot to record one of the highlights of our trip - we watched the launch of Discovery. We were less than two miles away and it was totally awesome!! It was sunset and the burn from the missel was a golden color, needless to say, we were thrilled.

We arrived at Elizabeth City, NC to tie up at a free dock and called a van to come pick up us to do reprovisioning for the trip home. Yes, believe it or not we still ran out of some supplies, like snacks. Great place, everything free and really friendly people who go out of their way to help.

We made the trip through Dismal Swamp Canal on April 10. We were the only boat transitting the Canal. When we got to the last Lock, the Lock Master, Robert and his dog U-turn greeted us. Robert played our Conch horn in November and again this time. He also allowed us to wait in the Lock so that we could make the next Swing Bridge in Norfolk after the restricted time. He is knowledgable about the Dismal Swamp Canal and told us some very interesting facts - we enjoyed our stay with him. We proceeded on and arrived in Portsmouth, VA at another free dock. The town is delightful and has a beautiful "Olde Towne Historic District."

We've checked with the Coast Guard for weather conditions in Hampton Roads (last time was a nightmare) and we leave April 12, Easter Sunday for the Chesapeake Bay - headed for home!!

We are heading north, made it safely thru Georgia - moving only at high tide because of the "skinny" water. We had a wonderfun time in Charleston, SC - a carriage ride with Jim as our guide and "Carter and Cash" as our mules, a great learning experience. We have encountered fishermen with nets that we had to maneuver
aound, saw Eagles, Ospreys and Gannets all the while Dolphins were racing along side of us.

Approaching Barefoot Landing we had a Skull crew from Williams College pull away from us (we were just being courteous). We stopped at Barefoot Landing a unique mall and super good California Pizza (we missed having pizza). Had a great time and left in the rain for Southport Marina. We are hanging out to avoid some nasty rainey weather, but headed north as fast as possible.