Road trip!

As the saying goes..."there's no place like home!"
And it was so great to be home. It was like we never left. Trevor has been living in the house part time and has kept it fairly neat and tidy (with help from my monthly house cleaners!).
We arrived Sunday night and spent Monday doing a few errands around town (we had a list!), picking up a few groceries for home and doing laundry (I had brought home all my bedding and laundry ... its free and so convenient at home!). I also did some binge watching on TV ... I confess there are a few shows I still like to follow ... so had a quiet time catching up. I also felt really tired. I think we have been going so steadily over the past three months that it hit me when I could  just sit and relax and do nothing. 
The next few days were spent going to appointments and seeing a few friends.
But the main reason we went home was for my nephew's wedding, which was on Friday October 20th. I was so excited to go and see everyone, as we had not had a chance to go into Toronto yet to visit. For those that don't know, most of our families live in Toronto, and my sister lives in Peterborough, so this was a great venue to see the whole side of my family (small as we are!). It was a beautiful day with summer-like temperatures and sunny blue skies. The Bride was gorgeous and the Groom pretty handsome too. A great time was had by all!!

Patrick and Katie

We got back to Kitchener Saturday afternoon and had a quiet night (recovering!).  I must add that it had been very quiet at home ... I hadn't heard from many of my friends and started to think that no one cared that we were home!
Sunday afternoon we had arranged to meet some friends for lunch at a cute little bistro in Cambridge.  When we walked in there was no one else in the place, except the couple we were meeting. This was funny because the last time we had been there for dinner, during a snowstorm (oh yes ... we made it despite the weather), we were the only ones there and had the waitstaff's' undivided attention that night! So I made a comment to Hugh that we had the place to ourselves again. But on rounding a corner, I noticed a friend of ours, Marty, sitting at a small table. I have to admit my poor old brain had a hard time figuring out why Marty was sitting there, when he pointed behind me and as I turned, out came all my family and friends who had been hiding. SURPRISE!! My dear, sweet husband and kids had organized a 60th birthday party for me.  It was so great to see everyone, and now I know why I hadn't heard from anyone, they were all afraid to say something to me and blow the surprise. I  felt incredibly honoured at the distance some of my friends had come to help me celebrate.  We are very blessed to have made great friends all over Ontario, partly due to Hugh's Construction Association work, and also through our Sailing Club up in Georgian Bay. Even my Mom came!!! Thank you again to everyone who came out to make my birthday so special!

The Girls. Karen,Wendy,Laurie,Janette, Cindy

The Midland Bay Sailing Club gang

The rest of the week flew by, with my actual birthday on Tuesday, which I spent with my Mom, Alyssa and oldest friend Colleen (we met when we were 5) with lunch out in Toronto, and with my "boys" who made me dinner at home that night. 
Dentists appointments, yoga, shopping for some goodies to take back to the boat, and meeting up with a few more friends, and the next thing you know, it was time to head back.
As Alyssa had picked us up in Buffalo on the way up, we enlisted the help of Trevor to take us back to Buffalo to pick up the rental car. We left Thursday afternoon with the car full of clean laundry, clothes and provisions, with a little room for Trevor in the back seat.  When we arrived at the border, the US Customs and Border Protection Officer gave us quite a hard time about our crossing into the States.  His first command was to "take off your sunglasses" and then he questioned why the car was so full, how long we had already been in the States, how much longer we were going to be in the States and asked if we had an itemized list of everything we were bringing into the states (of course Hugh did!). At one point I thought he was going to take us into the office and search us! But after answering most of the questions correctly, and asking for forgiveness for the ones we didn't, his attitude completely changed, he wished us a good trip and let us go. And I still had all my goodies!! Phew!
We spent the night in Buffalo again and left bright and early, as we had to get the car back to the rental office  before 6pm and had a good 8 hour drive ahead of us.  It was a beautiful drive through the Allegheny Mountains and most of the trees were is full color. The sunshine helped too!

The Alleghany Mountians

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge

We arrived in time to grab a few groceries, put everything on the boat, take the car back, and go over for dinner with new friends George and Bev who live right by the boat yard where we had kept the boat. They also have a Hanse 415 and spent last winter in the Bahamas. We followed their blog with great interest, and through the miracle of the internet finally connected and met for dinner in Annapolis. They kindly offered to keep an eye on Trekker for us while we were home, and invited us over for dinner when we got back. They are headed for the Bahamas again this winter and we hope to catch up with them at some point.
So early Saturday morning we left the boat yard and headed back out into the Chesapeake to sail down to Solomon's Island to meet up with Bob and Sheila. They were in Annapolis for most of the time we were home having some boat projects done, and we were very happy to be able to catch up with them.  It was quite a crazy sail down, as the winds were stronger than predicted (of course), were blowing from the south (we were going south) and the waves were quite large (I say 6-7 feet but Hugh says 3-4!). I was glad to make it to the marina and so happy to catch up with our buddy boat! Of course, dinner and beers were in order to celebrate the reunion!
Yesterday we stayed in the marina as the forecast for heavy rain had materialized and it gave us a chance to get organized and re-settled from being at home. In the later afternoon we walked 2 miles to the Ruddy Duck Brewery (I know, such a surprise) and had pizza and beer.  We came back to Trekker afterwards for a game of euchre (sadly the boys won so now they are up a set).  While we were playing cards the winds picked up and, wow, did it blow!! The wind instrument showed 33 knots at one point! And it blew all night and is still blowing! So we will spend another day in the marina. At least the sun is shining, and we will get a chance to see the town!
Tomorrow we will start to head south again and make our way to Norfolk in a few days, which is where the ICW begins (Intracoastal Waterway).  That will be the next stage of this trip, and a challenging one, as some bridge heights through the ICW are 65 feet and our mast height is 64.4 feet plus antenna and wind instruments!! But, we have a solution to get under the bridges, which I'm sure doesn't surprise any of you who know Hugh!!
I will leave the explanation of the solution for the next installment as we venture south....
One Day at a time!

Saint Michaels, Cambridge, Buffalo & Home!

Saint Michael's turned out to be the cute town everyone promised.  We dinghied into the town dock and as we were tying up a couple from another boat in the anchorage arrived and offered to show us the way into town.  As we walked they pointed out a couple of their favorite shops and restaurants, since we wanted to go out for lunch.  It turned out that they are members of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and offered to get each of us a guest pass into the museum! So we walked to the museum, got our passes, thanked them and went back into town for lunch.

After lunch we noticed a waterman replacing what appeared to be bait in little pouches made of orange netting tied to a line on his boat. Karen had noticed a boat passing through our anchorage pulling up a line with orange pouches in the morning, so we stopped to inquire.  He told us that razorback clams are used in the netting for bait, but that they only last one day. The line and pouches sit on the bottom where crabs hopefully latch on to the bait. Then they motor slowly down the line, running it over a roller on the boat and pick the crabs off. It's not hard to understand why crab cakes are so expensive!

We did a very abbreviated tour of the museum.  First we spoke to a shipwright apprentice working on the restoration of the 1889 log-hull bugeye ship Edna E. Lockwood. Apparently they took a laser scan of  the original hull to determine the required shape and are now using traditional tools to actually build the hull. 

Edna E. Lockwood 

Then we took a tour of the Hooper Straight lighthouse,

Hooper Straight Lighthouse 

and a permanent exhibit describing recreation on the bay including log canoe racing. This crazy racing includes groups of people hanging out on boards to act as ballast to keep the boats upright, as they have a ridiculous amount of sail.

Log Canoe

We also saw Elf. Built in 1888 she is the oldest active racing yacht in America!

Elf

Thursday, under jib alone in 15 - 20 knot winds we sailed down to the Yacht Maintenance Company marina in Cambridge, MD.  While we had a nice sail, when we started the engine, we discovered that the domestic battery bank was not charging.  Friday, with the help of Eric, an electrician at Yacht Maintenance Co, we discovered that the Voltage Sensitive Relay was not enabling the domestic bank to charge.  I spoke to Sterling, the manufacturer in England, and read the manual and couldn't identify the cause.  I did however install an emergency override to force the VSR to enable charging the domestic bank if it happens again. Friday we were basically stuck on the boat because of very high tides that caused flooding in the marina and resulting in our dock being under water until 1600. Then we got picked up by Enterprise to go get our rental car.  

Yacht Maintenance Co. dock at high tide

We then drove into historic Cambridge and had a beer at the local RAR brewery, then a very enjoyable dinner at a cute restaurant, "Stoked".

Saturday we were up bright and early and had a lovely drive to Buffalo, where we met our daughter Alyssa.  We stayed at the Westin Hotel and had a night on the town!  We had drinks in the lobby bar, then dinner at "Tempo" which was very nice,  and finally a nightcap at "Local", a bar close to the hotel.

Sunday we had brunch at Betty's, an obvious hometown favorite, as we had to wait 30 minutes for a table. And then made our way home!

It's crazy ... it doesn't even seem like we have been away ....

Annapolis U.S. Sailboat Show

After another quiet night in the Corsica River we had a great sail over to Annapolis.  Winds were 10 to 15 knots out of the south meaning we had to tack into the wind but our self-tacking jib made it easy!  Based on a couple of recommendations, we decided to take a slip for 5 nights at Bert Jabin Yacht Yard on the Back Creek. When we arrived in the afternoon of October 4, Bob and Sheila on Her Diamond, Sylvain and Val on Zen Latitude and Allan and Linda on Touch of Grey were already there.  

Val and Sylvain invited Bob and Sheila, Karen and I over for a quick drink at 1800, and at 2200 we made our way back to Trekker. So much for dinner!  But a good time was had by all!

Thursday we went to VIP day at the boat show which is a little more expensive but much less crowded and enjoyed speaking to some dealers about some big ticket items such as water makers, refrigeration and life rafts.  Ultimately we decided not to invest in these items this year ... maybe next.  I got a new foul weather jacket, topsiders and a shirt while Karen got a light rain jacket and a top too.  I also got a handle for our anchor windlass that I stupidly broke earlier this year.

US Sailboat Show

 Thursday evening at the Iron Rooster we had an informal Hanse 415 rendezvous with George and Bev of Breeze On and Allan and Linda of Touch of Grey.  Allan and Linda have sailed from Germany where the boat was built to England, England into and around the Med, across the Atlantic to and around the Caribbean and up the east coast of the States. George and Bev have gone offshore from Norfolk VA straight to the Bahamas. We are  definitely the inexperienced ones in that group!

Friday we went to the boat show again and looked at some boats we can't afford and went to a seminar on cruising down the ICW.

Saturday was dedicated to chores in the morning and a walk around Annapolis in the afternoon including the obligatory beer and later, dinner at the Boatyard Bar and Grill with Bob and Sheila. It was a bit of a good-bye dinner as Sheila was heading home for a week to visit her family, and when she comes back we are  heading home. Our hope is to meet up in the ICW once we are all continuing on south.

Annapolis back streets

Sunday we went to a full day seminar on Sailing South.  The speakers were a "who's who" among sailors including Nigel Calder who literally wrote the book on electrical and mechanical systems on boats, Jimmy Cornell who founded the World Cruising Club that runs the ARC rallies, Paul and Sheryl Shard who on their Distant Shores yachts have cruised all over the world and have a television series documenting their travels and Carolyn Shearlock of "The Boat Galley"! What was particularly fun was going out after the seminar with all the speakers to chat over a beer!

Later we met Linda and Allan for a very enjoyable dinner at the Boatyard (popular place).

Monday morning dawned with pouring rain and Gale force wind warnings.  Many of the Boat show boats return to the marina when the show breaks up Monday afternoon, so there was no room for us to stay.  Off we went and after a white knuckle trip out into Chesapeake Bay we turned up Whitehall Bay and, having dodged more crab pot floats, wound our way up to the end of Ridout Creek to find a totally protected and quiet anchorage.  We were entertained for the afternoon by a big Herron flying about, little fish being pursued by big fish jumping out of the water, and gulls trying to pick off the airborne little fish! After a quiet, stifling hot night we were awoken at 0700 by the sound of dump trucks and back hoes installing armour stone for the nearby house's shore protection! 

Not long afterward we raised anchor and motored all the way down to San Domingo creek, the "back door" to the town of Saint Michaels.  On the way we considered a short cut through Knapps Narrows. Concerned about reported shoaling I called TowboatUS and was advised that we should only try it on mid tide rising which would have meant waiting 1/2 an hour for the tide to flood, so we decided to carry on around the southern tip of Tilghman Island.  Once around we noticed a boat coming out of the narrows that had been following us down the Bay. Thinking they might also be going to San Domingo Creek, Karen hailed them on the VHF and in addition to confirming they were going our way, she learned that they had touched the bottom a couple of times in the narrows with one foot less draft than Trekker!  Glad we went around! We're now anchored in San Domingo and plan to investigate Saint Michaels tomorrow.

Exploring the Bay

It's hard to believe that October is here! We have been gone three months now and yes, we are still talking to each other and there hasn't been a mutiny, lately!!

I thought I would get you caught up with what we have been up to, as tomorrow we are heading to Annapolis for the US Sailboat Show, and it will be a busy few days there. We have signed up for an all day seminar called "Sailing South" and hope to meet more people heading our way. We have been meeting more and more sailors as we get further south, and enjoy talking to them about their adventures. It's nice to hear we are not alone. Plus we are still travelling with our buddy boat Her Diamond, although we will be parting ways for a while after the boat show. Sheila is going home right after it ends for a week, and then we are heading home for a couple of weeks to celebrate my nephew Patrick's wedding. We have every intention of meeting up with them again as we really enjoy their company.

After we left the Magothy River we decided to head over to the other side of the Bay. With so many places to see, it is very hard to decide which, but for now we are staying in the vicinity of Annapolis, so we crossed the bay to a small town called Rock Hall.

I am still amazed at how shallow the Chesapeake is, and you really have to follow the markers carefully to get into the shore side towns. Mind you, following marks is something we are good at after years of sailing in Georgian Bay!! We had read about this town in our cruising guide book, and the distance and location  was perfect for a nice sail across. As it was a Sunday the bay was busy with weekend local cruisers. Luckily we did not run into any large freighters as we sailed across the main shipping channel.

Baltimore Light

We were guided in by the Rock Hall Landing Marina dockmaster who was very helpful in getting us into the harbour, which is rather shallow outside the marks. He advised that we couldn't go straight across the harbour into the marina, but had to go around the perimeter. The office was a cute little building with two hilarious older gentlemen with whom we had a great time bantering. They offered free bikes for an hour, lots of local literature about where to go, see and eat, as well as two "can cosies" and a pen with their logo on it! Very generous!
Since we had been sitting for a couple of days we decided to walk into town to look around.  We had a pleasant half mile walk  to quickly discover that most places in the small town were closed (Sunday afternoon, we should know better by now!) but a few were open including a small grocery store and an ice cream parlour with an old fashioned counter, which we sat at to enjoy our cone!
Later on we went to the local Waterman's Crab House Restaurant for crab cakes. We watched a table beside us eating a tray of cooked crabs and both decided it looked like a lot of work for little reward! I'll let someone else shell them!!

The next morning we borrowed two bikes and rode into town to the local cafe for breakfast and coffee. There we met an older couple with a boat on our dock who had been sailing the coast for years, as well as another couple from Toledo, Ohio who were also headed to the boat show and then continuing on south to Florida. They have signed up for a rally, which is a group of boats that go together down the ICW from Norfolk, Virginia, led by an experienced sailor. This was something we had considered at one time, but the timing doesn't work for us. After breakfast we biked back and left Rock Hall. 

Our next voyage of discovery was to the Corsica River, an area that a local couple we met in Baltimore recommended. We found a lovely little bay that is beside a park, with one other boat on the opposte side of the river. It's lovely here, as I sit here writing this, watching our local heron fly around, as well as a bald eagle. Oh yes, and the moon jelly fish floating by ... no swimming for me!!

Our Local Heron

We decided to sit here for today, and enjoy the quiet and sunshine. This afternoon we decided to take a dinghy ride down to the end of the river where there is a small town called  Centreville. After a short ride we found the town dock and after a short walk by some gorgeous old houses we found downtown. As per tradition we stopped for a beer and a late lunch. It reminded us of a Grisham novel when we found a side street called Lawyers Row with, of course, lawyers' offices across from the town square.

Lawyers' Row

The next few days  will be very busy, but we are looking forward to meeting up with some boats we have met along the way, as well as making new sailing friends.

After the show we will have a few more days to explore before we take Trekker to a marina and tuck her in for a couple of weeks while we come home. It will be so great to see everyone, as well as get caught up with haircuts (it's been THREE months!), dentist, pedicures, yoga ... well, you get the picture!! Hope to see some of you as well!

Stay tuned as we continue this adventure ... one day at a time!!

Baltimore!

We left Hart-Miller Island State Park (made from material dredged from the Port of Baltimore) at 0900 Tuesday 26 September to sail to Baltimore.  After successfully negotiating a narrow channel south of the island into Chesapeake Bay our hearts sank as we realized that we were in the middle of a maze of crab pot floats.  We got a text from Her Diamond saying that they had hit one and that it had stalled their engine.  Thankfully they were able to restart the engine and reverse to unwind the float off their shaft.  At our crab pot action stations, Karen looked ahead with the binoculars and tried to identify clear lanes while I steered around the floats I could see near the boat.  After about half an hour we made it to the main shipping channel up into Baltimore, heaved a sigh of relief and raised sails for a beautiful beam reach all the way up into the outer harbour.

What a great feeling it was to see the inner harbour that we visited several years ago, from the water! 

Baltimore's skyline from the Inner Harbour

Tuesday afternoon Karen and I found Sal's Seafood in Fells Point where they filleted a fresh Branzino while we waited and, of course, we rewarded ourselves with a beer at the Admirals Cup pub! According to the city's website Named for the Englishmen who founded a ship-building company here in 1726 that would go on to produce the famous "Baltimore Schooners," Fell's Point is a spirited waterfront community in perpetual celebration of Baltimore's British nautical roots. Later Karen cooked the branzino perfectly for dinner.

Wednesday was stinking hot so in the afternoon we went to the air-conditioned Aquarium where I was able to touch a Moon jellyfish, a skate and a ray. We were particularly interested in the jellyfish exhibit since I had noticed one right beside the boat in the marina. Hardy little creatures!

Jellyfish mobile at the National Aquarium

In the evening we took the free Charm City Circulator bus to the Federal Hill neighbourhood and had dinner at SoBo Cafe. It was billed as a "neighbourhood gem" and did not disappoint!

Thursday we took a tour of Camden Yards, the Oriole's baseball park. We're not huge baseball fans but it was very interesting.  At a time when the trend was to build domed stadiums like SkyDome in Toronto, Maryland decided to convert railway lands into an open air stadium and the adjacent warehouses into retail and office space. The ball park was the first of the "retro" stadiums, incorporating the "Green Monster" left field wall of Fenway Park in Boston and the ivy covered outfield wall of Wrigley Field in Chicago.  We got to sit in the press box, walk on the field and sit in the dugout! Very cool!

Camden Yards / Oriole Park

Thursday night Sheila and Bob joined us to share one of their traditions; "Scotch and Greys", during which we watched the two hour season premiere of Grey's Anatomy!

Friday we left the dock at 0700 to catch the ebbing tide and once clear of the inner harbour again raised sails for a leisurely run down to the Magothy River.  George, a Chesapeake Bay resident, who with his wife Bev took their Hanse 415 offshore to the Bahamas last year recommended a couple of spots in the Magothy River, between Baltimore and Annapolis. After touring the bay, and setting the anchor four times in different bays, we ended up across from the "Horse Farm". It was a very scenic spot protected from the forecast northerly winds.

The Horse Farm, Gibson Island, Magothy River

On the way we got up close and personal with Cape Washington, a 778' cargo freighter travelling at 12 knots.

Cape Washington 

Today, Saturday, we're going to hang on the anchor and relax ...

The Chesapeake!

Delaware City turned out to be great fun. We had our usual celebration beer at the local bar "Crabby Dicks" and a quiet night. We weren't sure if we were going to stay another night or move on but decided in the morning that another day in the quiet river (and cheap dockage!) would be nice, and we would have a bit more time to familiarize ourselves with the Bay and where we wanted go.

Sheila and I took on the task of planning the next few days as the boys cleaned the salt off the boats. It's a totally different sailing life, being in salt water, which can rust the stainless and cakes onto the decks ... which is really nasty. So the occasional bath for Trekker is needed.

It's really amazing how much time it takes each time we sit down to plan the next route. Especially when you don't have a clue about the area you are in, or where you want to go. Local knowledge is always welcome, and Hugh has contacted a sister ship of ours (another Hanse 415) who live in the Chesapeake for some guidance. We also have Cruising Guide Books for the area, and of course "The Google"!
So after two hours of researching and discussing, and phone calls, we decided to go across the C and D Canal the next morning (it's very similar to the Erie Canal as it is man made but much shorter and wider to accommodate ships and no locks) and head up to Havre de Grace, Maryland. From there it was decided that a couple of days in Baltimore would be fun before heading for Annapolis.

So with decisions and bookings made, Hugh and I headed off for a walk to explore the small village. We were told that there are live bands in the two (and only) bars on Friday nights so we went to check out times and styles of music. On our way back we noticed that there were a couple of new boats on the dock, a trawler right behind us and another sailboat flying a Canadian flag!! So we quickly went over to the sailboat to say hello, as this is the second Canadian boat we have met since we entered the US. (Zenlatitude is their boat name). They are from Burlington and are also headed south but with plans to go straight to the Caribbean with a rally that goes in a group from Norfolk straight to the BVI's. At this point though, they don't know if it is still a go after the destruction caused by the hurricanes. We had a quick chat and invited them to join us that night at the bar for drinks and music. We also invited the other couple from the trawler to come as well. We all had a great evening, with the girls sitting at one end of the table and the boys at the other end. Lots to talk about and so great hearing other cruisers stories and ideas on living aboard a boat. The night went very quickly and before we knew it, it was midnight!! Wow! Party animals!! Lol!

The next morning before we headed out the girls went to the local farmers market, which turned out to be two small tables from local area farmers.  But we still managed to buy a few fruit and  veggies.

Zenlatitude decided to go with us as well, so we all departed and headed through the C and D Canal. It really was not very exciting, and we did not meet any freighters going through, so all was well. At the end of the canal it turns down the Elk River, and then opens into the Chesapeake!

Entering the C and D canal 

Our first lesson on the Chesapeake was avoiding crab pots. We were warned by our friends who have been here to watch out for them. How hard can it be?  And then, you turn a corner, and all you see is a sea of coloured corks bobbing in the water. It's very intimidating and daunting because if you run over the line from the float to the crab pot it can wrap around your prop, stall the engine and bend things!! So the first time we turned to go across the Bay we quickly turned back into the marked channel ... nope, not that way. We headed down a little further and when it looked "better" we turned, and slowly slalomed our way through the crab pot mine field. I now have a new job, "float look-out", with me standing in the companionway with the binoculars pointing out where it's safe to go. Very stressful!

Our next lesson on the Chesapeake is that it is very shallow, so you really need to follow the marked lanes , which also helps avoid the crab pots. Apparently they don't set them in deeper water. But it's not always possible to stay in the shipping lanes so we are quickly learning.

We arrived at Havre de Grace later than we wanted to, and after talking to the marina on whose mooring ball we were staying, we discovered that the mooring balls had no lines on them to pick up and tie to the boat. What?? I'm not sure if you know what our boat looks like but it is very high up off the water at the bow,  and to try to loop a line through a small ring on a floating ball seemed near impossible. But, as many of you know, my dear captain is very inventive, so after some discussion it was decided that we would back up to the ball, with me lying on the folded down swim platform underneath the dinghy, to grab the ball and loop the line through the eye (just picture it in you mind!). And, of course, it worked!! First try!! Was there ever any doubt?!

The next day we toured the town in the scorching heat.  Its  been very hot here the last few days as I know home has been as well. Summer in autumn! The marina had a courtesy van that we borrowed to go see a couple of sights like the lighthouse, and also enabled us to run to the grocery store for a couple of things. And dinner out, for crab cakes, of course!!

Concord Point Light Station

This morning we headed from Havre de Grace to explore a bit more of the Bay and get closer to Baltimore, which will be our next big destination. We are spending three nights there which I am very excited about.

 So after more research it was decided we would anchor behind an island which is a state park and had some good reviews from other boaters. Everything was going well, (other than no wind so had to motor, again) until we had to turn to go across the Bay and there ahead of us was another mine-field of crab pots. UGH!  We are getting very good at traversing through them.

So right now we are sitting at anchor, the sun is setting, and we should get a beautiful sunset behind us. Hopefully it will cool down once the sun sets. Oh, and we even had a swim!!

Tomorrow, Baltimore! Should be fun!

Stay tuned ... One day at a time!!

The Jersey Coast

Atlantic Highlands just south of Sandy Hook was our first Jersey shore stop. We arrived mid afternoon Thursday September 14 after an uneventful trip down the East River and through New York harbour from Long Island Sound. We all took the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club launch from our moorings to the dock and walked around town, poking our noses into galleries and antique shops.

Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club 

Walking around town Bob and I were checking weather and tide times so that we could time our arrival at Manasquan Inlet at high slack water. Since it looked like there might be a little wind we decided to leave at 9 am so we would only need to average around 4 knots to arrive at 1630, between high tide and slack current and maybe even get a chance to sail. 

After lights out Thursday evening my phone starting chirping with text messages and after the fifth I figured I should probably check them. Turned out they were from my brother Kevin cautioning us that the European weather model had Jose tracking up the U.S. Coast during the next week and that instead of heading south we should retreat up the Hudson River. Hmmmm ... So beginning around 2330 I began checking all the weather apps, and NOAA Hurricane Center and marine forecasts. Yes we were going to be in for a blow on Tuesday, and if we had to we could skip Atlantic City or Cape May and get up into the Delaware.

Friday morning after a long talk with Bob and Sheila we decided to stick with our plan and head to Manasquan and reassess at the end of the day.

We left Atlantic Highlands around 1030 and soon after rounded Sandy Hook into the Atlantic Ocean! There was a 2 - 3 foot swell out of the SE with little wavelets on top and 5 - 10 knots of breeze nearly on the nose. We raised the main hoping for a little push and began our motorsail south. Half way down the coast to Manasquan the shore bends to the SW a bit and it turned out to be just enough that we could pull out the jib, turn off the motor and sail for a while!  We arrived on schedule at 1630 and motored in to the gas dock. There was still some current running but the dockmaster gave great instructions on how to sidle up to the gas dock and then our berth for the night. 

Once docked we had another skippers meeting with Bob and Sheila. We checked all the available info on Jose which seemed consistent with, if not a little better than, the morning and booked a marina in Atlantic City. We agreed to a slack current departure at 0600!

I expect Point Pleasant Beach to the south of the inlet with its boardwalk, food stalls, and arcades is very pleasant, but after a late dinner we were ready for bed.

Saturday we were off the dock at 0600 as planned with a weak ebb current pushing us off. Out in the ocean there was no wind and long lazy swells.  Beach houses line the ocean all the way down the coast. We passed the amusement park at Seaside Park whose roller coaster ended up in the ocean following Hurricane Sandy. Near Barnegat Inlet we ran into some fog where GPS and AIS proved their worth although it did make me question our decision to pass on radar! Karen knitted and I began this post!

Karen "my hair's a mess" knitting underway

We arrived early in the afternoon to the sound of a nearby powerboat blasting out his favorite songs at rock concert volume. Welcome to Atlantic City! Bob and I rinsed the salt off our boats while the girls checked out the Golden Nugget Casino. We had a beer on the deck of the casino that had a great band playing and headed for the boardwalk.

Atlantic City 

I think that if I were to describe Atlantic City in one word it would be "tired". We had dinner at Gordon Ramsey's pub in Ceasar's casino and, predictably, paid a ridiculous price for mediocre pub grub. Karen and I had run out of steam by the end of dinner and headed back to the boat but Sheila did Atlantic City right, hitting the slots for a while.

Since Cape May was a relatively short hop from Atlantic City we decided on a mid morning departure which happened to coincide with maximum ebb tide opposing the ocean swells. Five to six foot waves greeted us at the end of the inlet!  That was exciting. As soon as we cleared the inlet we turned southwest and the waves settled into long ocean swells.  The wind blew lightly out of the northeast, right on the stern. Another motor ... trawler anyone?  The day was certainly not a loss though as a whale surfaced right beside us and we saw dolphins jumping out of the water and rotating on to their backs before splashing back into the water! Based on some Google research humpback whales are the species most frequently sighted near Cape May, so we'll say it was a humpback!

Our entrance to Cape May was a little exciting as there was a strong current running across the inlet meaning that I had to steer at times 20 to 30 degrees off the course that we wanted to hold into the channel. Once inside I had to avoid a dredge that I realized was backing up after I had decided to go behind. My brother Adrian suggested that I should have called the dredge on the VHF radio to coordinate our movements. Lesson learned!

Paul at the Canyon Club Resort Marina had offered us slips deep in the marina close to four story buildings to the north to provide better protection from Jose should he show up. That was great except that it took me two tries to make the turn into our slip without banging the dinghy off the sport fishing boats across the channel. 

We really enjoyed Cape May. We rented a car and took a drive around Cape May discovering the lighthouse and a WWII bunker designed to defend the Delaware on the beach.

Cape May lighthouse

We also saw the "rips", large breaking waves that form over the many shallow shoals off the cape. In town we walked the pedestrian mall and had an ice cream before dinner.  Always eat dessert first!  The Lobster House was recommended by many and did not disappoint for dinner.  Afterwards we met the owner of a scallop boat that had come in to the harbour to avoid Jose. He said that he used to go out but after injuries and a bypass he's ashore now!  He told us that they have quotas based on either a five or seven person crew.  Apparently once the quota is filled they change the gear on the boat and fish.  We also learned that they shell the scallops on board and toss the shells back in the ocean.

Scallop boats docked in Cape May 

Wednesday evening Karen and I went into town and walked the mall again then out to the boardwalk and to Harry's, a popular haunt for Happy Hour. Afterwards we walked back to yb restaurant and had an amazing dinner sharing a beet salad, swordfish tacos, crab cakes and a peanut butter and chocolate bomb! We walked dinner off passing the historic "painted ladies" houses on the way back to the mall where we got a cab back to the marina. 

Boardwalk and painted ladies

O-five hundred came too quickly but we had to leave at first light to round Cape May and carry the current from the incoming tide up Delaware Bay. Away from the dock we cleared the inlet around 0700 and took off with the flood tide at over 8 knots towards the Cape.  Bob and I had picked all the locals' brains to determine if we could go inside the shoals and rips and the consensus was to trust our charts and stay close to the beach. By 0730 we had cleared the cape and headed up the bay into a 13 knot northerly that was kicking up a two foot chop against the flood tide. As Sheila said we're lake sailors ... two foot chop is normal!  Later in the day the wind died and we had a calm run up the rest of the bay. We arrived at Delaware City just before 1600 and Tim the dockmaster talked us in to his docks.  When he asked if we had a bow thruster I said no, but that the stern kicks to starboard in reverse.  He put $10 on my being wrong and when we got close to our designated spot on the dock he offered another $10 discount if I could back the boat against the current to line our aft cleat up with the cleat on the dock.  I'm pleased to report we got a $20 discount on our dockage! Once docked we headed to the old Delaware City hotel and had a beer on the deck to celebrate having cleared Delaware Bay.  

We're keeping an eye on Maria hoping that she stays offshore of the Delmarva peninsula as Jose did.

Next stop the C and D canal and Chesapeake Bay!