Weeeeeee're back, "my friends".

Dear Friends,
It has been a while since we posted on this blog, so open an adult beverage, sit down and get caught up. Since we last reported here, we have laughed, cried, worried, worked, rested and voted. There’s a lot to report, so, here's the cliff notes...............
Sadly, Vicki’s father passed away on October 25 after a long illness. Fortunately, we were able to spend some quality time with him and Avie, Vicki’s mom, two weeks before. Vicki is back in Tucson now helping her mom with all the arrangements and Norm is with Tide Hiker in Annapolis attending to some much needed, long overdue and previously-contracted electrical upgrades. Shortly, Norm will join Vicki and her family in Tucson for the memorial service on Nov 13. With all that has been happening, our long-awaited and desperately needed rest from retirement was extended. If all goes as scheduled, we will return to Tide Hiker on November 15 for the continuation of our journey to warmer climes. In the meantime, both of us completed our annual medical checkups and except for our weight gain, we got clean bills of health. Norm successfully installed the new water heater with some initial heavy lifting help from friends Jerry and Roger on Dock B. Thanks guys!! Vicki re-provisioned the galley and household items. The freezer, and every dry goods nook and cranny, and most importantly, the spirits locker is once again stocked with sustenance for 4-months. BTW, we would not have been able to do this easily were it not for our friends.

My brother Mike said, and I repeat, "If wealth were measured by family and friends, I am a rich man." So are we. We have been inundated with never-ending love, generosity, compassion, comarade and.................great food and spirits! Our friends loaned us a car for the month, helped us with maintenance; scared a transient boater out of a slip so we could return to Dock B and be close; stored some of our provisions while we were in Maine this summer; helped Norm bring Tide Hiker to Annapolis then returned the following weekend to make sure he was not lonely and was appropriately fed; hosted several lunches, dinners, parties for us; and, arranged secure and scenic dockage in Annapolis at significant savings. Also, friends on a DeFever like ours stopped by our marina and we, you guessed it, dinned with them a couple of times, including picking some crabs. We are blessed with so many great friends we have been confused for John and Cindy McCain. Yes, we breakfasted, lunched, suped and snacked our way back into their huge open hearts and enjoyed every last bite, ooops, I mean minute of it. Most importantly, we reconnected, got caught up and laughed, sometimes till it hurt. Thanks to each and every one of you for your love and generosity. And again, each one of you are invited to join us aboard Tide Hiker for a part of our cruise. You are very hard to leave again and we’ll be looking forward to seeing you soon.
What’s next? We will continue our journey to North Carolina and meet up with friends Rick and Lynnie aboard their DeFever and buddy boat south to the Keys; to the DeFever Rendezvous in Ft Myers; and, on to the Bahamas. More later, my friends.

Land Ho!

We'll be home (Delaware) this afternoon. Yea! We've missed everyone. We're looking forward to being Land Lubbers for a few weeks.

A new water heater has been ordered. The old one was corroded and leaking from the bottom. That means no hot water on the boat until the new one is installed sometime after we return from Tucson. Until then we'll shower at the marina, do laundry using the marina machines and (most aggravating) do dishes by hand, heating water in the microwave.

Fortunately for the Dock B neighbors, we were able to shower last night at the marina in Cape May.

Good news - Vicki's hair stylist, the wonderful Lorraine, will do Vicki's hair Sunday so that she won't frighten Mom and Dad on the trip to Tucson next week.

The Calendar

We're in Atlantic City NJ - almost to Delaware. Two more cruise days. We'll arrive Saturday afternoon. Just checked the weather and there is a small craft advisory today due to wind (15 knots, gusting to 25), so we'll stay put rather than punish ourselves for the 6 hour trip to Cape May. Tomorrow and Saturday look like fabulous days on the water, so we'll take advantage of them. Unfortunately, this means that Vicki will have to cancel her Saturday haircut and color which she really wanted to get before going to Tucson to see Mom and Dad. We hop on the plane Monday and return Saturday, Oct 11. Then we're in Delaware through at Oct 22. Hoping to get to Annapolis at the end of that week to have Bob Smith beef up our electrical system (more power to the people).


Another DeFever (53 RPH) is cruising with us. Joe Nekolo aboard Sea Pearl dropped anchor next to us at Sandy Hook. We introduced ourselves on the radio and he dinghied over with Salty Dog, his very cute and laid-back puppy. We're buddy boating to Delaware and he's going on to Annapolis for an engagement and then on down to Florida, so we may be able to travel together again. Yesterday we......

.....News flash... Norm just emerged from the engine room saying that he thinks the hot water heater is shot. He heard the bilge pump working this morning and went to investigate a leak in the in the hot water heater. I'm not sure what the implications of this are other than we may be a little ripe when we arrive in Delaware!

Yesterday we strolled the boardwalk of Atlantic City and gave Donald Trump a wee bit of money. Joe cooked us a scrumptious feast of linguini and Long Island Sound clams in red sauce. He'll be here tonight for meatloaf. (Guess you can tell who's more the gourmet.) Today we're going to Harrah's to try to cover the maintenance expenses of this trip or at least the cost of a new water heater.

Hi Ya, Kids, Hi Ya, Hi Ya...We're back...........

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail.......prevented us from enjoying our forced (ho-hum) stayover in the Big Apple. We took in a couple of broadway shows, we ate, we shopped, we relaxed. Wow, what a great vacation from retirement. The weather broke today and we cruised a short distance to Sandy Hook, NJ for refueling. Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina, here, is known for their great fuel prices on the East Coast; so, we filled her up. We had not taken on fuel since Southwest Harbor in Maine on July 5 and our tanks were down about half.

We are currently anchored inside the municipal breakwater here in Sandy Hook. Soon after our arrival, another 49ft DeFever Pilot House arrive and anchored not too far away. Joe and Salty Dawg (a cute poodle) dinghyed over and we chatted a bit. We will try to "buddy boat" tomorrow to Atlantic City--a 12-hour run from here.

All is well!!

Vicki Goes A-Paddling!! / The Big APPLE

Vicki Goes A-Paddling!!

Vicki inaugurated her new kayak at Oyster Bay, NY. And Norm took a spin in it too. Vicki paddled over to town and picked up a Sunday New York Times so we could get up to date on the news and to prepare for "doin" the town. Oyster Bay is a must see anchorage just off the Northern shores of Long Island Sound (just as the last three have been). Again, it is a lovely, quiet harbor with plenty of room to anchor and good holding.

The BIG APPLE

It was another great ride from Oyster Bay to NYC, although a bit overcast. We timed slack at Hell Gate just right after a 3-hour cruise from Oyster Bay. However, we did not expect the US Coast Guard escort as we passed the United Nations complex on the East River. Seems the president of Iran was there and the security was tight. I can't pronounce his name, but Vicki says that Oprah uses "I'm-A-Dinner-Jacket" and that sounds about right for us. Anyway, we were being closely watched by armed coastguardmen. That 50 cal. gun on the bow was a bit threathening. We survived the escort, though, and continued into NYC harbor amongst all the ferrys and work boats and on into our marina.

The view of Manhattan from Liberty Landing Marina is spectacular. We’re looking at the melt-down area – the financial district at the southern tip of Manhattan. I could probably see the Chase building from here if I knew how to identify it. The view is even more spectacular at night when the

skyscrapers light up. The boat on the left is a 142 yacht that takes up the entire outside facing dock. We've chatted with the crew a couple of times but have not seen the owners. The bow of that yacht appears to be taller than our flying bridge--perhaps 20 ft or so.

Tuesday's venture was over to Ellis Island and then broadway for dinner and a play. Ate at Becco’s which was recommended by friend Nancy and was fabulous – the food was excellent, but the big draw is a huge wine selection at $25 per bottle.

Wednesday, we hit broadway again for lunch and a matinee; then, we scurried home to meet a fellow DeFever owner living on his boat in this marina. Matt Bryne joined us for cocktails Tuesday evening. Matt had posted an email inviting other members of the DeFever Cruisers Association to stop by when cruising through NYC. He’s a lovely person and has been outstandingly helpful with restaurant recommendations (notably Café de Bruxelles) and tips and directions on how to get around NYC--most importantly, how to get back to the marina late at night. We had a great evening getting to know Matt.

We were scheduled to depart Liberty Landing Marina on Thursday (yesterday). Unfortunately, the seas along the Jersey Coast were 6-12 ft and are expected to be that way until Monday. So we negotiated a "weekly rate" with the marina and decided to wait out the weather here. On to manhattan for some shopping. We had lunch at Cafe de Bruxelles in Greenwich Village. Excellent for mussels, trout, and the best french fries (or do you say pommes frites?) in the city. We shopped at Century 21, the discount dept store near the World Trade Center site. It was packed with people at 2:00 Thursday afternoon –aren’t these people supposed to be working?

The storm came in last night – it will be rainy and windy all day, so today is a work day for us – cleaning and projects on the boat.

Hotbed of Coopers

Friday we dinghied into Sag Harbor and caught the bus to Southampton to hobnob with the beautiful people. Southampton was a hotbed of Coopers in the 1600s-1700s! Vicki’s ancestor, John Cooper, who came from England was a founder of Southampton. Yes, this is the same John Cooper who started at Lynn Massachusetts where he was one of the town officials to sign the document that planted the town of Southampton,and he was among the first 20 people from Lynn to settle Southampton. We went to the historical museum and the researchers helped us find references to him in books. It was a pretty cool experience. We bought a couple of books to send to Vicki’s Dad who did the genealogy of the Cooper family which traced their roots back to John. In the picture above, Vicki is reading a deed transfer of land from John Cooper to someone I can't spell. Below are some shots of Vicki and some of the Cooper landmarks in Southampton, NY.




Yesterday (Saturday) was a perfect cruise from Sag Harbor along the northern coast of Long Island to Port Jefferson which is about half-way to New York City which is where we'll be tomorrow through Wednesday. Port Jefferson is a wonderful and picturesque harbor with loads of anchorage room in good sticky mud. And, it is well protected on all sides.

Today we treked westward about 30 miles across the northern shore of Long Island to Oyster Bay Harbor. Oyster Bay, is another great hideaway anchorage about 2 miles south of Long Island Sound through a tricky channel; but, worth the effort. We're anchored in about 15 ft of water, pretty much protected all around and have a good hold. It is such a nice day, Vicki is going to try out her new kayak. More on this later.

Tomorrow we will make the 35 mile run to NY Harbor (via the East River and ...........HELL GATE!!!!!!). Oooooooooooh! We'll get a slip at Liberty Landing Marina (just behind the statue of Liberty) because we are planning to "do" the town and there is good water transportation to Manhattan from there. Vicki went on line and got tickets to two broadway plays and a tour of Ellis Island where Norm will look up his ancestors who arrived in this country through there.

View from our friends........

This blog is being written by Rick and Lynnie Tierney who were so very lucky to be invited by Vicki and Norm on Tide Hiker for a 10 day cruise in Maine. What fun!

We met Norm and Vicki at the docks in Portland, Maine, and set off the next morning, heading NE for Casco Bay. The scenery along the coast is nothing short of spectacular, until of course the fog rolls in. Then the anxiety level bumps up a few notches, and while sounding fog signals underway at about 5 kts, four pairs of eyes alternately scanned the radar, chart plotter, lobster buoys, and fog bank for when the radar blips turned into real boats.

We certainly had fun learning about the lobster traps. We read somewhere that at any given time there are about three million lobster traps deployed in Maine, all with their colorful floats. At times it seemed that whatever harbor or anchorage we entered, at least two million of them were there with us; endless opportunities for wrapping one of the float lines around a prop. We found them plentiful in anywhere from 15’ to 350’ of water, and then learned that as the season progresses, the lobsters move to deeper water, and the watermen follow. After a couple of days worth of dodging lobster buoys Rick began to consider the logistical challenge of sorting out who “owned” what color pattern for the buoys.

It always seemed reasonably obvious that each lobsterman has their own unique color pattern, but how is it that they’re all unique? There must be a master government regulated lobster buoy color pattern clearing house for the State of Maine! How else could order be maintained? Well, it turns out those folks in Maine have been doing this for a lot longer than there have been governments. Rick asked a couple of the locals and discovered that there is indeed a clearing house of sorts for buoy color patterns. It seems to generally fall on the shoulders of the local harbor master for a given area. He makes sure the color patterns are unique for that area only, so duplicates are possible in other parts of the coast. It seems to all work OK somehow. For those who relish knowing how much markup there is on a pound of Maine lobster at your local Piggly Wiggly in Georgia, we were told that lobstermen currently get about $2.50/lb out of the trap. Put another way, at today’s fuel prices, a lobsterman has to haul about 2 pounds of lobster per gallon of fuel just to maintain his vessel and break even. But the traps usually looked pretty full when we saw them pulled up, so hopefully the lobster folk are doing OK. After all, we always depend on their product for our New Year’s Eve meal in North Carolina, where the local Food Lion sells Mr. Maine Lobster for $12.99/lb.

Every day was an adventure. We visited some fantastic channels, harbors and anchorages with names such as Five Islands, Booth Bay, Tennants Harbor, Fox Island Thoroughfare, Carver Cove, and Rockland. I know lots of folks recommend restaurants, and it’s hard to avoid the cliché sometimes. However, if you’re ever in Rockland, and you want some really wonderful local fare, don’t miss Contes, located on the waterfront near the town docks. There you will have a most unusual dining experience, but get there before 7:00PM as that’s when the line forms. It’s hard to describe exactly, but we all agreed that great food was plentiful, and the ambience was very similar to eating inside a working lobster market, complete with restaurant supplies piled all around the paper covered tables.

We fondly remember visiting Mosquito Island; at least one of them, and took the dingy about 50 yards to its shore for a hike. There was even a summit to explore. Norm led the way, followed by Vicki, then Lynnie, with Rick, last taking pictures. We all had applied bug spray. However, it soon became apparent that whole-body environmental suits would not have sufficed. Shortly after Norm disappeared into the woods, he came running back down the hill, engulfed in a serious swarm of mosquitoes and black flies. We quickly launched the dingy and returned to Tidehiker to nurse the bites with wine. So much for island exploration in August. Later that evening, shortly before dusk, there were several people on the island, some wandering around, and others trying to harvest mussels on the low tide. So perhaps the bugs drop off as daylight wanes. We didn’t try again, however.

For Lynnie, there were some wonderful cooking classes with both Vicki and Norm. We laughingly remember how we did the Conga Line to Vicki’s music on the upper deck as Rick let the chicken burn on the grill. We put the table up out under the stars and watched the sunset. Magical. We hope to be invited aboard again to share some more wonderful meals!

Vicki also taught Lynnie a new card game called Blink. Lynnie still has no idea what the game is about since from the time the first card was played Vicki started laughing. Those of you who know and love Vicki know that she has an infectious laugh. Lynnie lost every game but would play it again tomorrow just to hear Vicki laugh. Rick was watching, and Lynnie was laughing harder than Vicki. Then of course, Norm and Rick followed suit.

We also learned about the value of Sippy-cups. We believe that every boat should have a few dozen on board. Everyone knows that at some time, when you least expect it, your adult beverage in a lovely wine glass may end up somewhere outside of said glass. Unfortunately, when it lands on a laptop keyboard, this can, in fact, kill a computer as did happen with the Tide Hiker PC. Fortunately, things are back to normal as concerns the PC, and we are all still friends. Amazing.

So, what do we miss MOST about cruising with Vicki and Norm in Maine? Hmmm, how about:
- we aren’t with Vicki and Norm
- we aren’t on Tide Hiker
- we aren’t in Maine.

We miss the natural exuberance of Vicki and Norm in the morning. Being retired guys, the Tierney’s don’t usually get up very early in the am. When we would emerge from the guest suite, there was always a smiling Norm, who was plotting out the day’s cruise, giving us a big ‘Good Morning’! Then a walk down to the galley for some much needed coffee and Vicki would add her own big ‘Good Morning’. Wow, what a wonderful way to wake up!! The rest of the day was an extension of those feelings.

We had a grand time. Thanks Friends!!