John's Notes:


We left New York City at 11:00am Sunday. Waved goodbye to Cheryl and she was off to spend more time in the City. The forecast was for 5-10kt winds and 0-2' seas. The winds were supposed to be out of the SW so it was going to mostly on the nose but we figured that we could just motor on. We had already been in bad weather so this should be no problem. Before we departed, Cheryl took the solar vent out of the foredeck hatch and replaced it with the plug just in case we had any waves over the bow. I just assumed that she had also dogged down the hatch. Big mistake on my part. Just as we were going through the Narrows and approaching the Verrazano Bridge a big sport fisher Post 46 (yes Mike Berke, a Post) crosses our bow pushing half of Long Island Sound in front of it and deposited about 500 gallons on our deck. That would have been no problem had 50 gallons of it not found it's way into my cabin. You get the picture, don't need more detail. Needless to say I had some drying out to do.

Fast forward a couple of hours heading toward Sandy Hook. The wind has now built to 20-25kts, right on the nose and the waves are 4' plus. There is no way to sail so we just keep plowing through the building seas. Our original plan called for us to proceed directly to Cape May. It was going to be an overnight but we would have one of the more difficult legs of the trip behind us. In the middle of the night we were getting rocked pretty bad. This is where Tommy became the MVP for the next 24 hours. I got sick. I'm not talking about a little sick. It is probably one of the worst cases I have ever had. I became totally worthless. I was even wearing a patch but it did absolutely no good. But soldier on we did. Because of the weather, we were using much more fuel just to make any progress. A little after sun up we checked the fuel gage and it was reading a little over a quarter of a tank. We discussed our situation knowing that we couldn't make Cape May with the fuel in the tank. We didn't want to run the engine dry because then we would have to bleed air out of it. We decided to use the spare 10 gallons that we had in gerry cans. Doing this is really no fun when you are rocking and rolling (and I'm so sick I can hardly move but I know I must). Almost immediately after refueling the engine starts to sputter and rev up and then back down to idle speed. Even though we use a Baha type filter funnel when adding diesel we figured that there must have been water in the cans. The engine keeps this up for a couple of hours and then quits totally. I mean dead in the water. It won't crank at all. Now I'm really worried. It's not that we are totally F*&$@D. But we have our life vests on and Tommy mentions that he saw a shark fin pass by the boat. For those of you that don't quite understand the last couple of sentences, check with Cheryl and she will explain. This might be something more to do with our electrical problem. At least we have sails. Up they go. Wow, in no time flat we are making 7 kts plus. The ride has smoothed out and we are actually having more fun. All this would have been great if we were heading to Ireland. We are getting nowhere towards Cape May. Our situation is not good and I finally give up and call Tow Boat US. They had one of their operators from Beach Haven call me and he said that he had at least 3 boats ahead of us that needed a tow. After discussing it for awhile he thought that we should proceed on to Cape May and call for a tow there. Ok, ok, I get it. You are busy and it's going to be expensive anyway. (Did I mention that I was going to sign up for unlimited towing before I left but got busy and forgot). We push on tacking back and forth getting mostly nowhere. About 2:00pm I call Tow Boat US again and inform them that we are approaching Atlantic City. They have a boat about 10 miles south of there and they can come get us. We decided to push on and call them when we approach the inlet. That would make the tow cheaper, right? Wrong. At 4:00 we are not even close and now we are in a whopper thunder storm. Fortunately, they call me back on the phone and ask if I am ready to give up yet. Good thing they called because I was just picking up the phone to call them. The tow takes 4.5 hours counting his time to get to us and tow us in. Anyone remember what B-O-A-T means? You guessed her Chester. Just pocket change under $1,000. Note to self, send the receipt to Mike Berke.

Ok, now we are in a slip in a kewl marina. I know it's kewl because of what they are charging per foot. Not quite New York City but close. But, really nice facilities. We finally tie off a little after 8:30 and just crash. I had already contacted a repair yard that is close to the marina and said that I would call them Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning I am on the phone at 8:00 am sharp. The guy they send over is the shop foreman and really a nice guy. He tells us that we don't have water in the fuel but isn't sure what the problem is yet. After about an hour he finds a loose connection that has something to do with the electronic fuel pump. Said that it would have been hard for us to find it. Anyway, now we get the engine running but we are still not charging. He calls his electrical guy who was also working in this marina. He comes over and does more testing. Looks like we have all the right voltages into the alternator but not coming out. Says that the alternator is probably fried. I know that it is really hot. They take it back to the shop and say that they would try and see if they have a replacement. Late yesterday they call and say that they are having a new Balmar 612 shipped to them and that it will be here tomorrow. Do you hear the cash register working. It could be worse. While Dave, the shop foreman was here, I had him tighten the stuffing box and replace the now totally dead bilge pump. I knew it was flaky before we left Bayfield but I thought I could get away with it till I get to North Carolina. I mean if you are going to spend a grand on towing, why not spend another $1500-2000 on repairs.

So here we sit Wednesday morning waiting for the new alternator. We walk the docks and chat with people. Yesterday afternoon we spend an hour or so talking with a live aboard couple that have a 1991 Island Trader trawler. He is a retired barber and is spending a few hours a day re-doing his teak decks. They look great. They gave us a tour of their boat. Cheryl, and just about every other boating woman I know would love their boat. It's a 46 footer and is really laid out nice for living aboard. I might take pictures of it today.

Ah, now I feel better. I just spent $1,638.60 on repairs. How good does this get. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but, I've always thought that I was destined to live in paradise. It's the trip that is killing me.

Right after I pay the repair bill (details later) Tommy was filling the water tanks and asked me to turn on the water. Great, now the pressure water pump is not working. How can this be. A few minutes of investigation reveals the a couple of wires are literally burned to a crisp. Just what caused this?? Not sure I even want to know. Took awhile but we were able to rewire the pump and all seems to be working. It was a little different because we were splicing a 10 ga wire to a 16 ga wire using butt connectors. Worked out ok but I'm suspicious of the whole thing. I just want it to last till we get to North Carolina where we can take our time fixing whatever else is going to go wrong.

I think I mentioned that this is a really kewl marina. The restaurant is pretty upscale. Tommy and I were informed by our new friend Jim Taylor that the most difficult part of the trip lays ahead, so, we decide to treat ourselves to a dinner in this fine establishment. We are attired in our usual sailing clothes. You know the drill, a $10 T-shirt, $20 pair of shorts and $100 pair of deck shoes. When we get there and look around, we decide to eat at the bar. Even at thr bar we look like trailer trash compared to the rest of the patrons. There are a couple of women next to us who are talking about some multi-million dollar deal that either they or their husbands are working on. Did I mention that I spent over $1600 on repairs today? I'm having a bad day and they are casually chatting over million dollar deals. Where did I go wrong?

We are leaving tomorrow at 0-dark 30 on our way to Cape May and then up Delaware Bay and the C&D Canal. From there is into the Chesapeake Bay. Not sure what to expect but I'm thinking that I am under prepared. In order to post this I am going to be forced to pay for wifi access. Hate to do that but we haven't posted for a few days. Hopefully we will be able to post more frequently.

Did Tommy and I mention that we really miss Cheryl?