The key about traveling through Long Island Sound is paying attention to the currents and using them to your advantage. This is where the Eldridge Tide and Pilot book comes in handy. It has already paid for itself in the fuel savings. Sometimes we will leave later in the morning so we can get a favorable push. To work against the current would burn more fuel and take much longer. Today we left Port Washington at 11am and arrived to our destination about three hours later. The anchorage is a large area and there were a ton of boats there already. I noticed on the charts there was a thin sliver of deep water close to shore away from everyone else so we found our way over there. We dropped anchor and made sure all was secure. We were fairly close to shore so getting Frank back and forth shouldn’t be difficult. It was finally a hot day and we ended up getting the rafts out and floating around enjoying the water and the sun. At one point Lauren’s raft came u tied from the boat and I had to ‘rescue’ her in the dinghy and drag her back to the boat. It was a great afternoon and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We discovered that Billy Joel has a home on Centre Island but he did not drop by for a visit ☹️
Day 2- We had such a good time we decided to stay another day. In the morning we were surrounded by rowing practice, but they didn’t stick around us too long. We walked over to the beach on the ocean side and checked that out, otherwise we just had a tranquil day. Tomorrow we plan on going to Port Jefferson, New York.
We weighed anchor and headed up the East River. Our trip today isn’t too long, but we have to travel past Roosevelt Island (“The island was called Minnehanonck by the Lenape and Varkens Eylandt (HogIsland) by New Netherlanders, and during the colonial era and later as Blackwell’s Island. It was known as Welfare Island when it was used principally for hospitals, from 1921 to 1973. It was renamed Roosevelt Island (in honor of Franklin D. Roosevelt) in 1973.”) We passed Rikers and LaGuardia and finally through what is called Hell’s Gate. We started picking up speed as we were getting a good push from the current. This is another time we had to make sure we timed the current correctly. We saw a boat traveling behind us and I made contact on the VHF to let them know our intentions when we got to a split. Once confirmed they let us know we had docked with them back at Elizabeth’s Dock in the Dismal Swamp! They were heading in the same direction as us today except they were going to go farther than we had planned. I played every New York song I could find as we wound through downtown Manhattan and Long Island. With the current pushing us we made good time. We finally came out in Long Island Sound having navigated through it all without issue. We rounded Hewlett Point and entered Manhasset Bay where Port Washington is. Port Washington is a known cruisers stop and has a few marinas as well as a mooring field which offers one night free and $25 each additional night. What a bargain. I contacted the Harbormaster on the radio and confirmed the rates and availability. The moorings are first come first serve so we made our way in and snagged a ball. Once secured we relaxed a bit. The trip only took us three hours and we had arrived about 10am.
Now that we were secured we decided to take Frank to shore and walk around a bit. We went up and down the street and checked out what was around. We returned back to the boat and planned a short excursion for later to get some needed cat litter and other miscellaneous stuff. Even though we were at a Walmart not too long ago, we can only carry so much on the bikes so we have to wisely choose what to get at that time. Lauren has found a Target not too far away and it looked like we could land the dinghy somewhat close to it. I again called the Harbormaster and he told me we could tie up at the dock near where we wanted to go. We eventually made it to the Target and back with our supplies. The cats should be happy about that. We determined our next stop will be Oyster Bay where we found what looks like a nice anchorage not too far away. No reason to make long jumps when we don’t have to and we still have time on our hands…
We were up and ready to leave at 6am but the fog kept us at the dock. We waited for it to warm up and dissipate it it wasn’t happening very fast. By 7:15am it had cleared enough that we decided to leave. We tossed the lines and off we went toward New York. As we came out of the inlet and turned toward our destination the fog seemed to get a little thicker. I couldn’t see very far ahead of us and I could hear other boats on the radio talking about the lack of visibility. I followed protocol and was doing a fog horn- a prolonged blast of the horn at least every two minutes. I could see other boats on the GPS if they have AIS which identifies them to me and their speed and direction, but not all boats have this. We have a receiver but not a transponder so we can see them but they can’t see us, thus the horn. It is a bit erie not being able to see far in front of you and even more so when a boat appears out of nowhere, but everyone was going slow enough to be safe. Eventually the fog started to lift and visibility was no longer an issue. We had a backup plan if the weather was too bad to travel the whole distance but it wasn’t needed as the ride was somewhat pleasant. After about five hours we were crossing under Verazzano Narrows Bridge which puts us out of the Atlantic Ocean and in to Upper New York Bay. As we approached we could see the buildings on Staten Island, Coney Island and Brooklyn. Soon we could see Lady Liberty too! There wasn’t a whole lot of traffic as the tour boats weren’t running yet still due to COVID. We have heard how the bay can be like ‘a washing machine’ with so many boats and their wakes, but it wasn’t terrible. As we approached we took tons of pictures of everything around. We had wanted to get here with a buddy boat so we could take each other pictures in front of the Statue of Liberty, but that didn’t work out. We were circling around getting pictures from every angle when I noticed two guys on jet skis taking pictures too. I pulled up a little closer to them and called out of one of them would take our picture and send it to us? One guy was quite agreeable and I circled around with the boat as he snapped away. We pulled up close and I offered a beer to him in thanks which he declined. We exchanged phone numbers/ texts and they took off. Awesome! He made our day by taking those pictures! Now we had to figure out where to anchor. There are a couple of places listed and one is right behind Liberty Island, but it isn’t very protected. We saw another option a little behind the island by a state park so we checked that out. We made our way back and liked the spot so we’d dropped anchor and relaxed. We are finally here.
The park was quite busy and people were everywhere. We stayed on the boat and away from the crowd. We eventually took Frank to shore so he could stretch his legs and do his business, then retreated back to get away from everyone. We could just make out the top of the Statue of Liberty and were happy with our arrangement. The wind picked up a little but we felt good where we were at. At this point Lauren is excited about Long Island Sound. There seems to be a lot of anchorages up and down the coast and with Mick’s advice and advice from others it looks like it will be a fun ‘side trip’. Our first stop will be Port Washington.
We again had to time today’s passage, but with the current. We were going to be going through Point Pleasant Canal which has a current approaching four knots. This is also our last day traveling in New Jersey. Yay! We departed around 9am and timed it perfectly. We got a nice push through the canal and ended up in the Manasquan River which is as far as you can go in the New Jersey ICW. We had spotted another boat on Nebo that appeared to be anchored in the river. We saw them and didn’t like the lack of protection. In our research yesterday I had looked at Micks’ log he had sent us and it showed a $35 dollar dock. Hmmm.. I called the marina which was listed in our guide as more expensive. I inquired about the rates and was told we could indeed get a dock for $35! Sweet! First we had to come to the fuel dock and check in. We docked and I checked in and was told the dock is back up the river about a mile. The discounted rate was for overnight and should have fuel but they would let me slide on the fuel part. There were no restrooms or showers available but there was water and electric so we were good, especially since we just got pumped out a couple of days earlier. We found the dock and tied up without issue. We unloaded the bikes and rode to town of Manasquan to explore. We did some light shopping and retreated back to the boat. The weather was supposed to stay windy for another day so we decided we should probably stay here another night. That night the fog started rolling in thick. It was crazy how it just kept getting thicker and thicker. We could hear people fishing in their boats but couldn’t see a thing. A boat docked next to us but at another marina was having a party and some of the kids came over to chat about our boat and apologize for being so loud. They eventually quieted down and we had a peaceful night.
Day 2- We woke up to more fog and threat of rain later. We decided it was better to stay put another day. I called the marina office and confirmed it was okay. We again took the bikes and explored Point Pleasant. It was a town with a strong Italian presence. We found an Italian food shop and purchased fixings for a delicious dinner.
The bikes have been awesome to get around, but the issue with our brakes eventually needs to be addressed. Neither of our bikes have working brakes at this point, so downhill can be a bit scary, but we made it there and back. Upon returning I saw the owner of the dock and thanked him for letting us stay another day. He told me he could save us a stop in the morning by paying him now and if we have cash he would take just $30. We didn’t have any cash so I jumped on the bike and rode to an ATM and back and paid the man. Tomorrow we want to leave as early as possible as the wind should be less in the morning. We are finally getting out of New Jersey and heading to New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty!
We didn’t leave the marina until about 11:30, waiting again for the tide to be on the rise. We are now traveling in a bay so it is a little deeper, but not much and I still have to watch for shallow spots and shoals. The wind was blowing about thirteen knots when we were leaving. Before we left though I wanted to get a pump out. As I was backing out of the slip Lauren alerted me to a barge coming down the river behind us. Good thing because I did not see it. It passed and I now was turned toward the dock. We maneuvered in and got tied up. The pump out was completed and it was time to leave. The lines were tossed and I couldn’t get us off the dock against the current and the wind. We were heading forward but I couldn’t get the bow around. Ughh. We stopped and tied off to contemplate this situation. The dock hand was also giving his two cents and we decided to try a spring line. That didn’t work as well as when I did it in Virginia, so I stopped that attempt. I realized there was enough room at the end of the dock to get it around, but I had to get to the end and turn before hitting the boat tied to the next dock. Here we go. There was actually plenty of room, so once I had the transom clear I was able to turn and get out of there. We headed out of the river to the bay and the waves were kicking up. It wasn’t too uncomfortable but it wasn’t a nice ride either. Unfortunately since we were going on a rising tide the current was against us so it took about two hours to go eleven miles. We turned in to Silver Bay and worked our way back to the anchorage. There was a small trawler anchored there but plenty of room for several boats. Regrettably it wasn’t as protected as we thought. We inched back as close as we could to shore but it was still a bit rocky. We took Frank to shore and explored some beach area and hung out on land. We checked the weather and it still is forecast to be windy. Too windy to cross the Atlantic so we have to find somewhere else to wait it out. We have read that a lot of people stage at Manasquan Inlet for the jump across the ocean, but there are only expensive marinas there and no good anchorages, although we did see one that might work out. We did some more research on the trip and decided we would get there and see what happens.
The night at anchor was better than expected. The winds calmed down a bit and the boat traffic died down which made for a comfortable night. The morning winds started to pick up and we decided we would leave in short order. We were only were going about ten miles. We pulled anchor and headed across the Barnegat Bay to the marina. I had called them and verified we were coming and they said we could arrive early. We made our way in and docked without issue. The office was closed but there was someone there to give us the information and keys to the clubhouse where the free laundry machines were. The dock was a little more than we would like to pay but free laundry made up for some of that. Once we were secured and settled in Lauren went to work on the laundry while I did some boat maintenance. We are getting close to the end of New Jersey and will have to cross a part of the Atlantic Ocean to get to New York. Later in the day we took the bikes to a Walmart that was a couple of miles away and stocked up on supplies. We filled our water tanks and put everything back in order. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and figuring out our next stop. The windy weather still isn’t letting up but we don’t want to pay for the marina for another night so we found a hopefully protected anchorage about ten miles away so it will be another short day. Lauren is warming up to exploring Long Island Sound since we have some time to kill. The Erie Canal is still scheduled to be closed until August 10. Once we get to New York in a few days we are only a week or so from the Erie Canal, which is about a month early.
We walked Frank and waited for the tide to start rising. Today we were heading about forty one miles to an anchorage we had read about. We are getting close to the end of the New Jersey ICW and are excited about that. The water has been super shallow and we’ve tried to be prudent about traveling at the best tides. We pulled anchor and headed out with the wind blowing around ten knots. We wound our way past Atlantic City and had a few spots where I held my breath due to the depth. We were coming to another inlet: Little Egg Inlet. Our charts were showing the way to go and I was following the GPS, then I got confused. Due to shoaling, the charts give full disclosure that the channel markers are moved regularly and you should follow the markers. I was doing fine until I couldn’t locate the next one. I thought I saw it and was heading towards it when we came to a complete stop. Shit. Grounded again. Since this has happened before I probably should have done what I had learned, but no. The last week had been ploughing through some low spots, so when we got stuck instead of trying to back off of it I tried to throttle through it. We moved a little, then nothing. Now I was really stuck. The wind was blowing and since we were near an inlet the water was a bit rocky. Lauren had come out and was showing some concern about our situation. I could see sand all around us and no way for me to do anything except call Towboat US. They are the AAA on the water. I called on the VHF radio and they responded quickly. The Captain told me he would be there in a few minutes. Apparently they know the spots to hang out where people get stuck on a regular basis. Sure enough he pulled up and saw our predicament. We talked on the radio and he made his plan. He pulled to the side and was going to try to pull us off the sandbar sideways. I secured the line and he start pulling us which caused us to list pretty good to the side. Lauren was not happy with this. She put on a life jacket to be safe. He continued to try this for a bit but it was not working. We were stuck good. He changed his plan and we tied from the front and he tried pulling us off. His large twin engines were going but the boats weren’t moving. He continued this and I tried throttling forward with him. Still nothing. We’ve been stuck here now for about thirty five minutes and nothing is working yet. At least the water level is still rising. He continued to pull and after what seemed like forever it looked like we were maki some forward progress. We were! We inched off the sandbar and were moving on our own power now. We disengaged the lines and he stayed close while o tested the systems to make sure all was well. I gave him our information and we were on our way after almost an hour of being stuck. I don’t like New Jersey anymore even though it was my fault. We finally made it to the anchorage we had planned at about 6:30pm. We made our way in to the harbor and scouted it out. We wanted to be far away from the inlet, it there wasn’t any spots that we felt comfortable with. We ended up dropping anchor in the area of a couple of other boats but far enough away from them for everyone’s privacy. Frank was walked on a nice beach and dinner was made. After all the stress of the day we retired early after planning our next stop. The weather is supposed to stay windy and build throughout the day. We decided to make a short run to a marina where we can sit out the weather safely, resupply and do some laundry before we leave New Jersey.
The trip from Stone Harbor to Ventnor City was just over twenty seven miles and it took us four and a half hours. It was a long winding trip with us going through some small towns and holding our breath as we watched the depths average five to seven feet, sometimes less. On our depth finder it shows as two to four feet, but there is a three foot difference to account for. It’s funny because now when I see five feet, I feel like it’s deep. The weather was overcast and it was windy, but since we were mostly in narrow channels the winds didn’t bother us. There were more people fishing in the channel, but I just slowed down and waited for them to move. It’s the ones that blow by us and rock us that irritate me the most, but most were good. We were winding our way around when all of the sudden the GPS went blank. WTF!? I slowed down to a stop and Lauren came out to see what was up- I asked if she turned it off by accident and she said she had not. Ughh. I wasn’t worried about getting lost, but I kind of need to see the channel and depths. Lauren relieved me at the helm while I went to investigate. The lower GPS was working so that was good. I checked the switch and it was on, then I went to check the fuse and noticed it had popped out. Hmmm. I checked the fuse and it was fine, so I put the fuse back in and tightened the holder. I turned the switch back on and called up to Lauren to turn the power on. She told me it was working! The fuse must have vibrates loose and/or I didn’t have it secured properly. Either way it is working now and we can continue on. We switched out at the helm and carried on. I had the GPS zoomed in pretty close so I could see the channel and depths and soon we were crossing an inlet- Great Egg Harbor Inlet. The water was rough there and we were getting tossed about but I was able to get across the three quarter mile section of rough water. Then I realized I had missed a turn because I was watching the GPS so tightly zoomed in! We were supposed to take Broad Thoroughfare Creek which would have taken us up and around the inlet and we wouldn’t of had to cross it. Now we had crossed it and there is a fixed bridge ahead of us that looks like we won’t fit under. Shit. I throttled down and Lauren came out to see what was up? I was a little upset I had missed the turn and told her what happened, then I told her I think we have to turn around and cross the inlet again. She asked if I was sure and I said “yes”. “Let’s do it” she replied like a champ, but I was still studying the chart. She came up to the fly ridge and I told her we may be able to squeak through the bridge in front of us, but the tide was high and we would have to inch up and see. We got closer to the bridge and I had my doubts, but Lauren went down to the bow of the boat so she could look up and judge it with a better view. I inched forward and she kept saying it looked good. We cleared the bridge by a few feet apparently and we continued on. Whew- I did NOT want to go through that inlet again! This actually saved us several miles of going around. Not long after this we came to our turn to find the anchorage we had seen on the charts.
We made our way in to the harbor as the skies were darkening and saw a small marina, a bunch of private docks in front of houses and two sailboats rafted up and anchored and it looked like they haven’t moved in some time- actually only one of the sailboats had a mast. We debated about where to drop anchor and decided to stay somewhat close to the marina as this was probably going to be our best bet for shore access. The rest of the surrounding area was marsh which was not conducive for walking around. We dropped the anchor and I went about making sure we were secured and let out plenty of scope due to the expected storm and high winds. While I was closing up the flybridge and lounging on the back deck I called the marina to see if they would let us land the dinghy but got no answer. I tried calling a couple of times in the next hour or so and still no answer. I was talking to Lauren and we were discussing where we were going to take Frank, the phone rang. I recognized the number from the marina and answered it. The guy said he was calling back some miss calls and I explained how we needed to get the dog to shore and he was fine with us using the dock. Sweet! That was a big relief. The rain started to come down a bit so we relaxed inside while waiting for it to pass. Eventually it was done raining and I took Frank to shore. As I was coming up the dock I noticed some college aged guys sitting at a table near the marina office. I inquired if I had spoke to one of them on the phone earlier? One guy said it was probably his brother as his family owns the marina; we got to chatting and they were fascinated by our trip and had lots of questions. I had to excuse myself so Frank could do his business, but it was fun talking to them. Frank and I walked around the neighborhood but grass was hard to come by, as well as the many signs telling me to keep dogs off their grass. At least there was some grass next to the marina. We returned and battoned down the hatches again as more rain was coming.
Day2- Lauren had researched and found a place we had to try for breakfast: Waterdog Smokehouse. We had looked at the menu the night before and was super excited. They have stuff like Salmon Candy (We cure and smoke this stuff. Super clean- only ingredients are salmon, salt and a bit of organic brown sugar. Can be served on a salad or just eaten, as is. Supplies are limited. We sell out every week!), Salmon Jerky (We cure and smoke our Canadian Salmon, then dry it.), and all kinds of smoked fish and meats as well as sandwiches served on homemade bagels. I took Frank for his morning walk and found the guy I had spoken to on the phone. I thanked him for the hospitality and inquired about bringing our bikes to shore and exploring a bit. He said it would be fine. We chatted a bit about our trip and somehow we got to talking about beer- I made a note to pick him up some beer as a thank you. We loaded the bikes up and to shore we went. We decided we would go to Waterdog first, then return to the boat for swim supplies Waterdog did not disappoint, although the wait was a bit long. We were able to sit on their side patio and enjoyed our breakfast sandwiches. We had read about a roadside attraction in the the next town over, Margate City, about a mile and half away, and decided to pedal over. Lucy the Elephant is a six story example of novelty architecture built with wood and tin sheeting in in 1881. She was saved from being demolished in 1960 by the Save Lucy campaign, unlike two similar structures, one at Coney Island and one at Cape May that were not so lucky. She was also stuck by lightning in 2006 which blackened her tusks but she survived. She has housed a tavern, restaurant and business offices and now a small museum and can be visited . She is also available for an Air B&B for $138 per night as a nod to here age. One of Lucy’s more humorous features is a window placed near her tail.
We returned to the boat and changed into our swim wear. Our plan was to ride the boardwalk which runs from Ventnor to Atlantic City. It was a nice four mile ride to Atlantic City. It was cool to see, but the casinos were still closed. A lot of the shops and small bars were open, so we did stop for refreshments at a place on the boardwalk to take with us to the beach. We hung out on the beach for a bit of the afternoon. The water was cold, but it was refreshing after being in the sun all day. We made our way back to Ventnor and the boat by early evening so we could relieve Frank.
Day 3- The day was pleasant and we hiked around after getting one more stop at Waterdog Smokehouse. We did some shopping and I also picked up some beer for our friend who let us use their dock. They were quite pleased to receive this at the end of their day. Dinner was made and we looked at our next stop. Since we are now getting past Atlantic City, we should have some deeper water they say, but we still want to run on a rising tide so tomorrow’s journey will leave around 11am.
We were ready to depart around 9am after taking Frank to shore. I went across the harbor to a marina early so I wouldn’t get arrested for being on the Government Property. We had indentified what looked like a good protected anchorage in Stone Harbor called Shelter Haven, which was only about ten miles away. Our trip took us about two hours because I was going slow and easy through the ICW. The water depths were very shallow and at some points my depth finder would just go blank. I prepared and saw all of the hazards to navigation ahead of time so I knew what to expect. The positive part is that the bottom is soft mud, so if you do get stuck or grounded, you don’t really have to worry about damaging anything and sometimes you can just plow right through it- which I am sure I did at some points. The other interesting part about traveling on this waterways is it is fairly narrow and the New Jersey boaters don’t give a fu$k about you or where they fish- for example: in the middle of the narrow channel. Since I try to be a nice and considerate boater I slow down every time we pass a fishing vessel so I do not wake them. They pass us without concern. It’s funny too how I would come upon a boat in the middle of the channel and I would just slow down and wait for them to move. We’re bigger and made of steel, but they got the hint when I would slow down and not move around them- the water is too shallow for me to even think about going out of the channel. So it was fairly slow going. The good news is we didn’t get stuck! We eventually came to our anchorage and turned in just before a bridge. We noticed we were comin into a small basin with homes all around us. There was a ton of construction going on around the basin and there was a large water playground with inflatable slides and playthings. We felt a little awkward, but we needed a place to anchor and this was as good as any. We dropped the anchor and hung out making sure we were secured. One of the reviews about this place said there was a dinghy dock nearby. There were plenty of docks but they all looked to be private, except for a restaurant/ bar attached to a hotel in the corner of the basin. We eventually decided we should load the bikes up and find the dinghy dock. We set out to where I thought it was and saw a sign saying ‘private’. Hmmm… we went a little farther down to the hotel and a dock master came out- I asked about docking and he obviously saw the bikes- “you can dock over there, it is usually not allowed unless you dine here” he told us, “I’ll let you stay there because we’re not busy, but I may have to move you, but probably won’t have to”. Okay… I told him we would be more than happy to come have a drink at the bar later so we are ‘customers’ and compliant with the rules. He said that would be great. We unloaded the bikes and off we went.
“The New York Times describes Stone Harbor as a place of “gleaming McMansions and elegant shops”, with an average single-family home selling for $2.5 million in 2008. In 2017, Stone Harbor was the third-most expensive Zip Code in the State of New Jersey based on median home sale price, and had the second-priciest residential real estate transaction in the state that year at $10 million. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Stone Harbor (ZIP Code 08247) as #191 on its list of the most expensive ZIP Codes in the United States.” Another fascinating fact is the population: according to the 2010 census the borough had a year-round population of 866, but it has a summer population in excess of 20,000! We didn’t find the ‘elegant’ shops, but we did find some places to stop. We checked out the beach which was nice, but they charge a fee. We weren’t interested in paying and didn’t have our swim stuff anyway so we continued biking around. Lauren has found a take out shop that specializes in seafood that you take home and cook yourself. We also found a grocery store so we could pick up some supplies. We stopped and had some ice cream at Kohr Brothers Frozen Custard and it was probably the best we’ve had so far. We circled back and I picked up some crab cakes and shrimp from Back Bay Seafood while Lauren went in to the grocery store. Now we had to get the stuff back to the boat and in the refrigerator. We made our way back to the dinghy and I walked over to the dock master and I gave him a cash tip. I also wanted to let him know we had to bring the dog back to shore and were still planning on having that cocktail at the bar. He was cool with it, so we took our food to the boat and I brought Frank back to shore for a walk. We returned and hung out on the deck for a while. The winds were picking up and I had let out a lot of scope, so we seemed to be holding fine. The buildings all around us helped block the wind too. We looked up the bar and it is called Water Star Grille, which is attached to The Reeds at Shelter Haven. The hotel is fancy and high end as you would expect around here- rates are around $405/ night! We looked at the website and saw they had a happy hour, so we waited until then to go for our cocktails. At this point the dock master had left for the evening but I wanted to keep my word. We dinghied over to the bar and they had spaced out tables on the deck. I inquired about happy hour, but they weren’t doing it due to they are technically closed- you an order food or drinks, but it is to-go- there is no table service but you may sit at a table if you’d like. Got it. I ordered our cocktails and they served them in plastic mason jars with a lid, which they then put a security sticker on to seal them. We sat at a table overlooking the harbor and enjoyed our expensive drinks. When we were done we went back to the boat and I took Frank for a last walk for the evening, then made dinner. The rest of the night was uneventful and we looked at our next destination: Ventnor City, which is right before Atlantic City. If this anchorage doesn’t look good, there are some other options on the other side of Atlantic City…
Because we were in the canal, we had to wait for the current to be going our way which was around 10am. We had a couple of options on this leg of the trip- we could stop at Delaware City, Delaware at their free dock, but that is only about thirteen miles away. Our second option is to stop at an anchorage before the Delaware River opens to the Delaware Bay- that is about a thirty mile trip. Our third option is to go all the way to Cape May, New Jersey and anchor in the protection of Cape May Harbor, which will be a sixty five mile journey- that is much longer than we usually do, but with the currents pushing us it sounded doable. We agreed that we would decide to stop if the weather wasn’t cooperating or it got too rough.
We left the dock at 10:15am and had a nice push. We were doing almost ten knots and sometimes more. We made it to the first potential stop of Delaware City in about an hour and decided to continue on. The weather was nice and the current was still pushing us as we headed down the Delaware River. By about 3pm we were passing our anchoring option and I consulted with Lauren. At this rate we should be able to make it to Cape May between 6-7pm. The winds had picked up considerably but the water wasn’t too rough. We agreed to keep going. Boy were we wrong on making this decision. Part of our factoring was the weather for the next few days was supposed to be rain and high winds, so we didn’t want to be stuck at the anchorage that didn’t have great reviews. We continued on and after an hour past our point of no return we were met with steepening waves that continued to build as we were now in the relative openness of the bay. On top of the large breaking waves, they were coming at us on the beam, which means we were getting violently rocked back and forth. I would tack into them, only to be lifted high up and then dropped with a sickening splash, only to be bow into another wave picking us up again. I was doing everything I could to make the ride somewhat bearable but nothing was working. Shit was sliding everywhere. At one point Frank has his paws wrapped around my foot trying to hold on to me as he was sliding back and forth from the wave action. I’ve never seen anything like that from him or from the seas. I was feeling terrible thinking what Lauren and the cats were going through down in the cabin. I couldn’t communicate with her as it was too dangerous for her to go outside and I wasn’t about to try to call her because I needed full attention on what was going on around us. I continued to try to alter course, but also felt the need to try to make it in as quick as possible. I also had to worry about shallow spots and a couple of giant ships that were coming up the channel. The waves were actually getting me wet on occasion up in the flybridge, that’s how big they were. I kept trying to calculate the most direct, non-violent way to get to our inlet. This part of the trip was the longest and one of the worst we have experienced. Finally by about 7pm we were getting close to enter the Cape May Canal which would take us to the harbor. As we got closer the depths got lower and at one point I was quite nervous as we were showing less than six feet of depth, which also made the waves break around us. We can’t get grounded- not now- this was a dangerous situation. We got closer to the entrance and of course I hear a securite call from a ferry that was departing and coming out the canal. I contacted them on the VHF and told them I was coming in and would stay to their starboard side until they cleared. I was running out of water depth and didn’t want to try to cross in front of them either. Once they got clear of the jetty I throttled in behind them. Holy crap. That sucked. At this point the waves were gone because we were in a narrow canal. Lauren came out and upstairs and I apologized over and over. We agreed to never talk about this day’s trip again. She told me everything in the cabin was tossed about. She was basically holding on as best she could while we were getting tossed around and I told her how Frank had wrapped his paws around me. We were relieved be in the canal, but we still had to find our anchorage and hope there was a good one. We came out of the canal and saw the anchorage but it was in shallow water and I wasn’t comfortable with it, so we continued up the channel a bit. We were running out of time and daylight so we had to make a decision. We saw another trawler anchored a ways up and decided to pass them and anchor out of the channel in somewhat deep water. Nine feet is deep around here. We finally dropped our anchor after a nine plus hour trip. Now we had to get Frank to shore before it got dark. I usually wait at least an hour to ensure all is secure but had to get going rather quickly. I took Frank to shore and we saw a sign that said “US GOVERNMENT PROPERTY- KEEP OFF”. Shit. I told Frank to hurry and he did. Once relieved we hightailed it back to the boat. Lauren and I went about getting everything back in order. We could hear the Coast Guard Academy training going on with yelling and chanting as they did their workouts. Eventually taps were played and it quieted down. We poured ourselves a strong drink and again agreed we wouldn’t discuss this day again as we both put it in the top three of worst travel days we’ve had. All the stress and long day made us tired so we retired not too long after.
We had asked our Great Loop forum for suggestions of stops taking the ‘inside route’. The first five responses were to tell us to take the outside route! There were a few people who gave some suggestions which we were grateful for. We decided we would stay on the inside and take our chances, especially after having gone through what we just did. We looked at our charts and found an anchorage that looked really protected at Stone Harbor, so that is our next destination if we can navigate this shallow NewJersey ICW…
