Friday, May 20, 2011

Friday, Cape May, NJ:  Well, we are still here.  It does look like we can leave for Atlantic City, NJ, tomorrow morning.  If you have to be stranded for a week, Cape May is an OK place to be.  We can walk just about any where you want to go; grocery store, liquor store, West Marine and several more marine stores, laundra-mat, Post Office, and several nice restaurants.  They have a nice restaurant that has several restaurant's within it and it also has bakery and fresh seafood.  It is called "The Lobster House" and we have been there several times.


CO's comments:  One minute you have 7' of pure water under your vessel then a few hours later, your props are sitting in a foot of silty mud.  This marina that we are at; Miss Chris, (if you could call it that) is a nice place to stay.  To all my friends at Bill's Bay - during the summer you may deal with low water and mud, whereas, here you only deal with low water a few hours at a time.  We plan our days around the tides.

Our new neighbor, who has a 4' draft, couldn't
figure out why he couldn't go all the way
into  the slip; then his wife told him that
he was aground, so he just left it there.

The Cape May Canal from the bridge
with a boat load of whale and
dolphin watchers.

Keith thought you all  would like
to see this; one of the many
decorations at the dock.

Cape May Harbor from the bridge-
looking at the Coast Guard anchorage
just inside the harbor.

Sunset at Cape May on 5-20-2011

May 16 through 19, 2011 Monday through Thursday:

Cape May, NJ, Miss Chris Marina:  Not much happening, just waiting on the weather to improve so we can get going again.  Kieth and I have been getting a lot of work done while we wait but we are both ready to get back on the water.  This will be the first time we will be out on the ocean and we are looking forward to it.  When (or if) we get going it will start Phase 13 of our Journey: Atlantic Ocean from Cape May to New York.

The tides in Cape May are anywhere from 6 to 8 feet and at low tide we have seen many boats sitting in the mud; then at high tide we have seen many streets flood.  We have seen this little clothing/souvenirs store with about 6 inches of water on the floor several times.  They are calling it another "Tidal Anomaly" or surge.  The tide comes up so fast that it comes up through the City drain system and floods the street and some stores.

CO's comments:  Since we have been in New Jersey we have seen gas nozzles laying on the docks where they were last used.  One of the marinas across the street, which charges $3.00 per foot, at low tide you could find your boat sitting in the mud.  We saw about 6 boats that were backed in and they were in so much mud they couldn't leave until high tide; not what I would want to do with our boat.  We have seen several boats anchoring out or on a mooring ball in back of our boat that sit in the mud during low tide also.

This hose on the dock is an every day
occurrence; just leave it on the deck when done

Dock

Our neighbor to the port- he has daily
fishing trips; he provides the boat and
captain and you bring your own fishing
pole, bait, etc.

Our neighbor to our starboard-
He has bus loads going out whale
and dolphin watching daily

Miss Chris Marina and Fishing Center; they have
fishing trips and kayak rental-very nice people

Sail boats anchored behind us

Previously posted pictures from April 3, 4, and 5, 2011

Container Ship on it's way to
Savannah, GA

Sunset on Factory Creek Anchorage

Factory Creek in Beaufort, SC
Lady's Island Marina

9' Low tide at Lady's Island Marina
Beaufort, SC

9' High tide at Lady's Island
Marina, Beaufort, SC

9' Low Tide at Lady's Island
Marina, Beaufort, SC

May 14 and 15, 2011; Saturday and Sunday

Saturday, Greenwich, NJ to Cape May, NJ, Miss Chris Marina:  After checking radar, winds, and rain we decided to take a chance and we were on our way by 08:25.  It was overcast and 58 degrees.  With a prayer and a little bit of luck we made it to Cape May, NJ, by 13:25.   It was overcast all day long with a few sprinkles now and then but nothing bad. Seas were at our bow but the tide was with us and we even got some push from it.  It was a little bumpy most of the way but I think we are getting used to having waves on a daily basis.  What we used to think were big waves are now the norm for the east coast. We explored the area after we got settled in and tonight we had a very nice dinner at "Lucky Bones Backwater Grill". 
Sunday:  Thank goodness we left when we did as today we could not have made it.  There are supposed to be thunder storms until next Friday, May 20th.  Today was oil change day for Keith and I am doing my usual; blog and itinerary.

CO's comments:  We normally cruise at 1800 rmp but we pushed it to 2500 rpm today.  The props change smoothed the vibration out and we are good.  The XO didn't tell you that we are paying a $1.50 less per foot than the fancier marinas that are just across the street, but we still have the same access to all the restaurants and sights.  We have been warned not to take the Intracoastal in New Jersey.  You are almost guaranteed to go a ground.  We are waiting for calm seas to make an outside run to Atlantic City, NJ, and then to Sandy Hook, NJ which is just before the start of the Hudson River.

N38 57.013
W74 54.642

Cape May Harbor, NJ

Cape May Harbor, NJ

Thursday and Friday, May 12 & 13, 2011

Tuesday, May 10, 2011, Solomons, MD, Calvert Marina:  I have been having trouble with our blog and I lost the posting for last Tuesday, May 10, 2011.  Actually, I was locked out of the blog for 2 1/2 days and when I finally got back in, May 10th posting was gone.

May 12, 2011, Thursday; Annapolis, MD, to Anchorage on Bohemia River, MD:  Today started out like a normal day.  We had fairly calm waters (for the Chesapeake) with a lot of crab pods again and quit a bit of debris in the water when leaving Annapolis.  By the time we reached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge we started seeing more and more debris.  We were going slow and watching closely.  Just on the north side of the bridge we heard and felt a loud clunk and Keith pulled back immediately on the throttles.  We don't know for sure what we hit but there was nothing in front of the boat so it must have been under water.  We started getting a vibration at 2000 rmp's and the faster we went, the worse the vibration.  From the bridge all the way to our anchorage we encountered a lot of debris.  It's very stressful watching for debris and crab pods all day long.  We are guessing the debris was from yesterday's "Tidal Anomaly".  We had a beautiful anchorage on the Bohemia River in Veasey Cove.  Very smooth water and quiet.  Actually, it was one of the smoothest nights we have had on the whole east coast so far.

N39 28.543
W75 55.037

May 13, 2011, Friday; Bohemia River Anchorage to Greenwich Marina and Boat Works, NJ:   We got up early and engines were started by 06:30 but it took 20 minutes to bring the anchor up and wash off all the dark, black, mud from the anchor, rode, and boat; what a mess.  We had a green flashing light to enter the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  We were the only boat going east and there was one barge coming at us going west.  The canal was very deep but not too wide.  We had 6 bridges and 1 overhead pipeline to go under in the canal; with the lowest vertical clearance of 45 feet.  We got to Greenwich Marina and Boat Works by 13:10 and they had us drive right into the sling to pull the boat out of the water to change our props.  It was very interesting trying to get me off the boat while we were in the lift!  The write-up in Dozier's Waterway Guide made this place sound really good; but, I guess it proves the statement that "You can't believe every thing you read" because this place was a dump.  It was one of the worst marina's we have been in since we started our trip.  In fairness, the owner and his employees were very nice people.  Gas at $4.50/gallon, haul out, and replace props proved to be a very expensive day.  The weather report for the next week does not look good at all.  We will get up early again tomorrow and check it again to see if we have a 5 hour window to get to Cape May, NJ.  I certainly hope so because I do not want to stay here for a week.

N39 23.005
W75 20.948

CO's comments:  If you take this route through the canal, even though you have a green light, it is a good idea to call the Canal Dispatcher and let them know you are coming.  They will let you know of any traffice either ahead or behind you.  We anchored in about 7' of water and on a calm night this is a nice anchorage.

Sunset at Veasey Cove anchorage on 5-12-2011