Voyage 2016: Chapter 1

18 May 2016, Solomon's to Cape May with a Surprise, 38 59.022 N/ 074 58.044 W

It was rainy and very cold for our 12.5 hour trip to Still Pond. Nasty, nasty, nasty. Current was not much of a factor nor was there much commercial traffic (there was no recreational traffic). It was mostly a motor sail with an emphasis on motor. We anchored at the north side of Still Pond about .2 nm from the shipping channel. It was dark. We were tired. But the fleeting sunset was beautiful as were the distant lights of the tugs with their tows.

Up again at daybreak with a favorable current that did not turn until we were more than half way up the C&D canal. It started to ebb (that's a good thing) in the Delaware River just after we left the canal. We were going to anchor at Reedy Point but we had enough time and current to get to Cape May before dark and so we headed that way. Life was good. The wind was on our stern (as predicted) and the current was with us at 2-3 kts. Ann went down below for a nap. Fifteen minutes later, we were traveling at 8 kts and suddenly the apparent wind veered to a 20 kt headwind. Within minutes, the seas built to 4 feet; very steep and short period. We pitched and pitched until the forward hatch flew open and water came pouring in (Third note to Bob: dog down the forward hatch!). Ann jumped up, we slowed the boat, jury rigged the hatch, and then said 'what the h*ll'). Winds continued for a couple of hours before it backed back to the NE. We ran out of daylight so we anchored on the west side of Cape May. Anchorage was not smooth but OK.

21 May 2016, Cape May to Port Washington, 40 49.902 N/ 073 42.78 W

Wind was not favorable yesterday to go up the New Jersey coast so we moved from our anchorage to an anchorage near the Cape May USCG station. There was lots of room to drop the hook and we just spent the day watching the world go by. Capt. Bob figured that if we left the next day by 0700, we could arrive in Port Washington with a favorable current all of the way. We did and we did.

In fact, we had to slow down so that we would not arrive in the East River before daybreak. Winds were light but favorable so we motorsailed with jib and jigger. Atlantic City was our first notable sight on the Jersey coast. We saw the Trump building from 3 miles out but were surprised that there were several buildings much larger in the skyline.

Night transit of the Jersey coast was uneventful. We saw several fishing fleets with associated aircraft through the night but they were further offshore. New York outer harbor (Ambrose channel) was busy as we approached before daybreak. We went under the Verrazano bridge at first light, Hell Gate at 0730 (at 10 knots), and took a yellow ball (free for two days) at Port Washington.