We have officially left the south! While people have many different ideas about where "The South" begins, I don't know anybody who would include New Jersey in it! We are in New Jersey (albeit the southernmost point of it) after our overnight passage up the Delmarva coast from Norfolk, VA.

One of the challenges of passagemaking is finding a watch schedule that works for you. We've been using a 3-hours on/6-hours off rotation with Anne, Evelyn, and myself and, while it left us sufficiently rested, the solo nighttime watches are difficult. So on this passage, we decided to experiment with a different watch routine that allowed us to have two people on watch at all times in a 2-hours on/2-hours off pattern. Do not try this at home! While it was much nicer having two people on watch, the damage to our sleep patterns was so severe that we had to stop...We had hoped to continue on to New York but that would have required another 24 hours and, as we approached Cape May this morning, we realized that none of us would be able to safely operate the boat through another night.

Moreover, with the winds expected to increase in the afternoon and overnight, and there being relatively few places to put in with a sailboat in northern NJ (most are either shallow draft and/or have tricky inlets in large swells, not good for exhausted sailors at night) the alternatives were to stop at Cape May or at Atlantic City, 30 miles farther north. Now, having some cruising experience, we know that every time we put into a port there is a chance that weather or other circumstances will conspire to keep us there for longer than we expect...The idea of being marooned in Atlantic City for days was too horrible to contemplate so Cape May it is! Actually, we enjoyed our visit here last fall so it was an easy choice to come back.

So we have returned to Utsch's Marina for a crane-e-otomy (look at the picture), a good sleep, and a lobster dinner!

(38 57.060'N 74 54.340'W)