New York to Cape May (11885 miles)

Goodbye Manhattan

Dima and I plan to leave Port Washington at 11 after taking on Fuel and Water - we discover the fuel dock has gone shallow and have to take the water taxi in with jerrycans. Then we depart, his boat is called Cheers and he is also singlehanded. Several other OCC boats had left the night before. Time to go South. (SouthWest actually)

We will take a foul tide through Hell Gate but the weather has dictated our departure - it had been forecast to blow heavily that morning and I needed Fuel. Our speed was always above one knot but we got though to Manhattan in 6 hours when we could have done it in three to four so not too bad.
We had to avoid a number of tugs of different types. As we were often doing three knots this was sometimes tricky. The tugs and their loads were coming the other way, with the current and doing 9 knots sometimes - but they can hardly steer. I had already had an interesting time arriving in Boston with Nick at a narrow part of a channel, with rocks on either side - where four routes meet. I was radioed by a tug/barge and told to keep a steady course and keep an eye out my portside but I would be ok. On reaching the narrow part a tug/barge to Starboard said "Shadowmere, WHAT are you doing, I AM coming" my immediate response was to say "Ummm" on the radio and then look around me - Nick increased the throttle. We cleared the fracas easily. The tug on our port side was essentially stopped so we are unsure which tug actually called us - if it was the starboard one he was in error in telling us to watch out our port side. Of course these tug captains are superb at their job but they speak into the radio as if they have a massive wad of tobacco in their mouth... glad it wasn't foggy!

A tug pulling a barge on a long wire

A tug pushing a barge

a tug pushing two barges

A tug alongside a barge - I just saw the barge at first - there is a wee man at the front supposedly telling the helm where to go. The thing was moving at 45 degrees when I saw it - the captain was trying to line up a corner to get through a bridge. Sheesh!

Talking of bridges - I passed under 7 as before. The East river was open - it had been shut the previous week because the UN (or security council of the UN) were in session. 

And then the view

I exited East river by passing through a channel away from the statue of liberty but photographed it anyway

Just as I entered the (narrow) channel, and was being overtaken by a tramp steamer, with a barge coming the other way, the US coastguard called me by name on the VHF - I had to recite my cruising permit number and Shadowmere's registration numbers and details - all a bit fraught when trying to avoid shortening my waterline length!

And then out to sea as light was falling - it was a spectacular night  - the sky was very blue, the sun had been shining and the wind was a light 5 to 10 knots - however it was cold. I put my pajamas bottoms back on - under my trousers and wore T-shirt, shirt, pullover, fleece jacket and hoody and oilskin jackets and trousers. I also wore two pairs of socks and discovered if I wear my carpet slippers (fleece lined indoor Ugg boots) my feet get warmer than in welly boots. A snood and hat under my hoody complete the cold weather gear - I had had damart longjohns on board when we cruised in Scandanavia but had removed them in Belfast <sigh> It never got below freezing, but with a bit of wind chill it was cool.

I motorsailed as the lightish winds were at 45 to 60 degrees off the bow. This got us quite far down the coast, the forecast was for stronger SW winds to arrive soon so I decided to pull in to Atlantic City - about 35 miles short of Cape May. The wind was to gust strongly and I took a berth in the marina - attached to a nearby Casino. It had off season rates of $2/foot so not too bad, we stayed two nights and a bit and left at 5am on the Monday morning for a 36 mile run down to Cape May (the wind was again to go around to the SW by noon so best to get inside before then.)

But first Atlantic City; a dozen casinos - high rise hotel Casinos with ultrabright lights can be seen from 20 miles away - I had been suffering from a weird cold air mirage effect where everything more then 3 or 4 miles away gets fuzzed up and reflected so you see two versions, one above the other so it was hard to make this all out. It really looked weird.

The next day I went for a walk to sort out my US mobile phone - it can be topped up online or using the phone - but needs a zipcode so I have to top up in person once a month.; This involved walking 45 minutes into a poorer part of the town. The town is characterised by small housing projects, the odd high rise apartments. Also some nicer bigger houses. Then these gargantuan towers of Babel where the rich people spend money perhaps. The boardwalk also has food and souvenir shops for the pleasure seekers. There is a set of shopping outlets to further redistribute wealth. Not my cup of tea frankly

There were also quite a few fishing boats, all in (it was Sunday) not sure how often they actually get out. I saw two smaller boats in the next 36 mile journey

Now, the boardwalk was good - it had Adirondaks!

Note the thicker base than we have seen before - stops them blowing away? nice curves too

Amusement park though Cape May to the South has more, I think the Casinos bring in more money, its a matter of optimising profit I suppose...

Note the wee houses nestling under the shadow of the giant

It was a lovely boardwalk

To be fair, the two boats near me each visited the casinos and played a few tens of dollars and had fun. It just isn't something I would want to do. The mathematics don't stack up. The chemistry of the brain is such that a win produces endocrines that mask all the losses that preceded the win.

And then the shopping

Not many places there to buy a loaf or bread...

The poor area did have a dollar store (bit like Poundland) and there were liquor and tobacco stores there too...

I didn't take photographs in the poorer area. My sensibilities...

You could have a "good" shopping experience here.

Perhaps I have damned by faint praise, 

Good bye Atlantic City. Having left at 5:00 am I couldn't photograph until daylight. It was a tricky departure. The 5:00 am had been suggested by a German and Croation couple (Christian and Sanja) and I had hoped they would leave first and show the way - there is a shallow bit on the way into the marina and two unlit red marks. Then the river exit had a bar to get through - marked with lit buoys but tricky in a few knots of current - I find when I look at 3 or 4 red or green marks in pitch blackness it is hard to see which is the closest ones. On curvy routes this can be troublesome.

I finally cast off at 5:15, on my own with Dima just behind me. I go through the first shallows and find 5 other yachts waiting in the river (to group up as I think as they travell together) I ended up leading the procession out on my own - luckily the chart plotter had a track still on it from when I had entered so I was able to cheat a bit. I  was also keen to get to Cape May before all the best anchorages were taken. In the end I was first to the anchorage - there was one other boat there so I was able to pick a prime spot - I put out a lot of chain and a tripping buoy as wind was expected later. Dima was next and then the anchorage slowly filled up. It is beside a US coastguard training facility and I have heard squarebashing with American chants at 6:30 AM and after 8 PM, which considering it is dark and freezing is remarkable.

The New Jersey coastline - most of it is wall to wall buildings interspersed with some greenery

Cape May itself (to the East of the town actually) And then the entrance to Cape May inlet (2 miles from town)

All safe at anchor. There are marinas here and a canal that suits motorboats, Lots of shallows.

Getting ashore is a long way as the USCG land is a secure area. But it gives me time to get the blog up to date.   

Dima and I depart here in two days for a 140 mile open sea passage and a further 20 miles up into Norfolk/Portsmouth and the start of the ICW. Weather watching, these "Northers" are coming through far more frequently than they are supposed to. As each one dies we can ride moderate to strong NW winds and then SW flows re-establish. I will be glad to get into the ICW.