We left Philadelphia just before noon on Saturday May 18th. It was a drizzly kind of day, so we spent the morning doing boat chores instead of walking around town. We had thought of going back to Delaware City for the night, but the wind and current were with us on Delaware Bay, so we just kept going, and we anchored in the Cohansey River for the night. This is a winding river through a lot of swamp just off the Bay, very quiet and pretty, if buggy, and getting this far on Saturday made short work of arriving at Cape May the next day.
Since we have never gone ashore here, we elected to take a slip at Utsch’s Marina for Sunday night. We were all tied up shortly after noon, and immediately set off for a long walk to explore the historic beach area of Cape May. Lots of Victorian summer cottages turned into Inns and summer rentals here, though the beaches were pretty deserted.
We had an early dinner at one of the restaurants opposite the beach and watched the Phillies beat the Nationals on the big screen. Back at the marina we stopped to visit our new friends Roger and Anne, whom we’d met in Delaware City. They were awaiting a weather window to travel outside of New Jersey. Dan and I went inside.
This was our third trip through New Jersey on the NJICW. Last year I’d written down all the bridge information for the Cape May-Atlantic City route, and I pulled out the handwritten notes to help guide us as we set off on Monday morning (May 20). This area has a reputation for being shallow and shoaly, but vigilance and a slow throttle served us well and the trip was uneventful until we reached the Margate Bascule Bridge. When Dan called them for an opening, the Dorset Avenue bridge responded, informing us they were down for repairs. Dorset would have been the next bridge and is one of two just before Atlantic City, which had been our destination for the night. Change of plans, Dan told me, turning into the little water corridor lined with condos, we’ll anchor in Ventnor City tonight, and backtrack to the Ocean City inlet tomorrow.
So that’s what we did. We had a peaceful night in Ventnor, and on Tuesday morning we back through Margate and out the inlet at Ocean City and up the outside of New Jersey to the inlet at Atlantic City. It was only about eight miles, so we didn’t mind the swells too much, and we were back on the NJICW before noon. The winds picked up and we were glad to be traveling inside, where we were relatively protected. We found a nice anchorage at Surf City in Barnegat Bay that night. From there it was a short run to our next anchorage in front of the yacht club in Brick Township, just outside the Point Pleasant Canal. The weather was unsettled and we had some rain, some wind, and some thunderstorms while we sat at anchor that night and the next morning.
We had ‘won’ a free night at Hoffmann’s Marina in Brielle, which sits on the Manisquan Inlet - I say it in quotes because the person who actually won it didn’t want it and we volunteered to take it off their hands - so we had a very quick cruise today (Thursday May 23) to the marina. This place is nicely situated for a quick exit from the NJICW and a good run up to NYC if the conditions are right. Everything is in our favor for tomorrow except the current through the East River. If we want to get all the way beyond New York City into Long Island Sound tomorrow, we’ll have to wait til late afternoon for a favorable current. With the long days, we might just do that, but it will mean pausing for a little while behind the Statue of Liberty. Either way, a trip to New York is the plan for tomorrow. Hard to believe that soon we’ll be back in New England!
Tommie has become a lap cat on the flying bridge.
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