Unknown Territory

ANNAPOLIS TO CAPE MAY

We were ready to get back on our sea legs after miles of walking the streets of Annapolis.

Casting off just after sunrise we started on the segment that gave us the greatest trepidation so far. It’s 120 nm from Annapolis to the harbor at Cape May NJ. The top of Chesapeake Bay is fairly wide and open water. We passed by some beautiful, scenic, pastoral areas where hills and forests roll down to meet the bay. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (C&D Canal as it is known) is a 20-mile run starting at the northern part of the Chesapeake, reportedly sharing a narrow channel with big commercial freighters. (The Waterway Guide says that the C&D Canal is the busiest canal in the nation and the 4th busiest in the world!) Then, after the C&D, there is the unpredictable 50-mile open water run down the Delaware Bay with few places to get out of bad weather. If winds are running against the tide, the waves can kick up.

We passed a couple lighthouses built upon rocks in the Delaware Bay.
What a lifestyle it must have been when they were manned, before automation.

Fortunately, luck was with us and the waters were calm and winds and tide in our favor, although it was a little foggy in the upper reaches of the Delaware Bay. And, we didn’t see any large ships in the canal, only debris such as large limbs and lumber. It took concentration to watch and steer clear of debris that could easily damage our running gear. We were heading into Delaware Bay by 10:00 a.m. The AIS (auto identification system) kept us alerted to the size and course of the large cargo ships we encountered. The modern technology of the chart plotter, along with radar, are such a convenience for boaters over the dead reckoning, sharp eye, and paper chart navigation of old. Most of the freighters/cargo ships were heading into Delaware Bay toward Philadelphia or Trenton, NJ so we navigated well out of the shipping channel to avoid them.

On the way down the Delaware Bay we saw the cooling towers of a nuclear power plant. It turns out that there are 3 plants, all in one location on Alloways Creek. There is the Salem Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 and Unit 2 and the cooling towers were for the Hope Creek Plant. The Salem plant uses cooling canals and dumps into the Bay. 

We are humbled about our unfamiliarity with this region's  geography.

We arrived in Cape May in 6 hrs. Since we made good time from Annapolis, we decided to move a little further up the coast on New Jersey’s waterway extension to the ICW to Wildwood, NJ.

After refueling at the Schooner Island Marina we backed into a slip. We had no help with the fueling or the docking, except for the boater on the boat next to us. That is so unusual for a large marina like this one. In spite of no dock help, the people we met were very welcoming and friendly. Anthony and Missy, aboard their ~40 ft Carver, helped us with dock lines and oriented us to Wildwood Beach. We went to a late lunch at the Boathouse Restaurant. Then walked the eight blocks to the east to reach the massively wide gray beach sands at the Atlantic ocean shore. Collecting our sand sample souvenirs we returned to update our blog posts, hit the shower and retire early. We had to sit outside on the deck of the bathhouse to get wifi! We hope that situation will change with the addition of a MoFi router and SIM card to enable our own on-board wifi. Wifi at marinas is nearly always sketchy.

                                     

The beach is unusual in our experience. It is very wide, with a long boardwalk running parallel to the beach. Trams run up and down the boardwalk taking people to the convention center and the amusement park and shops further north. The beach is so wide that we could see 55-gallon drums set up like a motocross track and separating a parking area from the activity area. We learned later from Anthony and Missy that, the weekend before, there had been a big Jeep rally. Signs at the walkway from the boardwalk toward the water welcomed visitors to Wildwood Beach, the largest free beach in New Jersey. Does that mean that you have to pay to go to the beach in other places in New Jersey?

We can sense a different vibe here. We’ve crossed an imaginary line that separates the south from the northeast. We are bemused with the accents we hear, only really being familiar with the New Jersey dialect from TV shows and movies. In this marina there are primarily power boats. Some are large sportfishing boats with flybridges and outriggers, but most are aging trawlers or power cruisers and picnic boats made by SeaRay or Wellcraft. It looks like the boats are stored over the winter and put in the water for “the season” of Memorial Day to Labor Day. Then, the owners come to stay on their boat, rarely taking them from the dock, but enjoying the amenities of the marina (including a pool) and the nearby beach. Floating condos. One nice man we met, with two elderly pugs that he “walked” in a foldable cart, lives with his wife in a home in Ft. Myers for 8 months and at this marina in New Jersey for the summer.

Only 2 days out from the reservation at Liberty Landing Marina, and our principal destination, New York City! Our speedometer log shows we’ve traveled 1700 nm away from our dock.

A CHALLENGING DAY

This was a long nerve-wracking day. We got up early, had breakfast on the boat, and shoved off. Anthony and Missy were sitting on their boat, enjoying their morning coffee. Anthony helped us leave the dock and pointed out that it is a low, low tide. We have 90 or so miles to go so we pressed on. One nautical mile from the dock, we ran aground! I was putting in a course on the iPad and Marvin was at the helm. It looked like we were in the channel! The New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway is notorious for being shallow and shoaly and twisting. Well, we certainly experienced all of that! According to the chart we grounded at West Wildwood. We lowered the anchor and waited 1 3/4 hours for the tide to come in sufficiently to safely move into deeper water.

Once we were moving again, it took us hours to travel 30 miles to Great Egg Harbor Inlet. There were so many beach communities one after the other with houses backing up to the NJ ICW. Each had no wake zones or bridges to slow down for. Where we could throttle up there always seemed to be a small jon-boat or jet skis or paddle boards that we had to slow down for to keep from swamping them. Sometimes there were skiffs drift fishing in the channel, totally oblivious to oncoming boat traffic. We were traveling on a weekday - imagine what it's like on a weekend!

And, then there was the twisting channel in unfamiliar waters where it was challenging to locate the next marker. Navigation aids are changed with the shifting channel, so the chart plotter is often inaccurate. While some of the scenery was interesting, at this pace, it would take us longer than a day to traverse the entire 90 miles of the NJ ICW. 

Passing under the bridge at Ocean City, NJ

We decided to go outside at Great Egg Harbor Inlet (near Ocean City, NJ,) in spite of the note in the Waterway Guide that it should only be attempted in good weather. Well, it was beautiful, good weather, and neither or us could take the stress of navigating this intracoastal waterway. So, outside it was. And what a great day it was.

The exit through the inlet was easy, the seas were calm, with rolling swells, and the temperature was cool. Although it was a little cloudy, and we experienced a few drops of rain, it was a pleasant run of 2 to 2 1/2 hours to cover 55 miles up to Manasquan Inlet and the little town of Brielle. Along the way we could see, from the oceanside, Atlantic City with the tall buildings and boardwalk of amusement rides and shops/vendors. There were so many beachside towns with a water tower with the town’s name on it, boardwalks and amusement parks, a few high-rises, and lots of homes lining the beach. Superstorm Sandy must have been devastating to the people living in these communities. (In Cape May and Wildwood we could see lots of newer construction and repair from Sandy’s blow.) 

Offshore Atlantic City

When we arrived at Manasquan (pronounced MAN-uh-skwan) Inlet, there was a large US Army Corps of Engineers vessel in the middle of the channel. Isn't that always the case! The Currituck was nearly blocking the entrance. We aren’t sure of they were dredging or just moving out the channel. Didn't ever figure it out because it was gone in the morning.

After calm rides for two days, we can't see any water in the V-berth. Though it feels a bit damp, it's probably just residual moisture drying from behind the vinyl. Whew! We're glad we've found the problem - port lights that need to be rebedded. Bouncing on rough seas must be driving water into the crack that then finds magical ways to defy gravity and travel uphill. 

At Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle, we took on some fuel, then moved to the end of a T-dock behind a 40+’ Leopard catamaran sailboat. We had excellent help from the marina crew tying up, but the docks are not floating docks. At low tide, climbing on and off the boat was difficult. And, it always seemed to be low or lower tide! The marina is split into East and West by a low Amtrak train bridge. Normally the bridge is open, until a train is coming. Then the sirens blare, the bridge lowers and the Amtrak rumbles across. The sirens blow again and the bridge raises and all of the waiting boats speed on through.

Brielle seems like a very nice, upscale town. Quaint architecture, tree-shaded streets, landscaped yards, and well maintained. The recommended restaurant was nice, but a bit pricey - the lead special was a 45-day aged beef steak with two sides for a mere $89. We had salads. After being served, we saw that they have an outside deck bar where more casual fare (i.e., burgers) are on the menu.

We met the catamaran owners, Curt and Nancy, who were very congenial, as are most of the live-aboards we meet. They have been cruising for about 7 years including from Grenada and The Bahamas and along the east coast ICW. They were headed to New York City too. It sounds like they are about ready to sell the boat and move on to their next adventure in life.  

Curt and Nancy’s. Leopard and AQUAVIT were situated on the T-dock closest to this bridge, a scant 100 yards away. The current runs very fast and the boats do not observe the no wake zone. But, to tell the truth, we were so tired, that we didn’t really notice the sirens, trains, or wakes all night long.

On to our primary destination, New York City and the highly acclaimed Liberty Landing Marina.

06.18-19.18