It's me, Matthew again. Today I woke up and checked my Imperial Star Destroyer to see if any pieces were on the floor and it was perfectly fine. Then I moved it back into my room and the back bottom of it broke off. It took me about 15 minutes to fix it. After it was fixed I put a place mat on the table (a special place mat that when you put them on the table your silverware and plates will not slide around). I put the Star Destroyer on the place mat and took removable cockpit off and placed it on another place mat. After that I went back into my bunk and cleaned up a little. Then I had breakfast, many pancakes and bacon. I baked the pancakes myself with chocolate chips and syrup. Then I helped Nana wash the dishes. Then I played with the Star Destroyer again. Then we arrived at Port Jeff. I was amazed at how fast we got there. In Port Jeff I floated around in the dink and then I helped Grandpa put in the depth meter in the dink and went around the boat to see how deep it was. Next we went to the beach with Nana and I got to drive the dink. I went swimming and found some interesting shells. We lost sight of Grandpa around the corner of the island so Nana and I went hunting for Grandpa. We found him. Then I went swimming some more and I drove the dink on dink ride and then went back to the boat. Next it was time for Grandpa and Nana's wine and cheese so I had to sit and think of something to do. I ate lots of cheese. We had steak, macaroni and corn with salsa sauce. Then after dinner I identified the shells we found. Then I went back in the dink. We are now watching the sunset.

You can follow our progress on Google maps at Maine cruise.

Today we left Newport Marina and saw the Statue of Liberty and went through a place called Hell Gate and saw a whirlpool. Then we finally got into Long Island Sound. After that we motored down Long Island Sound for about three hours and I steered the boat at the wheel for about 1/2 hour! I played my gameboy for 2 hours after lunch and then we came into Northport. We got into the dink and motored to the beach and went swimming. We found a jellyfish and Nana captured it but let it go later. We also saw a dead horseshoe crab. Then I went swimming again and motored back to the boat. I got to steer the dink back to the boat, it was fun! On the boat I read some more of "The Day My Butt Went Psycho" to page 42. I then identified the shells I picked up off the beach with Nana's help. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and I had a second helping, it was good. I then played my gameboy until now. Goodnight, Matthew.

Here's a link to a map showing our progress and where the Sand City anchorage is located. Sand City Anchorage The anchorage is always calm and protected from all directions except from the south. Even then there's not much fetch and it's never crowded. There's a sand beach at the park to the west for swimming.

Hello again, mateys. Today started out in the anchorage place. The first thing I did after I woke up was work some more on my Imperial Star Destroyer. About 1/2 hour after that it was finished. Then we went down the Hudson River some more and I drove the boat for about 1/2 hour and crossed under the George Washington bridge. I took four pictures of the Empire State Building. After that we docked at Newport Marina and watched Ice Age II, "The Meltdown" on the computer. Halfway through we paused to go to the South Side Grill restaurant. I had shrimp and pasta. The shrimp was spicy but it was good along with the pasta. Then we headed back to the boat and after that we found the marina office closed for the night where I left my lifejacket! I'll check in the morning to get my lifejacket back. In the while before that I fell into the drink. I was getting into the back of the dinghy with my feet in the water and I slipped in. Good thing the dinghy and the boat was right next to me and I had my lifejacket on. My wallet was soaked as well. My Grandpa pulled me out. After that I had to take a shower to wash down. After that we watched the rest of the movie. I went to the mall to find a Target or Walmart but could not find either one. I did go to KB Toys but I didn't buy anything. Goodbye, Matthew

That's the Empire State Building in the background. Matthew came up on deck and said, "Wow!

We came out of the Haverstraw Cove anchorage at 2.1 feet above low tide but still saw a low depth reading of 7.5 feet at the bar outside the anchorage (marked 5.3 feet at low tide on the chart). With the experience of last night and this morning, I'll revised the low tide reading on the chart from 5.3 feet to 4.5 feet. Perhaps the bar silted in over during the winter. We had thunderstorms come through during the night and swung 360 several times but the holding is good in mud and the anchor never faltered. We reached Newport Marina by noon and docked without incident. The charge per foot is only $2.40. The attraction is the area, the marina only has bathrooms, washers and driers and the docks. We ate at the restaurant Matthew referred to above, very nice meal. There's a mall within walking distance that is enormous and there are rail connections to New York City. We found another lifejacket for Matthew if the marina office doesn't open early enough in the morning. We'll have to leave around 7:30 in the morning to catch a favorable tide through Hell Gate and shoot for the Sand City anchorage at Northport. Regards, Bob

At Haverstraw Cove

Today I steered the boat for several hours. I used the remote control. It didn't have speed on it but it had turning buttons. Nana helped me as well. After that I got back to work on my Imperial Star Destroyer but I have not finished it yet. I believe it will take another day to finish it. Also I took Nana out in the dinghy and rode around but Nana wouldn't row, I had to do all the rowing, poor me. I saw 41 ducks in our anchorage area. We heard thunder but there was no thunderstorm. Then I worked on my Imperial Star Destroyer again. And here I am writing some more of the blog. The End and I will write some more tomorrow. Matthew.

Well, just to set the record straight, Matthew had plenty of rest too! And he had great fun with the dighy although we always kept the painter attached to the boat.

We specialize in reaching anchorages at dead low tide. The more we could use a little leeway, the more exacting we are about arriving at dead low. Today was no different. We got off from PYC around 10:00 against the tide and wind (of course!) and started our entrance in the Haverstraw Cove (see first blog) within 2 minutes of low tide. I draw 5.0 feet and I saw 5.3 feet outside the entrance using the GPS route in the first blog. However, I should have seen more since the low tide was actually 0.7 above the chart datum. Oh well, I had no problem getting in. Once over the bar, the entrance by the red roof building is 12 feet or more and we're anchored in 20 feet of water (turn to port after the entrance). We saw whitecaps in the bay but it's perfectly calm here and protected 360 degrees. Tomorrow we're headed for Newport Marina early and hope to avoid the storms from the cold front coming down.

On the Boat at PYC

We made it to the boat around 3:00 after a LOT of packing and one trip back home to pick up several items we forgot. However, we didn't forget Matthew, our grandson, who will start his first blog now:


Hello. My name is Matthew. I'm going to be writing a blog this summer about our voyage down the Hudson River to Long Island Sound and up to Maine. I'm on my Grandparent's boat, Fleetwing. Today we saw my Great grand mother, Gram Gram. She is 99 years old. Then we went to Poughkeepsie Yacht Club and moved our clothes and food onto Fleetwing. I started to build Lego's Imperial Star Destroyer. After dinner, we saw a mother duck with 11 babies. I fed them 2 slices of bread. The babies hogged the bread. After that I read my new book, "The Day My Butt Went Psycho." And now here I am writing my blog . Goodnight!

Well, we've been reintroduced to 9 year-old humor. He laughed and laughed while reading his book. We'll leave tomorrow around 10:00 or so and be in the Haverstraw Cove for the night.

Bob