It was a froggy day!

Hi all! It’s been a few days, so we figured we had better get you caught up!

We left Baltimore on Saturday Morning the 19th.

We had seen the Under Armour plant on the Trolly Tour, and the guide said that they had just purchased more land on the water front to expand.

What you see here is about 1/2 of their existing facility. I guess the athletic clothing they make is pretty popular!! On Thursday afternoon, they were having their annual company party in a huge tent. The entire waterfront was a sea of black Under Armour shirts!

We traveled 44 miles up the Chesapeake  to an anchorage in Back Creek on the Sassafras River. That evening, I heard an “OH SHIT”!! from Pat. Those that know her, know that is a little unusual! Turns out she had just dropped her new iPhone in the Chesapeake! However, the sunset was spectacular! 

We saw this old structure on the shore, so decided to take the dinghy over to check it out the next day. The property is a privately held historic site that was a tobacco plantation. There were walking trails and signage explaining the setting. It made for a nice afternoon walk! It was a nice peaceful anchorage, so we decided to stay another night.

Later in the afternoon, a Cruisers motor yacht pulled in. Turns out it was our friends Tom & Linda on the Raydiance. We had first met them at the fall AGLCA rendezvous in Alabama, and had run into them a few more times in our travels. We took the dinghy over later for docktails / or I guess boattails in this case! As we were both headed the same way, we decided to run together for a few days. 

The next morning we took off for our last few miles of the Chesapeake, which takes us to the C&D Canal, to the Delaware bay, and then down southeast to the Atlantic Ocean. We stopped on Monday night in Delaware City, where the C&D Canal enters Delaware Bay. There we found BrandyIV who we had met previously, and two new to us looper boats - Quest & Moor Stuff. The 20BUCK$, Raydiance, and BrandyIV went out to dinner. Tom on Raydiance hasn't cut his hair since they started the loop!

From Delaware City, we headed down the Delaware Bay to Cape May. Cape May is at the southern tip of New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a nice day for a cruise!

From Cape May to New York City, there are two options. The Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) is very twisty, windy, and shallow. The other option is to run “outside”, in the mighty Atlantic. As we both wanted to get the boats up and running, we decided to do the outside.

Our plan was 100 miles up the coast, to the Manasquan inlet. This would put us within 30 miles of NYC. We checked the sea forecast, and it called for 3’ to 4’ swells with 9 second intervals. Not bad! At least it’s not the tight chop we had on the Gulf. The weather called for ESE winds at <4 MPH, fog in the early AM, clearing by 11:00.

The photo is our departure from the Cape May canal into the Atlantic.

A short time later, the fog started to lift, and we decided to get ‘em up and run ‘em! We had our course in the plotter, and the radar tuned to pick up any objects out there. There was not a lot of traffic, as we were about 3 miles off shore. The radar easily picks up anything within six miles, and we had a good 1/2 to 3/4 mile visibility. However, the fog never did lift. It stuck with us all day. Running the swells was very comfortable, and FUN! Kind of like riding a gentle roller coaster. 

We saw a few radar targets, and made sure we steered clear of them. Most were fishing boats, and a few sailboats. About 50 miles up the coast, I picked up a significant target right on our course line about two miles away.

With our Garmin touch screen plotter, I can tap on the target, and tell the radar to turn it into a MARPA target. That tells me how fast the object is moving, and in what direction. This object wasn’t moving, so I figured it was a commercial fishing boat. 

We slowed down as we approached, and Pat spotted some plastic barrels and some orange floating markers. We weaved slowly through them, and saw this object in the water. Looks like some type of pump??!!??, with large hoses going into the water. This is in the middle of nowhere, three miles off shore!

We found the Manasquan Inlet, and I placed a security call on the VHF, announcing that we were going to be inbound, and asked for any outbound traffic to respond. Hearing no answers, I repeated the call. Then a gentleman answered, and said there was no outbound traffic, but to be careful, that the rollers were breaking hard at the inlet. OHHH BOY I thought. I’ve heard some horror stories about boats getting in trouble in these conditions! I asked if he had any “advice” for me, as we had never run this inlet. 

As we entered the canal, the fog over land was non existent! We got tied up, and had dinner with Radiance at the Sand Box.

Reflecting back on the day, we decided it was one of the BEST cruising days we have had! It gave us a chance to use a lot of the navigation and operation skills we have learned. We were also able to put to use all of the equipment we have as it is intended to be used, and the boats were able to get up and stretch their legs. We’d do it again in a heartbeat!

Next stop - New York City! Friends Rich & Judi  will join us there to ride up the Hudson River, and Champlain Canals!

Captn Ken