Wednesday, September 28th - Day 4
Air temp 55, slightly cloudy, winds from WNW @ 10-30 - water temp 67
The alarm woke us up at 5:45am and I immediately checked the weather forecast on my iPad. It wasn't the best I've seen for sailing down the coast as it was short but doable. We talked about our options - leave for down the coast, stay here for a better window, return to Catskill, etc. After talking it though, we decided to get up, get the boat prepared, and go south.
I did engine checks while Laura went around and secured everything on the boat. She even screwed in the backs of our sofa so things wouldn't go flying if we got into rough seas. We slipped the mooring at 7am and motored out of Atlantic Highlands onto the lower NY harbor.
We rolled out 3/4 the jib to help us up the bay. Today, same as before, this 5 miles was just about the worst part of the trip. We pick a weather window for sailing south down the coast but we have to run about 5 miles north around Sandy Hook before we can turn south and enjoy the sailing. As we rounded the hook, we had a terrible ride for about 15 minutes. It was the usually crappy wind-against-current that built 5-6 foot steep seas. We bounced around pretty good but, thankfully, it was short-lived. As we turned south we sailed into the lee of Sandy Hook and the seas calmed to less than 1 foot.
A few minutes later we rolled out the mainsail and enjoyed one of the great parts of sailing - turning off the engine. We had reefed main and jib for the 15-20 knot (apparent) winds on the beam which pushed our 42,000 pound boat up to 6.5 knots. Unfortunately, we had the engine off for only an hour before the winds calmed a bit and we were down around 5 knots. Typically, this would be fine with us but our short weather window to Cape May required we average 6.5 or we would be caught in high N-NE winds on the coast early tomorrow. So we started the engine and motor-sailed at low RPMs which kept our speed in the mid-6s.
It was a lovely day on the ocean. As you sail down the coast of NJ, you start south but turn SW after 30 miles. The west winds would have made sailing SW tricky but, as we turned to the west, the winds moved to the NW (as predicted) and we were able to get help from the sails all day. See how calm the North Atlantic was?
The boat ran great (knock on wood) and with well-balanced sails the autopilot sailed us down the coast without complaints.
Our plan was to sail all the way to Cape May (about 110 nautical miles) then anchor and sit until the winds clocked to the east and calmed a bit late Thursday afternoon. Then we would leave the anchorage, sail around Cape May and up Delaware Bay. We would be entering Cape May channel and anchoring in the dark but that anchorage is big and just around the corner from the inlet. Easy-peasy....
There were lots of boats taking advantage of the nice weather and we were passed by large powerboats all day. Here was a nice one that was really zooming. I'm guessing 40 gallons of diesel ($200+) an hour.
Later in the afternoon, we rolled out the mizzen sail for the first time in a couple years. It added about 1/2 knot to our speed. The ocean calmed even more as we turned SW toward Atlantic City. Here's another ocean pic around 3pm.
Our first ocean sunset of the trip did not disappoint. It started out with subdued pinks and a little sliver of moon.
A few minutes later the whole sky turned pink and red in front of us.
After the Sun went down, we passed Atlantic City and all the building were highlighted by the glow.
I was able to take a nap in the afternoon knowing we wouldn't be in Cape May until around midnight. I had a dream that the anchorage in Cape May was full and we had no place to go. When I woke up, I thought, "That's stupid. The Cape May anchorage is huge and we've never seen more than a couple boats there."
Just before midnight we rolled in our sails and motored into Cape May channel. As we turned the corner toward the the anchorage, I could see all the anchored boats on our Radar. My nightmare had come true. We slowly motored past the 20+ anchored boats (twice!) looking for a hole where we could safely anchor. It was not to be. Our only option was to anchor behind the first boat next to the inlet and we would be exposed to the incoming swells. After looking at the charts, I decided to think out-of-the-box and anchor in shallow water across from the anchorage. It was wide open but we would be hanging out into the channel a bit. It was Hobson's Choice so we dropped the hook in 10 feet of water very close to the deep channel. Besides our anchor light, I also turned on our cockpit LEDs to make us a little easier to see. Maybe we wouldn't get run over by a sportfishing boat heading out at 5am. We hit the sack around 1am and I spent a restless night in the crappy anchorage.
Thursday, September 29th - Day 5
Air temp 57, mostly cloudy, winds N clocking NE @ 15-20. Didn't get sea temp
I did get up just after sunrise to make sure we were not anchored in the middle of the channel. No. We were still over to the side so I went back to bed. After our late arrival (1am) and restless sleep from the exposed anchorage, I didn't get up until about 10am.
Winds did howl through the anchorage overnight as predicted. This is why we decided to make the long run here instead of stopping somewhere earlier (like Atlantic City). Typically, the weather windows are so short for getting down this coast and up Delaware Bay, we make long runs to get it over. If the winds let us, we would sail down the coast, up Delaware Bay, through the C&D canal and right through to Chesapeake Bay - about 34-36 hours from Sandy Hook or 3 days - 2 nights all the way down the coast to Norfolk. Not this time.
Once again I spent hours agonizing over the weather forecasts. The winds had been from the NW which made for a comfortable sail coming down the coast. But, once around Cape May the run up Delaware Bay was mostly NW so those winds were not good for that. The winds were predicted to clock NE this afternoon which would help us up the bay. The low tide was at 5:30pm so, about an hour after that, we would have helping current too. My plan was to leave around 4:30pm - 5pm and run against the current for a couple hours before the incoming tide caught us and pushed the boat up the bay.
I was questioning my logic as I watched all the boats leave the very full anchorage during the morning and early afternoon. What were they thinking? The north winds and tidal current against them would make for a terrible sail up the bay. We stayed put.
By 4pm the anchorage was empty, winds had clocked to the NE (but still around 20 knots) and I couldn't take it anymore. Laura and I prepared the boat for some rough seas and we pulled the anchor.
I immediately turned the boat into the wind and rolled out 1/2 the mainsail. This would be a great help getting out of the Cape May inlet as we could see rolling waves coming in which would tend to stop us with just the engine pushing.
The tide was still falling (low was at 5:30pm) so we had helping current going out. Unfortunately, it was wind against the current again so we buried the bow a few times on the big, steep waves. Once out of the breakwater, we turned SW and motor-sailed directly downwind to the cape. The ride wasn't that bad! Since the wind had recently clocked NE, it hadn't had time to build bigger seas. They were just 2-3 feet directly behind us as predicted. Nice!
This picture shows the charts going around Cape May. The coast of NJ is on the right and Delaware Bay on the left. You can see how we need to turn almost 90 degrees around Cape May up into Delaware Bay. The yellow lines are our tracks from previous years. The pink stars are waypoints I've put on the AquaMaps chart to help guide us around the shallow Prissywick Channel.
As we turned west then northwest to get around Cape May, our apparent wind moved from behind us to the starboard side so we were able to roll out the jib and really started moving. The seas were a little crazy here (as usual) but once past the Cape we were in calm water with 15 knot winds pushing us up the bay with our big sails out. We were making 6 knots over ground against a 2 knot current. Wow! All of my fears of high winds and big seas turned to nothing. It was a lovely sail. The waves might get bigger as we sailed into the more open Delaware Bay but, for now, we enjoyed the ride.
The open part of Delaware bay runs about 20 miles from Cape May north. Then the sides (land) close in and we would be more protected from the waves. By 6pm we were in the most open part and Laura decided to make our dinner - homemade shrimp and broccoli pizza. She had made the dough at the anchorage this morning. It was a little rolly as the larger waves coming on the starboard quarter caused the boat to heel over and do a cork-screw about once every 5 minutes. She's pretty good at cooking down below at sea and has lots of experience with it. A short while later I heard a little scream, things falling, then a lot of curses. She had opened the refrigerator to get something just as a larger wave caused the boat to heel way over. Most of the stuff from the refrigerator ended up on the floor. I chucked (very quietly) as she unhappily cursed at the stuff she had to put back in the fridge.
We both learned to take these things in stride and, a short while later, she came up with a great looking pizza and two glasses of red wine. The seas had calmed a bit and we shared a tasty dinner enjoying one of the most colorful sunsets ever.
It had been cloudy all day and we figured the sunset would be hidden. But, there was a gap in the clouds near the horizon which caused the Sun to light up every cloud in the sky from underneath. Here is the start -
A short while later the whole horizon turned bright red. This picture really doesn't do it justice because the iPhone camera was a little washed out from the brilliant reds. But you get the idea...
The seas and our ride calmed as we motor-sailed into the narrow north end of Delaware Bay. We rounded the Salem Nuclear Power Plant at 11pm. The winds had veered back to the north (as predicted which is why we motor-sailed to get here quickly) and we pulled in our sails because we were motoring directly into the wind. Just after 12pm we motored into the calm C&D Canal toward Chesapeake Bay.
2 1/2 hours through the calm canal and I was even able to get a nap while Laura navigated through the well-lighted waterway. Another 2 hours down Chesapeake Bay to the Sassafras River and we anchored a couple miles up river at 5am. We both slept good after all that!
Friday, September 30th - Day 6
We were up at 11am after a short sleep. The weather forecast had changed for the worse (thank you now tropical storm Ian) and we wanted to get into a marina for the high winds and rain.
While still in bed, I called Georgetown Yacht Basin where we had stopped several times on previous trips. They have a well stocked ship's store and a free loaner car for running around. I got some weird beeps on the phone then a voice saying this line had been disconnected. Oh oh....
Turns out they went out of business and were not taking transient boaters. Well... that sucked! We had also stayed at Sailing Associates (another Georgetown, MD marina) so I called them. The gal put me on hold for a bit as they looked for a slip for us. A short time later she came back and said they had a 15' wide slip which would just fit out 14' wide boat. No problem. We made a reservation for 3 nights. Let's go.
We pulled anchor around 12:30pm and motored up the Sassafras River to Georgetown. While underway, Brooke (from Sailing Associates Marina) texted us with a map of the marina and said they decided to put us on a T-head instead of the narrow slip. That's great! As a bonus, the wind direction for the next few days would be blowing us away from the dock so we wouldn't be grinding our boat fenders.
Just after 2pm we tied up on the east T-head. Brooke and another person helped us. After they left, I spent almost an hour adjusting our normal and extra "storm" docklines. Then I was happy!
We walked up to the marina office to pay for 3 nights and take a short walk. 3 days of dockage and power for $215. Nice! I had forgotten how inexpensive this place was.
As we took a short walk down the road, both of our legs were a little wobbly after 5 days without coming ashore. We only walked about 1/2 mile but it felt great to stretch and walk more then 35 feet at a time.
We ate a quiet dinner of homemade chili, watch a few of our new favorite series, "Call the Midwife" and hit the sack early. It was a long couple days to get here. Now we could relax.
Saturday, October 1st - Day 7
Air temp 62, cloudy, winds NE @ 30+ during the night but calming during the day - sea temp 64.
I slept really well from 9:30pm until around 2am. What woke me up was the boat shaking from the high winds. This usually happens with winds over 30 knots though the standing rigging holding our two masts. It wasn't bad since the winds were just off the bow and not pushing us over much. If these winds were on the beam (coming from the side of the boat), we would be rolling a lot with the winds on our masts.
It took me a couple hours to get back to sleep as the storms were marching through. Here is a screenshot I took of the U.S. east coast radar from North Carolina to New York. We are at the blue dot. The larger storms had already gone through. You can also see the track of what's left of Ian.
I finally got back to sleep around 4am as the winds died a bit and rain let up. Laura got up around 9am and I fell back to sleep until 11am. Don't forget, we had a couple long days underway and short nights I needed to make up for.
Laura made a huge breakfast / lunch of bacon, sausage, eggs, homefries and toast. I was starving and ate it all after going out to check our docklines and fenders! Here is Second Wind at the Sailing Associates East Dock T-Head. Yes. We have a "waterway smile" already after just a few days on the Hudson River, NJ coast and Delaware Bay.
The water seems high at the dock - probably from the several inches of rain we had last night. It's only about 6" below the dock. We might need boots soon to get off the boat.
Our current plan is to stay here until Monday (more storms tomorrow night). Monday afternoon we will motor an hour or so back out the river and anchor for the night. Tuesday we'll sail to Annapolis where we will probably anchor in Weims Creek. No moorings would be available because of the boat show. Wednesday sail to Solomons then Thursday to Reedville.
If the weather cooperates and we can get that far, we'll see what next week brings for sailing weather. We could leave the boat with our friends in Reedville for "a while" then rent a car to drive back to Albany for Laura's Achilles surgery. I would probably try to find help with bringing the boat farther south (maybe Myrtle Beach?) in November where we would pick up our Winter cruise to Florida after the holidays.
If the weather next weekend is nice, we may sail the boat to Norfolk and leave her there. We like the Atlantic Yacht Basin in Great Bridge. The boat would be fine there for several months and I could have them haul the boat for a much needed paint job.
I'll let you know how it goes!
