Heading for the Hudson

 "Chrisy, where are my blue jeans?" Oh, that's right - they are on Egret.  It must be time to leave because we don't have anything left in the house.   

We are ready to head off on the Loop. At least we better be ready because we leave tomorrow.  Our to-do list has turned into a to-done list.  Our laptops, phones, iPads, earbuds, drone, and toothbrush have been charged and are ready to go.  The refrigerator and freezer will be filled tomorrow, and then we are off.  

Our last project was to install an awning over the cockpit area.  We are really happy with how it came out.  It is like having an extra room on the boat.

A few of our other projects were to install new reading lights in the master cabin and to install new carpet throughout the interior.

The engine got a complete check-up which included new coolant, new transmission oil and filter, new engine oil and filter, new fuel filter, and a new raw water impeller.  The generator got a similar once over.  We've loaded up on spare parts.  We have enough fuel and oil filters for the first four changes and we even brought the oil for the first change. I'm not too sure how fast we will burn through the zincs so we have a bunch of those.  Fuses, impellers, and random parts recommended by the dealer fill out the list.  It may be a dream, but the goal is to be "unstoppable."

We also have plenty of food, but one of the nice things about the Loop is that there are plenty of places along the way to reprovision.

Our first leg takes us down Long Island Sound to the Niantic River where our friends, Steve and Margot, have a dock that can handle Egret.  Tough to beat free.  But more importantly, a chance for us to spend an evening with good friends! Thanks, Steve and Margot!!

After Niantic, we will continue down the Sound and into the East River and NYC.  We built in an extra day on our schedule so we are not too sure where that will be.  

We are violating the cruising maxim that "the most dangerous thing to have onboard is a schedule" and we made reservations at several marinas going up the Hudson River.  There's a ton of cruising traffic headed up the Hudson at this time of year.  It's pretty much of a funnel point for those who are on the Great Loop.  There are also rumors of some striper fishing contests.  So we didn't want to test our luck and show up at the only marina in 30 miles at 3pm and have them tell us that they're sold out.  Anchoring in the Hudson is not a terribly desirable backup plan.  The current actually reverses almost all the way to Albany - who knew? Reversing current is not fun to anchor in.  

Two years of planning and talking turn into action tomorrow.