Our next challenges were Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. We watched the weather to see what would work best to get down the bay and then out in the ocean to make the trip to NY. Trying to time mother nature is not an easy task!
With practically no winds Tuesday we made our way down Delaware Bay, 61 miles to Cape May, NJ. We know we are a little early heading north and it was really evident in Cape May...there are still a lot of boats on land, restaurants are just starting to open for the season and it's cool. Spring has sprung but the trees and flowers are not as far along as they were in Annapolis.
Now that we were in Cape May our next trek would take us out in the Atlantic. It is not advised to take the NJ intracoastal from Cape May to Atlantic City because of low water. We called Boat US and they said we could take the intercostal from Atlantic City to Manasquan, so that was an option if the ocean wasn't to our liking.
Wednesdays forecast was not favorable to leave and Thursday was looking iffy but after Thursday it looked like it would be days or possibly even a week before we could leave.
Wednesday night the fog started rolling in and we thought oh no, the weather forecasts now included fog for Thursday morning which would really hamper our departure. Thursday morning we woke and didn't hear any wind and looked out to see there was no fog...hurray...we along with a couple other boats got ready and were off the docks before 7.
We knew the winds from Wednesday would contribute to swells in the ocean but with everything secured on the boat we made our way. It was definitely more than swells and Mark looked at me like are you going to be comfortable with this all day...I didn't object to continuing on so we did. Within 30 minutes we hit fog and some of the time we had visibility of less than 1/8th of a mile and other times maybe a 1/4 mile. There was a lot of chatter on the radio and boaters know that when you get into these circumstances you just have to trust your instrumentation. The nice part was the ocean really calmed down and with the waves hitting our stern it was a much more comfortable ride. We decided not to go in at Atlantic City and made our way 138 miles to Staten Island and Great Kills Yacht Club. The fog lifted right near Sandy Hook giving us good visibility to get to the marina. Within an hour of tying up the fog engulfed the whole area and the winds came up...we were lucky and thankful we arrived when we did!
We're in New York, we're closer to home but first we are going to enjoy some time with our daughter Allison, her fiancé Eric and two of my sisters are flying in Monday for vacation. We are looking forward to some family time and exploring more of the Big Apple!
Ship John Shoal Lighthouse on Delaware Bay
A very foggy day on the Atlantic
These seabirds are known as Gannets
Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the
North Atlantic having a wingspan of up to 6.6 ft
I know how you two are feeling with the grey skies, cooler weather and rain! Nice to be back home, but this weather needs to improve. Have fun with Allison, Eric, and your sisters!
ReplyDelete