After our thrilling ride through Hell's Gate we were glad to find a nice spot to anchor in Great Kills Harbour where we planned on staying 2 nights before continuing down the coast. Atlantic highlands, our usual stop, lay 6 miles to the south east but offers little protection from the predicted north west winds. The east side of Great Kills harbour is bordered by a beautiful 523 acre public park with numerous hiking trails to provide easy access to a couple of miles of nice sandy beach. It was refreshing to see how much the local residents use and respect the facilities, as dinner time approached we watched a large waterfront parking lot rapidly fill with cars as people came down for a picnic supper and to watch the sun set over the harbour. Turns out this is an evening ritual for many, but we were a little surprised that they left before the super moon peeked out from behind the clouds.

Friends at home frequently asked how we get our weather info and apply it to our decision making. Basically we use two very popular weather apps, Windy.com and Predict Wind. They are both geared towards sailors and are loaded with wind, waves and tide information. Also NOAA has a very good website as well as VHF radio forecasts that are updated a couple of times a day. With updated info in hand we set about working out our plan. Our goal was to run the Jersey coast (120 mile) and hit low tide at Cape May so we could run right up Delaware Bay in one shot and through the C&D canal. Although tide would affect us leaving Great Kills the focus was to be off Cape May at 5 a.m. the following morning. Previously we have taken 19 hours to get down the coast, hence we set our departure time for 10 a.m. hoping the forecasted 15 knot breeze from the north west would last the day.

This is our 4th trip south with Dagny and boy it will be hard to beat this passage. We rounded Sandy Hook in an unexpected 2 knot tidal push with slightly confused seas. However, once clear of the shore the wind steadied out and we set course for Cape May in a beautiful 15 knot breeze. The champagne conditions rapidly carried us down the coast, the only problem was we were 3 hours early on ETA; however, we knew at some point things would change. As darkness fell we were still carrying a full main with a partially reefed genny but as the wind started coming around on the nose it made it harder to hold our course. Finally, as we passed Atlantic City the genny was rolled, the main trimmed in as we motor sailed into a short steep chop for a couple of hours. Although the ride was uncomfortable at times, Dagny soldiered on as we reduced our speed. We were still early! As I came on deck after a nap Bev said the wind has come around again and we can sail and sail we did. The reefed genny was set in 17 knots of nw breeze and we were off and running and with the adverse current our ETA was bang on. The rest of the run was uneventful until we approached the Cape May inlet at 4:30 in the morning. The AIS lit up with targets coming out of the channel and as I was trying to figure what was going on the first 50' sport fishing boat roared by at 20+ knots. Turns out it was the start of a fishing derby, and ad soon as the boats cleared the channel they turned off their AIS in order to hide from the competition. All the action certainly woke me up in a hurry as more than once I was hit by a spotlight as yet another boat roared by. As the skies brightened the action died off as well as the wind but we had arrived on time. The iron spinnaker was fired up as we settled in for the motor sail up Delaware Bay and morning coffe was enjoyed as we marveled at the beautiful sunrise.

We fought an adverse current for a little longer then expected however, once it turned we were off to the races. By days end we carried a fair current right into the upper Chesapeake and by the time we dropped the hook in the Sassafras river we had covered 210 miles in 32 hours.

Today's picture is of the super blue moon over Great Kills Harbour.