Oct 10-11-12:  Outside New Jersey and on to Delaware Bay

     Quite a few snowbirds in Rum Point, and most stayed in on the Saturday the 10th, as the wind was quite strong, and being from the East, not a good time on the Jersey shore.  Many of the cruisers made dinghy trips to Atlantic City, but we had explored further up the cove and landed our dinghy,  Sybil Ludington on the beach/seawall right in town Brigantine.  Kathy checked out the Post Office for mailing and WIFI while I got a couple groceries.  We then met at St Georges Pub for a lite lunch and to make use of the WIFI.  

     At the beach while launching Sybil, I found an oyster on the shore, not sure the season, but what the heck. Back at the boat we made a list of all the cruisers in the harbor, just to keep track.

I knew that after a day at anchor all these Southbounders would be itching to get along, and sure enuf, 0700 the mass exodus began.  A steady stream out the narrow channel between the marshes and out Absecon Inlet to the gentle Easterly swell of the Atlantic.  

Atlantic City Light, tucked in amongst the casinos.

     A lite NW wind was just enuf to keep sails full and dampen the roll as we all motored to the South.  Soon enuf the boats spread out,  some offshore headed beyond Delaware Bay, but many heading for Cape May to follow the ICW up Delaware Bay to the C and D Canal, etc.  We made the turn at Cape May and while the 6 boats in line ahead of us turned for Cape May Harbor proper, we turned North up the ICW to a little anchorage called Sunset Lake in the town of Wildwood Crest where we had the anchorage all to ourselves. 

     Once at anchor, Kathy hoisted me up the mast to correct a chafing issue (on the masthead, not on me). Issue resolved and we were headed ashore to try and catch the Patriots’ football game at 1600.  We crashed the first bar we found, Mulligans.  Knowing that we were not home town crowd, we waited a while before asking the waitress if she might tune one of the 9 TV sets to the Pats game.  She finally got the game on the smallest set, hey, good enuf.  After appetizers we split a burger, then the TV said that the Pats game was blacked out in this area.  Oh well.  We got the check and were ready to head back to the Willie Dawes, when our the second half came up on the big screens.  Tom Brady had things well in hand, so just before dark we snuck out, and headed back to the harbor, just in time to catch a great pink sunset.  But not before catching the weather forecast on someone’s home big screen as we passed their picture window to the street. The forecast for Monday:  Near Perfect.  Good Enuf.

Sunset at Sunset Lake

     Monday morning the plan was to get underway at 0530 as we wanted to catch all of the flood tide up Delaware Bay. Well, rolling out of the Vee-Berth at 0630 will have to do.  Make the coffee and oatmeal and we are off, a couple miles to Cape May, thru Cape May Harbor then Thru the Cape May Canal to the bottom of Delaware Bay.  

Entrance to Cape May Canal

Sea fog on the Cape May Canal

     Nearly calm, “Near Perfect”, we made a line for Henesey Point, about 30 miles up on the Eastern Shore.  Some of our fellow cruisers were ahead of us, several back, once again spreading out as we went along.  Faster boats could reach the Chesapeake  and Delaware Canal by afternoon, the slower boats would be caught in the ebb current.  Guess which we are.  Going up the bay we were amongst crab pots, sort of like home, and many of the crab boats could pass for Maine Lobsterers.  Also saw a couple of 60 foot or so diesel powered oyster dredgers.

Crab pot buoys and one crab pot stake.

Ship John Shoal Light in Delaware Bay  

     Since the weather was so fine we decided to go a bit further up the bay than originally planned and changed course for the anchorage behind, or beside Reedy Island, just a couple miles shy of the Canal.  Of course just before the anchorage we must pass thru a turbulent opening between two stone jetties they called dikes.  My remark to Kathy was, “Sand everywhere, and we Mainers have to pass between these hard places”.

Entrance to the Reedy Island anchorage.

     The anchorage was not all that great, as the wind had come up 15 knots SSW and the 2 knot current was running downstream against the wind.  Never a comfortable combination, but the tide will soon turn and chances are the wind will go down with the sun.  Famous last words, Marnie and Al can tell you about that one.

Tomorrow, Chesapeake Bay!