TO DELAWARE BAY

We left Atlantic City on Monday Morning of August 27th with the idea of catching the outgoing tide at 9 AM. The forecast was for 5 to 10 knots of wind from the South with waves from 3 to 4 feet and a chance of rain. Our first surprise was getting out of the channel into the Atlantic. The tide was running out, but the wind was blowing in. The waves were confused and hitting 6 to 8 feet in the channel so we pounded our way out to the safety of the ocean, where the waves calmed down to a smooth swell of 4 feet or so. We set the sails and had a good close reach on course for Cape May. As we watched the weather, some pretty big rains storms began to build on shore and down towards Cape May and the Delaware Bay. The winds increased to 12 to 15 knots, which was good for sailing, but we wanted to get past the storms that appeared to be headed towards us and decided to reef the genoa and motor sail with just the main. This gave us the speed and manueverability to only get caught in one rain storm on the way. We saw some interesting activity with the coast guard and police along the way. The helicopter rescue was practicing retrieving people from the water and we got to watch the show as we sailed past.

Later on, a Pon Pon came on the radio saying that a person had been spotted in the water up ahead of us. As we came closer, the coast guard and the state police were doing a grid pattern search as we sailed past. There are a lot of shoals just before getting to Cape May, so we had to sail out a little to avoid them and then back in to the channel. As we approached the channel, it looked very smooth inside. The tide was running in and after a little confused seas at the beginning, it smoothed out with an eight knot ride in. Denise had wanted to visit the town, so the best way to do that was to get a slip. The anchorages were just right outside the channel and looked a little uncomfortable with all the boat traffic. We called Utsch's Marina and they gave us detailed instructions on how to get in and avoid all the very shallow areas just outside the channel. They gave us a welcome package with wine and snacks and maps of the area. We walked over to the Lobster House on Fisherman's Wharf and had a great lobster and seafood meal. We then took a taxi to see as much of the town as we could, with the idea that we would probably leave the next morning. One of the many Victorian houses in Cape May. We were late getting in and had to take our pictures at night, but they were spectacular houses from the 17 and 18 hundreds.

I had not studied the Delaware Bay trip that much, assuming it would be similar to the Hudson where we would need to use the tide to get as far as we could and then hop off for the night, since it appeared to be about 60 miles from the entrance to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. First, our guide book said nothing. I mean absolutely nothing about places to stay. I checked Active Captain, and they only showed a few anchorages along the way until you got to the C & D Canal. What was worse, the tide to give us a fast ride up the bay started at 3 AM. It would take us about 2 hours to get to the entrance to the Bay, plus we had to leave Cape May at slack tide or with it running out to avoid the same hassles we had at Atlantic City. To complicate things even more, the Cape May Channel is narrow and very shallow if you get outside of it, and we would be leaving in the dark. We decided to stay another day and get some local knowledge on the best way to navigate the Delaware Bay. Nobody seemed to have an answer for the best way to traverse the Delaware Bay. We were told that, no matter what, you are going to have to fight the tide at least half the way up. The Strongest tidal currents were in the more narrow portion of the bay as it approached Philadelphia. We were going to hop into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal about 2/3rds of the way up, so we carefully looked up the tides and currents at different times of day and studied and measured the charts to be sure we would catch the tides just right. The conclusion was, we should leave between 6 and 7 AM to get the best results. So we set our alarms for 5 AM and were up and ready to go by 6:30. We followed our neighbors out, who were going for a 36 hour sail to Block Island non-stop in the open ocean. Our trip was not quite as adventurous, but we ran into the same problem exiting from the channel into the Atlantic. Once we were out, everything smoothed out and we unfurled the genoa to help us along. We had a 61 foot mast above the water and we would not fit under the bridge that would have been a short cut for us, so we spent about three hours working to avoid the shallow shoals around Cape May and into the Bay where we would have exited if we could get under the bridges. Although we have not figured out how it happened, the tides seemed to be pushing back against us from 1/2 knot to almost 3 knots all the way up the Delaware to the C & D Canal. So much for the wasted day of planning! The Delaware Bay is pretty boring. There are no places to stop, not much to see, and there are a lot of tankers, cargo ships and tug boats running up and down. Here are some of our "cruising" partners and some sights along the way.

Almost 12 hours later, we finally reached the C & D Canal. There wasn't much there either, but twelve miles down the canal, we found our anchorage and dropped the hook for the night after a 14 long hours. Tomorrow, we sail a mile or so into the Chesapeake Bay!

WEATHERED IN AT ATLANTIC CITY

We were planning our long trip to Cape May when the launch operator mentioned our plans to Steve on On Eagles Wings who was planning to leave at about the same time. We invited him over to our boat and he showed us how it would be more advantageous for us to stop in Atlantic City instead of trying to make the 100 mile plus trip to Cape May and the Delaware Bay. He had made the trip every year for a long time now and he knew all the little shortcuts and where to anchor for free in Atlantic City. He was leaving at 5:30 on Friday morning and we asked if we could tag along with him. At 5:30 sharp the next morning, we were headed out of Sandy Hook and into the Atlantic. Following On Eagles Wings into the Atlantic sunrise.

We were motorsailing with the main up and following behind him at an average of 6.5 knots fairly close to to the New Jersey shore. The wind was very light and, of course, on our nose. The main sail did give us a little boost though and helped add a knot or so at times to our speed. It was kind of reassuring to know we were following a veteran sailor who had taken the same trip so many times. All of a sudden I looked up and On Ealgles Wings had stopped almost dead in the water and did a 180 turn back toward us. We slowed and followed him to see what had happened. Apparently he was having a problem with his heat exchanger and his engine had overheated. We offered to stay and help but he insisted we keep going since he had already called Boat US and made arrangements to be towed into Barnegat Bay for repairs. We felt bad for him but we continued on our course for Atlantic City and wished him the best of luck with his repairs. Steve had told us of a small anchorage area that was just inside the Atlantic City Channel that he used every time he took the trip. As we got closer I started looking for it on our charts to make sure there were no surprises. Unfortunately, my charts said anywhere from 2 to 6 feet near the entrance to the little anchorage area off Rum Point. I called Steve to see how his repairs were coming and to ask a few questions about the anchorage. On Eagles Wings only has a 4 foot 4 inch draft, so he could not be sure that we would make it through the entrance with our 5 foot 7 inch draft. He suggested that we would probably want to get a slip at one of the marinas since the only other alternative would be a fairly rough anchorage near the channel and the Coast Guard Station. We started calling the marinas but most had already left for the day. We were down to 2 choices of Kammerman Marine or the Farley Marina that was a part of the Golden Nugget. We had heard that the Golden Nugget was very expensive so we talked to Kammerman first. The only place they could put us would be on the gas dock with no electric at $2.25 per foot. Oh, by the way, we would have to leave at 7 AM when the gas dock opened. The Goldent Nugget was $3.00 per foot but we had all the amenities plus the use of the pool, spa and access to the casino and all the entertainment. Not a bad deal, so we took it. Entering the channel to Atlantic City

A view from our slip towards the Boardwalk Casinos.

Our 6th floor pool.

They had a dock hand that helped us in, tied us up and coiled and braided all our lines. He even helped hook up the electric. Wow! The facilities were the best we have seen since we have been traveling, or boating for that matter. When we wandered into a bar, they asked for a $10.00 cover charge, but when they found out we were boaters, they gave us a free pass for the rest of our stay. Our stay became extended after we checked the weather and saw some pretty severe storms down at Cape May with a small craft warning that had been posted for Saturday morning. Once again, the marina was very accomodating and cut our fee to less than what the other marina was trying to charge us for the gas dock. So we just relaxed and enjoyed our stay. The storms seemed to stall over Cape May and they were hit with torrential rain fal and lots of flooding. The small craft warning was extended into Sunday. Oh well. We now had plenty of time to enjoy everything and even go tour the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk. Barry and Sue on Sea Hunt pulled in next to us and we immediately hit it off with them. A view of the Boardwalk from the Beach.

A view of the Beach from the Boardwalk.

A view of the Boardwalk in front of Ballys.

We are now planning on leaving tomorrow morning, which is Monday August 27th for Cape May. There are still some storms close by, but the small craft warnings have been lifted. It is only about 25 miles from Atlantic City and we could keep going up into Delaware Bay, but Denise had heard so much about it she wants to stop and explore.

OUR FIRST "OCEAN" ISLAND -THEN OUT OF THE SOUND

We didn't make it to Block Island on Wednesday the 15th of August as we had planned. There was a severe storm warning across Long Island Sound and New York City was getting drenched with rain all day. We decided to stay put and wait until this strong front got through. It was a good choice. Although the storms did not get to us until a little later in the day, it was extremely violent with high winds, massive lightening and thunder at Mystic. Block Island had storms over them most of the day. We took in a few more things we had not seen yet at Mystic, but by Thursday morning, we were ready to go. We took some local advice and decided to take the East passage around Fishers Island to avoid the Race, which is an area of rip tides that can get up to 7 knots at times. We had a little confusion trying to make sure we were following the right channel markers, but it was fairly simple since almost all the boats going that way were also going to Block Island. Block Island is on the Eastern most end of the Long Island Sound with the North Atlantic on it's East and South Sides. It was first settled in the early 1600's. It has two harbors, one that is called Old Harbor, which is relatively small and near the old town and the other is called the Salt Pond or New Harbor, which can accomodate over a thousand boats. We had an easy motorsail over to the island with very little wind and less than 2 foot waves most of the way. As we entered Salt Pond at around 4 PM, it looked as if it were wall to wall boats. We had called the harbor master before going in and were told that all the town moorings were taken and we took a private mooring. We were instructed to go to a certain point and wait for them to direct us to the correct mooring ball. We had been told that if you get there and town moorings are open, you can just grab them and you can stay as long as you want, for $40.00 per night. If they put you on a private mooring, you can only stay until 10 AM the next morning, also for $40.00. The alternative is to anchor, and there were many boats doing that. We had been told that the holding was not good and not a safe place to be if a storm comes up, especially with all the other boats around you that could drag and crash into you. The key to getting a town mooring if you came in after they were all taken, is to get up early in the morning and watch for boats leaving to catch the tide across the Sound. We settled in on the private mooring and put the motor on the dingy. This is no small task, since it weighs around 50 pounds and we have to lift it from about 7 feet over the water from our railing and down into the dingy, that is usually rocking and rolling in a way that makes balancing (while holding a 50 lb motor) a little tricky. We are refining the process and it is getting better, but I see davits in our future real soon! Our first dingy trip was to explore Chaplans Marina. The place was packed with a lot of very big and very expensive boats. They were docked so tight together that there was barely room for fenders between them. They were also "docked" three or four boats deep, with some rafted off to each other, which means you can't move your boat without everyone else moving their's first! The ones that are rafted off have to climb over the other boats to get to the dock! There were restaurants, stores and bars and loud music blasting everywhere. For all that, they charge $4.50 per foot plus extra charges for power and water. Not the way I would want to spend the night. In the morning, I stuck my head out around 6 AM and spotted an available green town mooring ball that was not too far away. I decided we needed to grab a town mooring before everyone else started looking for them and awakened Denise. We wanted to get our laundry done and then explore the rest of the Island. Unfortunately, there was no place to do laundry yourself and Denise did not feel comfortable letting someone else do it. It took us several hours to figure out that we would not be able to do the laundry, but we had lunch at The Oar Restaurant at Paynes Marina, which was a little more laid back and reasonable than Champlans and the food was much better. We then took a cab to Old Harbor and a little tour of the East end of the island including the high bluffs and the lighthouse on the Atlantic side. Old Harbor is primarily for the ferries that tranport people and cars almost non-stop from the mainland. They drop them off right there in town and they are welcomed with open arms in the hotels, restaurants and bars. We did a nice tour of the town with some cocktails at a beach bar overlooking the North Atlantic and dinner at a cozy little restaurant and then took a taxi back to Champlans Marina. The forecast did not look good for Saturday, so we decided to spend another night. Good thing. It rained constantly all day long on Saturday until about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. We got a few things done and had a nice dinner at The Oar. We met sailors from Water Colors that were heading for the Bahamas. The Captain had a crew of two friends to help him take the outside route around Long Island. We had a great evening with good food and good conversation. The entrance to Salt Pond on Block Island

One of the fast ferries bringing people to Block Island

The Cliffs overlooking the Atlantic on the East Shore of Block Island

A beach scene at Old Harbor, Block Island.

A view of some of the hotels and shops in Old Harbor

On Sunday, August 19th, we slipped the mooring and headed back out into Long Island Sound headed for the Conneticut shore. Our plan is to go back through the East River to New York Harbor and then South to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where we can plan our long outside passage in the Atlantic to Cape May. The wind was light so we motored all the way to Duck Island where we dropped the anchor for the night. We had stopped here going out and it was such a comfortable anchorage we decided to stay again and visit the town. The town was a little hard to find but we did Find Jim's Seafood Restaurant and had another great meal, entertainment and some conversation. On Monday, we hauled the anchor and headed across the Sound to Long Island. We wanted to stop at either Port Jefferson or Oyster Bay. With the tide giving us a good push and the guide book's description of Oyster Bay, we decided that was our destination. Oyster Bay was the summer White House for Teddy Roosevelt and has spectuacular scenery and an accessable downtown. We picked up a mooring at Sagamore Yacht Club just off the town and went in to finally get the laundry done and have dinner. We decided to stay another day to explore a little more and give us a good start in the morning for our trip through the East River again. Although everything has been interesting and beautiful, we are anxious to get to a little slower pace and less congestion. One of the beautiful houses in Oyster Bay.

Even Billie Joel has a home here.

Oyster farmers in Oyster Bay.

Going through the East River is always exciting, but we want to be safe. We left Oyster Bay on August 22nd and headed toward New York City. The guide book said we should arrive at Throgs Neck Bridge one hour before high tide there to get the safest and best trip through the river and Hell Gate. We got there around noon, which was two hours too early, so we sailed around near City Island for a while and waited for the 2 O'clock target. As we waited, the winds began to increase to 10 to 15 knots with gusts over 20. By the time we went under the bridge the winds were still blowing. This made for confused seas, since the wind would be blowing against the current. The way it worked out, Hell gate was a little more active and confused with little whirlpools and high waves, but we cruised right through doing over 10 knots. That same current carried us all the way through the river and into New York Harbor in less than an hour. Confused seas at Hell Gate

A classic last goodbye to Lady Liberty

The views again were spectacular from the river, but this post has become longer than normal and we won't bore you with the pictures of the same place we showed you in earlier posts. The current also helped us get out of New York Harbor and out through the Narrows Bridge. The Narrows Bridge is sort of the gateway to the Atlantic, and our gateway to Sandy Hook, which was our destination for the night. The open area of ocean past the Narrows was getting pretty rough with the high winds but calmed down once we got inside Sandy Hook Bay. It might have been the wind and waves, but the anchorages we had planned on using didn't look too secure, so we opted for a mooring at the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club on the West shore of the bay. The "Double Decker" Narrows Bridge

Sunset at Sandy Hook, New Jersey

Our next trip will be a long haul of over 100 miles in the open ocean to Cape May and the Delaware Bay. We need to be prepared and know we have good weather for the trip.

MYSTIC BOUND

We spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Rex Boat yard at Norwalk. The rains came but the violent storms never materialized, although they predicted them every day. Another Catalina sailboat hopped into the slip next to us avoid the storms on Thursday. They were traveling with their children. We spent the raniest day going to the aquarium and museum. We saw an Imax movie about prehistoric animals on land and sea and then got to see exhibits of animals from all over the world, including a shark, stingray, crab and lobster petting tank. They also grew their own fish food including krill, sea horses and jellyfish that they also sell to other aquariums. Unfortunately, Denise had forgotten her camera and we did not get any pictures. The town itself had a lot of nice restaurants, but, being on the ocean, I wanted to get as much seafood as I could. We found plenty. The town was also interesting in that an overhead train traveled across the main intersection of the older part of town. On Saturday, we did a few chores on the boat, including fixing the dreaded Windless. If you remember, someplace back in Wisconsin a few parts came out of the windless that were'nt supposed to. We had the replacement parts sent to our home and picked them up the last time we were there. The windless worked fine with the chain but could not pull in the rope rode without the missing pressure arm, so it was not on my priority list, especially since it would require pulling all 250 feet of rode out of the windless, dis-assembling the windless, putting it back together and then re-inserting the 250 feet of rode again. But, I had put it off too long and Denise thought I should do something other than write on the blog, so I got started. It was a long, hot job, but I got it done and it works fine. We had cocktails with our neighbors and they joined us to listen to music at the Ischoda Yacht Club next door. Leaving Norwalk

We left Sunday morning with the tide, with the intent of going as far as we could and then finding a place to anchor out for the night. ActiveCaptain.com had given us a few choices, (some with mixed reviews) and our neighbors gave us a few other ideas. The wind picked up as the morning wore on and actually got to do some sailing. This was the first time we had put all the sails up since Lake Erie! It was wonderful to travel without listening to the constant roar of the motor. The first stop we considered was The Thimbles. This is a small group of islands with deep water all around them. We approached them very carefully but found they were a playground for all the residents and others who anchor around the islands. Some views of the Thimbles

It was interesting but a little too congested for us and we still had a few hours of daylight, so we pressed on with our course set for Duck Island near the Conneticut River. We finally dropped anchor at about 7 PM along with several other sailboats. It was a beautiful night with the stars blazing above and the wind and current rushing past our boat. This was our first experience anchoring with the tides coming and going, so we were a little concerned about the anchor dragging as the boat shifted around, so both Denise and I were up several times to check the anchor during the night. We never budged and inch! In the morning, I stuck my head out at around 7 AM and almost every boat was gone! We had our coffee, pulled anchor and we were on our way too. Our Evening sunset at Duck Island

Morning Jellyfish!

Mystic was our next stop. The currents pushed us along and we were in the the Mystic River by 11 AM. It was a long and winding channel into to town and we wanted to get there for the opening of a bascule bridge that opens 40 minutes after each hour. Unfortunately, we missed the 11:40 opening by about 15 minutes, which meant we had to wait more than a half hour just floating around in the channel for it to open. There was a railroad swing bridge right before the bascule bridge, but it closed right after we went through, so we were stuck between the bridges too. Denise gets a little nervous in tight quarters, but the bridge finally opened at about 12:50. It turned out there were several boats tied up along the channel waiting too, and we had a parade going through. We had confirmed our reservations with the Mystic Seaport and they had people in red shirts assigned to each boat directing us in. Mystic Seaport is a shipyard and working museum. They restore old boats and the big project right now is the Charles W. Morgan. It is a working boat yard and museum set up as it would have been back in the early 1800's. There are sail makers, rope makers, coopers, riggers, and replica buildings of grocery stores, drug stores and period homes. There are demonstrations going on all day long and more information about sailing and boating than you can possibly digest in the few days we had. We toured as many of the exhibits and buildings we could before they started closing at 5 PM and then headed to downtown Mystic to have dinner at the famous Mystic Pizza. "A Slice of Heaven"

We made it a relatively early night and continued to tour the museum and seaport today. By 5 PM we had seen it all and were ready for a nightcap. Three other Catalinas had tied up around us that were from Northpoint, New York, so we tried to meet as many of them as we could. A beautiful scene as we entered Mystic River.

The Swing Bridge that closed us in.

An 1800 street scene in Mystic Seaport

A full rigged ship on display.

The view on the deck.

A working sail makers loft.

Figure heads of all shapes and sizes.

There are so many pictures of the interesting things we saw, that we can't post them all here. We will try to figure out a way to share them for those of you who are interested. Tomorrow, we are headed for Block Island in Rhode Island. Like Mystic Seaport, it is one of those places a sailor shouldn't miss. There are thunderstorms predicted for later in the day tomorrow and there are some strong currents in an area called the Race that we will have to contend with, but it is only about 20 miles away. Another adventure!

THROUGH HELL GATE TO LONG ISLAND SOUND

We got up early on Thursday morning on August 9th to begin our trip up the East River and into Long Island Sound. Part of the journey would include a section on the East River called Hell Gate. We had heard many different stories about the turbulence and potential problems that had earned the area it's name and were a little apprehensive. The East River has tides coming from both the New York Harbor and the Long Island Sound and they run opposite of each other. This creates a very swift current and a lot of turbulence and whirlpools where the two meet at Hell Gate. The guidebook instructed us to enter the East River from New York Harbor one or two hours after low tide at the Battery, which is at the entrance to the river. Low tide was at 8:10 AM, so we left our mooring at 79th Street at 8 AM for the 5 mile trip to the Battery. We figured we would take a little cruise around Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty before we turned into the river. The closer we got to New York Harbor and the Battery, the busier it got with ferries and tour boats coming at us from all directions. My AIS alerts me within an alarm when we get within a half mile of a commercial boat and it was going off constantly. Although it would have been annoying in most cases, I felt good that I could spot each ferry, tug and freighter as it got near us with no suprises. Even knowing they were there, it was still a little un-nerving to turn around and see a big boat come flying up behind you. I showed my intentions early and they all seemed to appreciate it as they gave us a wide berth.

This is a view of the skyline from the Hudson. The tower in the middle is the 9/11 Memorial.

The Jersey Shore

All the boat action made the harber pretty choppy as we motored past Ellis and the Statue of Liberty, but Denise got some good pictures. Ellis Island

Lady Liberty

I called the Coast Guard on the radio to make sure there were no additional security precautions I needed to know about (this was the site of 9/11) but they said there was nothing other than the standing security zones around things like the Statue, Ellis Island, the United Nations and Homeland Security, etc.,. The AIS didn't show much traffic in the river as we entered past Governors Island. The view was spectacular! We went past the Seaport, the Brooklyn Bridge, the United Nations and the entire skyline of New York, including the 9/11 monument at ground zero. The Battery, the skyline and the Memorial

The Seaport A Busy Heliport

The Brooklyn Bridge

Seaplanes

Other than a few ferries and watching some seaplanes on the river, the trip was pretty uneventful and the tide was pushing us over 8 knots. As we came up to Hell Gate, the tide at slack and there was virtually no current. The "dreaded" Hell Gate was nothing more than a pond that curved around an island and back East again to the Long Island Sound. This is a picture looking back at Hell Gate.

The tide from Long Island, however, began to pull us out with it at 8 knots again. This was the reason for picking the right time to enter East River. You ride in on the tide, hit Hell Gate at slack tide and ride out again on the receding tide the other way. Since we were getting into the Sound much earlier than we had anticipated, we dcecided we would try to go as far as we could with the promised storms closing behind us from the West. One of the first few light houses that let us know we were in Long Island Sound.

We looked at many possiblities and tried to call several marinas and yacht clubs to try and find a spot. Nobody was answering their phones and nobody was calling back. As the storms were getting closer, we finally got a call from Rex Marine in Norwalk, Conneticut. We made arrangements to have a slip waiting for us and set a course for Norwalk. The storms kept getting closer and the Coast Guard was broadcasting extreme storm warnings on the VHF radio, so we didn't have the luxury of trying to sail and kept the motor pushing us at around 7 knots. The entrance channel to Norwalk was long, narrow and surrounded by shallow water with fishing stakes all around. There were a lot of sailboats on our way in on moorings along the channel, but when we got to Rex Marine, it was all power boats. The slip we were given was about 8 to 10 feet too short for our boat and we were in a working boat yard where they constantly launched and pulled small power boats in and out of racks. Needless to say, we were a little disappointed. The Marina facilities and the Town of Norwalk was very nice and we decided to go exploring. The marina provided a free shuttle service and we were given a tour of the water side of town, which had many restaurants, museums, a West Marine Store, and other free entertainment. The really big storms seemed to dissipate before they got to us but the heavy rains came on Friday around noon. Fortunately, had breakfast, went shopping at West Marine and were in the Imax and Aquarium museum enjoying their very detailed descriptions of the Sound's wildlife both on shore and in the water. Unfortunately, there were a few hundred, or maybe a thousand young kids doing the same thing, but it was still interesting and informative. By the time the rains were done, we headed back to our boat and proceeded to do a few chores. Before we knew it, it was 7:30 and time for dinner at the local seafood restaurant on the water. We will see what the weather is going to do on Saturday before we decide to leave or not. The forecast is still calling for Thunderstorms and rain, but they have been wrong before. By the way, if you click on "Our Map" at the top of the blog, you will see the maps of where we have been and where we are.