Day 59 - Mon 25 May 2015
Anchored - Cape May, NJ

[photo: the Welcome to New Jersey sign entering the Cape May canal from the W]

Let's lead off with the fact that we are safely in Cape May after about 6.5 hours. It wasn't all that bad considering how bad it can be. Secondly, I just realized that I never check in with the SPOT messenger at Delaware City yesterday. We arrived and got busy right away and I just forgot.

I awoke at 0500 well rested and eager to check the weather again. It was showing the same thing, moderate winds in the early morning, building by mid-morning to 10+ kts out of the SW and then continuing to build out of the SSW to up to 20 kts. The only hope was to get there before the winds built too strongly.

The tide on the river just outside the marina did not start ebbing (flowing S, in this case) until 0700, so leaving any earlier was a bit futile. We got into the river exactly at 0700 to an almost non-existent wind and had a wonderful run S for about 1.5 hours, our speed increasing with every mile as the current got stronger. Once the bay started getting wider, however, the current pulling us along got a little weaker and the wind got stronger against the current. That allowed the waves to get steep and uncomfortable.

It wasn't dangerous, but pretty uncomfortable, so I turned the boat off the shortest course down the bay towards the W to take the waves at a better angle off the bow. That we were also reducing the distance over which the wind cold blow to build the waves was fine in theory, but probably insignificant. It was certainly tolerable, but not fun, for the next few hours. At that point, it was time to turn directly towards the Cape May Canal inlet which made the waves come more from astern than ahead, and that really helped make things better.

About the same time, the current was shifting from ebbing to flooding, which meant the wind and current were basically going in the same direction. That knocked the wave heights down a lot, but slowed out progress, too. I think most people would trade an extra 20 minutes of travel for a significant improvement in comfort. There was not a lot of ship traffic underway today, but we did have a few go by us in each direction.

We entered the bay side of the Cape May Canal around 1230, just ahead of one of the large ferries that run back and forth to Lewes, DE. The current in the canal was strong against us, but it was only 5 miles to the anchorage and it was calm and pleasant. We started by waving to the boats passing us in the opposite direction and then realized that no one waves here. I can't recall if that is a NJ thing or not.

The anchorage is adjacent to the Coast Guard Station and with our shallow draft, we could tuck in a lot closer to shore which meant better protection for us and plenty of room. Diane prepared the celebratory beverages and we settled in. Even though it will almost certainly be blowing every bit as hard for the next few days, neither of us felt like getting off the boat today.

If we stay here 2 nights and then run up the inside (NJ's Intracoastal Waterway), chances are we will not get salt spray all over the boat again for a while, so we took the time to wash and squeegee all the glass clean. Next, we took hot showers off the stern and then Diane got into her warm nightie to snuggle up in the sun streaming through the clean windows.

Diane found out that her sister, Shirley, and Shirley's friend, Florinda, plan to drive down to Beach Haven on Thu, so we will plan to stop there for 2 nights at a marina. Ariel was moving from the upper Chesapeake to Delaware City today in hopes that they can come down the Delaware Bay tomorrow. I hope whatever choice they make works out well.

We heated the last of the turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, and Brussels sprouts for supper. Having eaten ashore last night, we will probably want to eat aboard again tomorrow, but have to figure out what it will be.

The anchorage had about 12 boats as of 1900; all were sailboats except us and the most were flying Canadian flags. I know the seas can get big on the ocean in this wind, but for a well-found sailboat with the wind and waves at your back, this is the time for them to make tracks N.

I relaxed on the flybridge with some music while the stress of the day's passage got the better of Diane and she hit the sack early. Tomorrow, we plan to take our bikes ashore in the dinghy and try not to get too soaking wet. I am not sure exactly where we will go, but the wind will be a factor for sure.