Sept 24

We awoke early today and immediately turned the TV on to see what is going on with Hurricane Rita.  We are glad to see that she has gone a little east of Houston/Galveston, thus sparing many of our friends, and she has weakened a little which may spare the friends still in her path in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area.  We have not heard any direct reports about the Kemah/Clear Lake area, nor seen any pictures of torn up boats and marinas, so that is probably a good thing.  TV news wouldn't miss a chance to show carnage, so if they aren't showing it, it must not have happened.  We will anxiously await hearing from some of our friends to be sure.

The weather here today is a heavy overcast, fairly strong wind, and cool.  It makes watching the hurricane news more believable, since the wind is whistling in the rigging and it could rain at any time.  It really isn't that bad here, but the combination of the real thing and the TV make it seem worse.  In reality, there is not supposed to be any rain, and the temp is about 70. 

Since we are fairly confident that the news back home is good, we decide to make some good use of our extra day here.  The marina rents bicycles, so we rented two for four hours.  We have one of those maps that are not to scale and look like a cartoon, which are basically intended to advertise all the businesses in town.  We head into town, in search of a beach bar.  On the way, Barb noticed a sign on the road for the historic lighthouse.  Lighthouses are always a good thing, so I whipped out the map and plotted a course.  Remember I said the map was not to scale?  Well, 45 minutes later, we got to the lighthouse.  Fortunately the town is all flat, because they were basic one-speed bikes.  We found out later it was six miles from the marina to the light house.  I know that isn't much, and I have friends back in Texas (Bruce) who will laugh at this, but our butts were numb, and knees were hurting.  Remember, a few months ago our idea of a bike was a Harley. 

The lighthouse was nice, and tall, and for five bucks you could climb it.  Well, after the bike ride, neither one of us was up to climbing a lot of stairs.  So we looked, took some pictures, checked out the visitors center, and went out to the beach.  After about half an hour, we mounted up and headed back in search of that beach bar.  The lighthouse was a few miles from the developed part of the beach, so we took it slow and headed that way.  The developed area of the beachfront is like many beach towns.  There is a paved path for walking on the beach side of the street, and then blocks and blocks of motels, and cheap beach souvenir places.  Ironically, bikes and rollerbladers are only allowed on the paved path between 04:00 and 10:00.  Guess they figure the slow, old pedestrians come out after 10:00, and they don't want them run over. 

According to my map, there was one restaurant actually on the beach side of the street.  A beach-front beer and lunch sounded good, so that's where we headed.  Henry's on the Beach looked like the kind of place we wanted.  Inside seating area on the street, and a large patio facing the beach.  We were seated on the patio, and I looked forward to that first cold beer after all this exercise stuff I'd been doing.  The waitress came right over and we ordered two Coronas and ice water.  She gave us that look, and said "We don't have a liquor license here.  All we serve is this wine."  and she pointed us at the wine menu.  Well, if you wanted wine, which I didn't, you had to buy a bottle of it.  And I thought Texas had strange liquor laws.  I guess it's ok to sell you a bottle and then it's like you brought your own or something.  Well, we were here, and we were hungry, and it was on the beach, so we ordered sandwiches.  Barb had a grilled chicken sandwich and I had their "fish sandwich like in The Keys".  I have been in The Keys, and was not aware of this specialty, but it was good.  It was a generic white fish patty, deep fried with grilled onions, tomato, cheese, and a secret sauce.  It was actually quite good.  Although it would have been better with a Corona.

After lunch, we headed towards the marina.  We thought we would make a stop to get one item for the cat.  One of the nice things about having a cat in a confined space like a boat, is that he isn't exposed to things.  He had never had vaccinations until we left Texas, since he had always been in a house or the boat.  On the boat, fleas were never an issue.  But, he has just spent six weeks in the country with another cat and a dog.  Just before we left Bob & Kitty's house, we noticed a couple of fleas on him.  We powdered him and hoped for the best.  Well, yesterday we noticed another flea on him, so we wanted to get some powder to stem this before it becomes a problem.   Well, I guess they don't have fleas in Cape May, because we went to a small pet stuff shop that had all sorts of cute things for your pet, but no flea powder, and a regular grocery store, which also didn't have any.  So, we'll resort to inspecting him and picking them off if we find any for now.

Once we got back to the marina with the bikes, we locked them up and turned the keys in to the fuel dock guys.  They asked if we had a good time and we told them we went to the lighthouse.  They told us it was six miles and they were amazed.  I mentioned the critical lack of bars in the town, and they laughed and just said we didn't look in the right places.  There are none allowed right on the beach, but apparently there are fifty-three other places in town where they are hidden.  They darn sure weren't obvious.  Off to the boat to get a beer.

GPS N 38-57.070 W 74-54.345  Miles made good this leg 12 (to the lighthouse and back!)  Total miles covered 2505.

Sept 25

The weather is supposed to be much nicer today, and we are heading out.  The wind quit overnight and it is sunny and calm when we awake about 06:45.  Funny how on the boat we get up with the sun, yet while we were at Bob & Kitty's it was so easy to sleep until after 08:00 every day.  We shower and start getting ready to go. 

Cape May Harbor has two ways in and out.  There is the Atlantic Ocean inlet which we came in, and there is the Cape May Canal which goes from the inner end of the harbor (where we are) across the tip of the peninsula to Delaware Bay.  The canal would be the obvious way to go from here, but there are two bridges over it that are fifty-five feet.  Our mast height is more than that.  So, I had plotted a course to go back out into the Atlantic and around the peninsula into Delaware Bay.  This meant going all the way through the harbor which has several shallow spots and wide around the shoals that surround the peninsula, all at low tide.  But, then I chatted with our slip neighbors, Randy and Pat.  They had come in Friday and were leaving today too.  Randy said something about getting under the bridge at low water, and I said we were going around the outside.  I asked him what his mast height was, and it was only about six inches less than ours.  He pointed out that the fifty-five foot published clearance is at high water.  We were now at low water which meant we had three or four feet more clearance.  I quickly checked my boat manual and confirmed that without the antennae and wind indicator, my mast height is fifty-five and a half feet above DWL which is designated water line.  Well, we've picked up a few inches on that just by loading the boat for cruising.  The designated water line is at least three inches underwater now.  I figured the wind indicator adds six inches, and the antennae is flexible, so I suddenly was changing plans.  Going through the canal would save at least an hour over the outside route, and we were at low tide at 08:00. 

A short diversion about the neighbors, Randy and Pat.  They have just retired and left NJ/NY on their boat.  They kept their boat at Liberty Harbor Marina, which is where we encountered the closed fuel dock.  They sold their house in NJ, bought a place in Florida and were headed down there.  They appeared to be roughly our age.  It was nice to see other cruisers our age getting out there and doing it. 

Back to the canal.  We cast off about 08:30 and headed that way.  The first bridge was just around the corner from the marina, so we would soon know if this would work.  I had asked the marina owner about it, and he said there are tide boards on the bridge so we could read them and if it was too shallow, just turn around.  Good plan except the tide boards had been in the water for who knows how many years, and below fifty-four feet they were just brown and unreadable.  But it looked to be three feet from the fifty-four mark to the water.  So, we slowly approached.  As we approached, a medium sized fishing boat came the other way at maximum wake making speed and with no regard for our presence.  I stopped just a couple of feet from the mast going under the bridge as we tried to ride out his wake.  We gently proceeded, and the tip of my antennae just barely clipped each beam of he bridge as we passed under.  Less than a mile down the canal is a twin bridge with a similarly unreadable tide board.  We stopped for this one too, and slowly passed under it without touching at all.  I was a happy camper as this saved us an hour off the days trip.  I called back to Randy to tell him of our success and that if he was going to do it, he needed to go before the tide rose.  They we already getting underway.

Once out of the canal and into Delaware Bay, the trip northwest is pretty straightforward.  This bay is very similar to Galveston Bay in that it is fairly shallow except for a ship channel used by large ships and barges going to Wilmington, DL and Philadelphia, PA.  We were going to stay in the shallow (twenty feet) part most of the way, so we aren't concerned with the big ships.  There also is a significant current in this bay which the cruising guides say to take advantage of.  The timing was perfect for us, as the current was running into the bay and would be for about five or six hours.  Once we were out of the canal and turned northeast, the wind was directly on our stern.  It was forecast to blow between five and ten knots, and that's exactly what it was doing.  It would blow five knots for a minute, then up to ten knots for a minute, then back to five, etc.  The swell from the ocean was on the stern too, so I figured this was a perfect time to sail.  Since we saved the time by using the canal, we didn't have to go fast all day.  I don't think I have ever sailed my boat wing-and-wing, but now was a good time to try it.  Wing-and-wing, for the non-sailors, means putting the mainsail way out to one side and the jib out to the other side.  You only do his when going directly downwind.  And, you have to be careful that the mainsail doesn't swing around to the other side.  That would be a gibe, and it makes a lot of noise and can break things.  So, you rig a preventer, which is a boating way of saying, you tie the boom to something sturdy on the boat so it can't swing to the other side.  We were now sailing at better than five knots, with following seas.  A common sailor's wish is "fair winds and following seas".  This may be the first time we've really had that on this trip. 

Of course all good things pass, so after about three hours of beautiful, comfortable sailing, the wind shifted enough that the wing-and-wing thing wasn't working anymore.  I did the math and at the pace we were going, we would be pressing dark before getting to our anchorage, so we fired up the motor.  We shifted the mainsail to the other side and furled the jib since the main was blocking the wind from it.  With the current, the wind, and the motor all working together for a change, we were making over seven and sometimes over eight knots. 

Our destination today is a place called Reedy Island.  There is nothing there, just an island to anchor behind and spend the night.  About 16:30 we approached the island.  There is a rock breakwater running for about a mile off the south end of this small island, and at high water, which it is now, the breakwater is not visible.  The cruising guide was clear about how to get behind the island.  There are two markers, only about a hundred feet apart, marking a break in the breakwater.  We got through with no problem, and anchored in about twelve feet of water in the lee of the island.  The wind is still blowing about fifteen mph, but the water is smooth where we are about a hundred yards offshore.

While sitting in the cockpit enjoying the view, I spotted a cruise ship coming south out in the main channel.  It was the Norwegian Crown from Norwegian Cruise Lines. Who knew you could cruise from Philadelphia?  For that matter, how many of you knew that Philadelphia was a port at all? 

Just before dark, I walked up to the bow to see how we were laying to the anchor.  On my way back to the cockpit, I noticed our old missing friend, the tree frog.  After he had disappeared back in July, we had heard him under the cowling which cover all the lines from the mast to the cockpit.  I assumed after a week or so, that someday I would have to remove that cowling for some reason, and I would find a little dead leather frog.  Well tonight, there was a little green tree frog, just outside a hole where a line comes out of that cowling.  Since we have not been very close to trees since coming up that canal, I can only assume it is the same one.  Since we are at anchor again, I can' set him free, so he is in a coffee can again.  This time the lid is snapped on and it has a hole punched in the top.  When we get to land tomorrow, we will liberate him. 

Our anchorage tonight is within the glow of the Salem Creek nuclear power plant.  We passed one on the Hudson just a few days ago and now here we are by another.  It is on the NJ side of the Delaware.  Looking at the regular Rand McNally road atlas, it looks like that part of NJ is pretty sparsely populated which probably explains why a nuclear plant is there.

GPS N 39-31.027 W 75-33.885  Miles made good this leg 45. Total miles covered 2550.

The night was not one of the best we've spent, but could have been worse.  The wind kept blowing about ten to fifteen knots all night.  When we anchored it was out of the southeast and during the night it had come around to the southwest.  When it was southeast we were in the lee of the island, although since it's a very low island, it didn't block the wind, just the wave action.  Once the wind shifted around, we were getting a fair amount of wave action too.  Also, there is a strong current that runs through the anchorage, either northbound or southbound.  It was northbound when we anchored and switched twice during the night.  All this conspired to move us in the anchorage.  We had been very secure when we went to bed, in twelve feet of water.  In the morning, we were also very securely hooked in the mud bottom, but we were about a hundred yards further west of where we started and now in twenty feet of water.  The current shifts must have broken the anchor loose, but then it reset.  And set it was.  I earned my morning exercise points getting it out of the mud when we departed.  I was glad however that we were the only boat there so our movement didn't cause a problem.

Just a couple of miles north of Reedy Island where we anchored, is the western end of the C&D Canal.  This canal connects the northern ends of Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay.  It is about twelve miles long and can be used by large ships as well as tugs with barges.  Unlike the ICW which in many places takes advantage of natural waterways, this canal was totally man-made.  It has nice rock walls sloping into the water, and it maintains at least thirty five feet of depth well up the sides.  There is not a lot to see along the banks except woods, until you pass through Chesapeake City.  It looked like it might be a nice little town to stop at, but we pressed on.

Once out of the canal, the route continues down a northern tributary to Chesapeake Bay called Back Creek, which then becomes the Elk River.  The Elk River portion is probably a mile wide at most points and runs northeast to southwest.  Once we were out here in the less protected waters, the wind piped up even more.  It blew from the southwest at about twelve to fifteen knots all afternoon.  Combine this with a two knot current against us, and we were only making about four and a half knots at nearly full throttle.  The wind was also kicking up about a two foot chop on the water, so the ride was not very comfortable.  Once again we praised having a cockpit enclosure, so at least we were dry.  It was cool and overcast, with a threat of rain, and there was a small craft advisory up.  Must be why we were almost the only fools out there.

Our destination today is Georgetown, MD.  Georgetown is about eight miles up the Sassafras River on the east shore of the Chesapeake, and it is a large boating community.  The Georgetown Yacht Basin looks to be the most full service marina, offering any repair service you could need.  At least they have a nice ad in the Waterway Guide, and on the phone the repair manager sounded confident they could fix the thermostat.  As long as we are stopping for repairs, I am going to have them check several other items.

After two hours of bashing down the Elk River, it was nice to turn east into the Sassafras and at least be in smooth water.  The wind was still howling, at times over twenty knots now, but it was behind us and couldn't whip up the narrow river like it had out in the open.  We found the marina with no problem and followed their radio instructions to the repair dock.  After getting secure, I went to the office and spoke with them about all the things I want them to do.  They will get after it first thing in the morning.

While lounging in the cockpit during the evening, we met several other interesting folks.  One was the guy who does all the canvas work for the yard.  He stopped to look at our enclosure.  He just could stop admiring it and saying what a good job it was.  He asked who made it and I think he was glad to find out the guy was in Texas, so he wasn't in competition with him.  We also met another cruising couple who are getting ready to depart for the Bahamas.  We'll have to chat more in depth with them before we leave.  A couple people have asked if we are going to the Annapolis Boat Show on the way south.  Part of me wants to, but part of me thinks it will be a zoo around there that weekend.  Also, since many boats head south from there after the show, we may want to get a few days head start on the migration.

About dusk, it started to rain finally.  It was a nice moderate rain for a couple of hours.  We went inside and watched a movie.  Farewell to Harry was an ok flick that I'm glad I only paid a couple bucks for the DVD.  What was interesting about it though was that it was about a hat factory.  They made reference to the workers in the hat factory going crazy because of working with mercury.  Well, there was an old hat factory in Wallkill, NY where I grew up, and when we went to Borden Day there, we heard an old timer talking about the people in the hat factory who could only work so long in this one area before they "got the shakes" and had to be rotated out.  I bet there is a connection there.

GPS N 39-21.630 W 75-52.967  Miles made good this leg 42. Total miles covered 2592.