High Winds and Rain in Cape May

Thursday, September 25th

Up until now, we've been so fortunate with the weather. It's been warm, sometimes hot with a few crisp but sunny days - but now - here we sit with winds gusting to 37 even as high as 40 knots and driving rain. We're tied up to the dock (and how - we're tied and tied some more in every possible configuration) but still the boat feels as though it's being tossed about on high seas.

Bob has been out to check the lines several times and this afternoon, he added a snubber to one - that means he threaded the line through a rubber tube made for the purpose - the line goes in through and around the outside of the tube so when there's a lot of pull, the rubber and line provide some give and don't continually snap as the wind pushes the boat suddenly up and away from the dock.

In defense against the weather, Bob has put on a Stan Rogers CD and turned it up very high. He's singing along and tapping his foot. Nevertheless, I think that we'll both heave a sigh of relief when the winds are no longer howling and vibrating through the rigging.

Friday, September 26

When we woke this morning, it was warm again and the winds had fallen to a manageable 15 knots. Lines on a couple of the boats on the dock had pulled out metal bars attached to pilings next to them, and the boats were left rubbing up against the dock. Bob was out with a dock attendant yesterday afternoon devising a way to throw a new line from one of the boats over the top of the adjacent piling. The high winds made this a challenge. I was glad that we were on the boat and able to monitor our lines.

Reports for Sunday weather are encouraging and we hope to leave this dock and fair city! This morning Bob hoisted the measuring tape up the mast again so as to double check our height from the top of the mast to the water line. Since we have lost so much time waiting out the weather here, we would especially like to avoid the long trip around the outside of Cape May. Sea Change should be OK to clear the two bridges along the Cape May Canal especially since we will be careful to travel at low tide.

We're in town again today to connect electronically (again) and then we plan to visit a period home open to the public. Tonight or tomorrow night, we'll go to one of the local seafood restaurants for our first sampling of seafood from the area.

I don't expect to be writing any more blog posts until we're on the move. I've written enough about streets we've walked on and menus aboard Sea Change. Here's hoping we get away as planned.

Catch Up Time: Finally - Internet Access!

Along the Erie Canal

Entering the Waterford Flight: series of 5 locks between the Mohawk River to the Hudson Rivers

Gates Open: We're Done with this Lock!

Friday September 19th : Sandy Hook, New York

View from Our Boat at the 79th Street Marina
Walk in Central Park

We had a strange last night on our mooring buoy at the 79th Street marina. With wind blowing one way and the current flowing the other, we had our mooring ball sitting directly beside the boat and bouncing into the hull for the first part of the night - that is, banging into the bow right beside where we were trying to sleep.

In the morning, the current was flowing so strongly away from the boat that in order to get the dinghy in place to take the engine off, we had to take a line attached to the dinghy and wind it around the winch. I winched the dinghy (with Bob in it) up next to the boat. Using the pulley system on the rail, I was able to pull up the engine (all 90 lbs of it) and set it on the mount. Bob usually comes onto the boat to do the final winching up but we were bouncing around too much to let the motor hang, so this time I finished the job with Bob reaching up to guide and steady the motor. After a final pump-out and water top up, we followed Somewhere in Time past the Statue of Liberty and out under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into our first salt water.
We are anchored now beside Somewhere in Time, inside the breakwater at Atlantic Highlands Marina in Sandy Hook. All outside surfaces on the boat are spattered with salt. The wind is blowing and we are rocking but we feel supremely more comfortable than we were last night on our mooring ball in the Hudson River.

Saturday, September 20, 2008: Sandy Hook, New York

The wind howled for much of the night. Before we went to bed, Bob went up top several times to let out more chain, eventually letting out all 90 feet. Since substantial wind and waves are forecast for today, we are staying put. I welcome the day to unwind a little, do some fun reading (a break from all my boat education reading), and also so to cook up some food to have for the next couple of nights after the coming long days sailing ---- on the ocean! (On the ocean?! - how did I get myself into this??)

Somewhere in Time Anchored at Sandy Hook

I'll use the pressure cooker tonight to cook a chicken and rice dinner that will do for tomorrow night as well. Last week, after our 12 hour run down the Hudson from Catskill to Terrytown, I cooked up quite a tasty stew in just over 30 minutes (I had prepared all the ingredients while we were on the water). The pressure cooker that I chose is quite safe and easy to use, and as advertised, saves time and is fuel efficient. I'm glad now that I bought it.

So today - Bob is doing boat maintenance and I'll have lots of time to cook and read. It's coolish but sunny and we are quite warm and comfortable.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

We weighed anchor just before 6 a.m. and set out for our ride over long rolling ocean swells down the New Jersey coast. In the early afternoon, continuing on until the early evening to make Atlantic City did not seem appealing and, at John's suggestion, we went into Barnegat Bay to anchor for the night. What a busy harbour - it was Sunday and there were all kinds of pleasure craft as well as huge fishing trawlers going every which way along the channel leading in and making our entrance into an unknown harbour challenging. However, as evening approached everyone disappeared and we settled down to a quiet night at anchor.

Monday morning we were up early again and had weighed anchor by 6:30. The wind was much stronger, coming from behind us and averaging 15 knots with frequent gusts to 22 knots or more. We sailed most of the day - using the whisker pole for the first couple of hours to go wing on wing and surfing down 3-6 foot waves with speeds sometimes approaching 8.4 knots and for one moment 8.9 (an unbelievable number to see on our knot metre). Eventually Bob decided that it would be easier to control the boat if we brought the head sail in so with only the main sail up, we made from 6 - 7.5 knots throughout the rest of the day until we pulled into a marina at Cape May about 4:30 - a fast sail indeed.

Sailing in the "Boiling Sea" Along the Coast of New Jersey

Our final hour was heart stopping as we turned the boat into the wind and bucked the waves while Bob went forward to pull down the last of the sail and then secure it. Then we turned again to go through the Cape May inlet going against the current and tossing about with waves hitting us on the beam. Once at dock, we went below to find the floor littered with books, clothes and other items which are been tossed off shelves and off the nav and dining tables.

Sea Change is beginning to look as though she's been through the wars. There's the area of the boot stripe rubbed off by the mooring ball at the 79th street marina and there are parts of the teak toe rail that have been scraped away after rubbing against pilings at diesel and pump out docks. Fenders are not much use at these docks as there is the danger of getting them caught between pilings as you come in or attempt to pull away. We are busy thinking of how we can devise some protection at docks like these. In strong winds with current pushing the boat as well, "fending off" is not really an option - certainly not for me.

The Woolseys left this morning as they have to have their boat near Norfolk by October 1st to have some work done. We are staying here for the day. Bob has washed the salt and anchor mud off of the boat and is busy doing repairs. We'll do the wash and go into town to sight see a little and grocery shop. There is no working WiFi at the dock, but the dockmaster has offered to let me hook up my computer in his office.

Tomorrow, we'll go out around Cape May, up the Deleware River and into the C & D (Chesapeake and Deleware) canal. Soon we'll be in "the Chesapeake". In preparation for this, and at the recommendation of other bloggers who have done this trip, I have begun reading the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay.

News from New York

We arrived at the 79th Street Marina in New York yesterday afternoon at about 3:30. We left our dock in Terrytown, NY about 12 so as to be able to ride the tide. Thankfully there was no wind when we picked up our mooring (the second last mooring available that day). Today the wind came up and after a wonderful day of walking in Central Park under a clear sunny sky, we returned to the waterfront and were totally surprised by heavy winds and white capped water. Our dinghy ride to the boat, and our successful boarding of Sea Change were full of heart stopping thrills. I said to Bob, people pay money at Wonderland for rides and thrills like this.

We are bouncing and bobbing on the mooring but it's not a lot of advantage to be tied to the dock as Eileen and John are bobbing around just about as much - and they don't have the fun of trying to get into and out of their dinghy while the water throws boat and dock every which way.

Our ride down the Hudson was great - Tuesday was a long day out - 12 hours on the water to take advantage of 2 high tides and currents going our way - but it was a warm and pleasant day and we took in all the sights: the huge and graceful bridges, the colourful tugs pushing gigantic barges, the large homes up on the hills and of course, eventually we could just make out the New York skyline in the distance.

We have had two very nice meals out with the Woolseys. Tomorrow our two boats may be on the move depending on the weather - certainly only if the winds fall off after tonight!

No Internet access for me at the marina - so I'm posting this from an Internet store. Even Starbucks charges now!