Chesapeake City to Cape May, NJ

After getting totally confused with the tide tables, viewing conflicting tide tables, we decided to leave Chesapeake City between 8:00 and 8:30. Our route through the C&D Canal showed an outgoing tide to the Delaware Bay and we knew once in the Delaware Bay the tide would be adverse for sometime and then become favorable. Our trawler will run very comfortably at 2000 RPM and about 7 knots. The tide in the Delaware Bay can be as much as 2.5 knots, so our 7 knots could be 4.5 knots or 9.5 knots. It becomes very important to have a favorable tide.

We were first and slowest of the traveling boats to leave. By the time we reached the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, Freedom the 104 ft. Trumpy, passed and later our friends in Castoff passed and called that they had taken a nice picture of our boat and offered to email it to us. They planned to pass through Cape May and continue up the coast overnight to NYC.

The day was cool and we screamed out of the C&D Canal at 8.9 knots, reached the Delaware and slowed to 5.4 knots. The North wind began fairly strong, with a following sea and diminished as the day passed. A sprinkle toward the end as we entered the Cape May canal and we were looking for our winter gloves. Earlier we had layered up with tee shirts, sweat shirts, and wind jackets. Quite Cool! Very unusual!

As we entered Cape May Harbor, Doug noticed a Grand Banks that looks like our friends. A closer inspection with the binoculars confirmed it was “Castoff”. We called them on the VHF and asked if they had changed their minds about traveling north. They confirmed the wind was from the east and quite stiff, they now plan to leave at midnight when the east wind moderates and becomes southeast.

We plan to leave early and are hoping for calm seas in the ocean.

Tonight we are anchored near the Coast Guard training station in Cape May and can here the recruits doing their work and answering their leaders with “Sir, yes Sir” loudly in unison. The bugle announced the retirement of the colors and we remove our flag from the stern.

All in all a great cruising day!!!

I am very happy to announce that Jim Abele my sailing friend from the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center has agreed to accompany me on the third leg of the voyage beginning at the end of June.