Offshore to Block Island - Post 4

Leaving Cape May in the company of dolphins was a good omen and we were excited about the passage ahead. Two hundred and twenty nautical miles (410 km) was 70% longer than our previous 130 mile (240 km) passage. It would also mark another first for us, as we planned to spend two days out at sea.

Leaving Cape May, there was a breeze of 5-10 knots (9-18 km/h) from the south and it stayed with us for most of the passage, occasionally dropping to zero and other times climbing to 13-15 knots (24-28 km/h). We set the engine to 2000 rpm and motorsailed up the coast. We stayed about 10 miles (18 km) offshore to try and get out of some of the shipping traffic. The strategy worked as we saw several barges between us and the coast.

Ten Miles (18 km) Offshore from the New Jersey Coast

Sport Fisherman in the Distance

In the evening, we were greeted by a beautiful sunset, the first in the open Atlantic in almost ten years. While motoring for prolonged periods is not the most comfortable way to cover sea miles, we got into a routine of two-hour watches. As the night fell, fog rolled in and frequently both of us were in the cockpit to track targets on RADAR and AIS. Visibility in fog at night is really hard to judge but we could see around Rosalind for some short distance, maybe 100 yards (100 meters).

Sunset in the Atlantic

As we approached Sandy Hook and New York City, we started picking up large ships in the shipping lanes. We tracked them and on one occasion communicated with the captain. While we were not transmitting AIS at the time, we did have a RADAR reflector up the mast and we got confirmation that we showed up on RADAR 4.5 miles (8.3 km) away. We could hear the ship's powerful fog horn almost 5 miles (9 km) away but we could not see it, aside from on our instruments. So, it was good to know that we were visible to him.

Light Fog, 10 Miles (18 km) off the New Jersey Coast

Large Ship in the Distance

RADAR (with guard zone in red) and Chartplotter (with AIS) Showing Shipping Traffic at Night, 15 miles (28 km) Offshore of New York City

Our plan was to stay out of the way of the big ships and, to avoid any potential issues, contact them on VHF radio. The communication was well received every time and we found the captains responsive to our RADAR queries.

Shortly after sunset we also started our own fog horn. Our VHF radio has this feature, which proved invaluable, and every two minutes it automatically sounds the fog horn through a hailer which we have mounted on the mizzen mast. This is a great feature as we would not want to have to manually sound a bell every two minutes for hours on end! The bad news is that it’s really hard to sleep with a horn blasting every two minutes...

Fog Getting Thicker, 10 miles (18 km) off Long Island

The next morning we turned to the east, sailing parallel to Long Island, New York. The morning sun burned off the night’s fog and we had a pleasant morning motorsailing along Long Island. By early afternoon fog started rolling in. It was patchy but we had more fog than not. As the temperature dropped, visibility reduced dramatically and through the night we were in pea soup thick fog. It was hard to judge where there was water and where there was not, as everything turned white. There was enough light from our running lights to illuminate the surroundings. It was a strange experience. The great news about the second evening was that we had no traffic around us with the exception of a “ghost ship”. Early in the evening, between some fog patches, we spotted a ship with four or five very bright lights. We estimated it to be several miles away but it was not transmitting an AIS signal and was not showing up on RADAR. After extensive observations we concluded that it must have been a wooden fishing boat. When looking at the charts and chartplotters, we had a question about an exclusion zone and we contacted the Coast Guard for some clarification, but otherwise the evening was uneventful.

The next morning, however, was another story. Rounding Montauk Point on Long Island and getting into Block Island Sound, we got into heavy traffic. The fog was at its thickest with visibility probably down to 100 feet (30 meters). We could see nothing. Our eyes were glued to the RADAR, AIS, and chartplotter. The distance to get to the Great Salt Pond Channel was short, less than six miles (11 km), but the traffic was crazy. We had to make evasive maneuvers twice before we got to the channel and also gave way to a fast-moving catamaran that had no RADAR. We contacted the catamaran on the VHF as we were on a collision course and told them we could see them on AIS and RADAR. They were doing 8 knots (15 km/h) with zero visibility! Their comment was, “We don’t have RADAR but we will sort it all out.” We selected to give them plenty of room and let them pass us. There were almost a dozen boats going in and coming out of the channel, including a tug pulling a barge (i.e., limited maneuverability). After an hour of this, we finally sighted the red entrance marker. The fog was only marginally better and we were no more that 150 ft (45 m) from the entrance when we heard on the VHF, “Watch it sailboat!” Out of the fog, at full speed, comes a 45 foot (14 meter) sport fisherman. I had to put Rosalind in reverse to avoid the collision and then hold on to avoid being tossed by the wake. As a fellow boater said many years ago, “Some people have more money than sense.”

View from Cockpit, Leaving Cape May, New Jersey - Nice!

View from Cockpit, Approach to Block Island Sound 
Visibility Less Than 50 ft (15m)!

We got in the channel and when we entered the Great Salt Pond the fog started lifting. At 10:00 am we dropped anchor in 35 feet (11 meters) of emerald green water and payed out 185 ft (56 m) of chain. We set up the anchor chain snubber and concluded our first 200+ mile (400+ kilometer) passage. It had taken us exactly two days. We were on Block Island!

Cape May, New Jersey - Post 3

The Canyon Club Resort Marina, home to large sport-fishing yachts, was located just outside the Cape May Canal, just after the second bridge in the canal. We crossed the second bridge and turned to port towards the marina, but the current had other ideas. In a couple of seconds Rosalind had done a full 180 degree turn as the current had carried her bow all the way around.  So now we had to turn hard to starboard and get some power in the water to prevent the current from sweeping us past the marina entrance. Before long we were in. 

Negotiating our slip was the next challenge. Located on the other side of the fuel dock, we had to get in the marina, turn to starboard, avoid the shoal area, then do a 180 degree turn. It would be a tight turn for a twin-engine powerboat, let alone for a single-engine sailboat without a bow thruster. Folks from the neighboring powerboat came out to watch; we are guessing part entertainment, part concern about us hitting them. But we got in and Rosalind came to rest against the dock ever so gently. The docking was a success. It was time to cool down so we went to get an ice cream at the marina store and checked in. 

Rosalind in Canyon Club Resort Marina, Cape May, NJ

Later that afternoon we used the marina shuttle to get to town and enjoyed walking and seeing the Painted Ladies, the Victorian homes Cape May is famous for. We really liked the town, because, while filled with tourists, it had a clear history and was not all made up and artificial.

Painted Lady, Cape May, New Jersey

Painted Lady, Cape May, New Jersey

The next day was packed with running errands: getting fuel, going grocery shopping, tracking down hardware, deflating the dinghy and storing it on deck, and getting Rosalind ready for her two-day offshore passage to Block Island. While we were getting Rosalind ready, a grandmother with her grandson walked down the dock and came to visit Rosalind. We were the only sailboat on a dock full of sport fishing boats. With wide eyes, the boy asked, "Are you pirates, and is this a pirate ship?"

Rosalind at Canyon Club Resort Marina, Cape May, NJ

We looked at the tides and were ready to leave at first light but there was not enough water in the marina for us to get out so we had to wait until almost high tide. At 10:00 am we were heading out of Cape May Inlet in the company of dolphins! We were heading offshore to Block Island, 220 nautical miles (410 km) away.

Heading Down Delaware Bay - Post 2

Delaware Bay has the reputation of being a difficult body of water to traverse for several reasons. There is a lot of commercial traffic with cargo ships and barges and it is a very shallow body of water which can be problematic, particularly for deep draft vessels. Lastly, the current can really make for a challenging trip, particularly for sailboats.

Rosalind

The distance from our anchorage just outside the C&D Canal to Cape May, New Jersey, was between 52 and 57 nautical miles (96 and 106 km) depending on whether we got to Cape May through the Cape May Canal or the ocean inlet. Our strategy was the following: get out at first light and head down the Bay as fast as we could. By doing so, we sacrificed the first two hours of favorable current but avoided starting out in complete darkness. Even though we have radar and receive automatic identification system (AIS) signals, we felt the risk of confusing aides to navigation with background lights was still significant. So we decided to start at first light and take the current/tides penalty at the end of the trip when we neared Cape May.

The unanticipated challenge was raising the anchor in almost 3 knots (5 km/h) of current. We had been warned to really set the anchor well to avoid dragging because of the swift current. Now we had the challenge of getting the anchor unstuck in that same swift current. It took us the better part of half an hour, and as soon as the anchor was dislodged, Cheryl had to get Rosalind pointed south and get some water flowing past the rudder in order to get some steerage. We had coordinated our plan and it all worked out; the anchor was up and we were soon heading south. Leaving the anchorage at first light was definitely a wise call as the area around Delaware City was full of shore lights and shipping traffic.

Main Channel Light #32 (with Northbound Current), Delaware Bay

We flew down Delaware Bay occasionally reaching 8 knots (15 km/h) via the combination of sails, motor, and current. Shipping traffic was light and visibility was good, and in early afternoon we were at the entrance of the Cape May Canal. This canal is much narrower than the C&D Canal, is shallower, and has a vertical clearance of 55 ft (17 m) limited by two fixed bridges. 

Cockpit, Motoring down Delaware Bay

We selected to go through the Canal, given our mast clearance of 46 ft (14 m). With strong current against us, it took a while to get through the 3 mile (6 km) canal. Going though the Canal was challenging not only because of the adverse current but because of the wakes caused by very fast moving powerboats. There are the remains of a old swing bridge in the canal, and while the bridge no longer needs to be negotiated vertically, there is only room for one way traffic between the remaining dolphins (foundations). Powerboats were flying in both directions and we had a particularly large boat pass us just before we got to the remnants of the old bridge. The wake caused a mess, tossing all 18,000 lbs (8,200 kg) of Rosalind for a wild ride and it took some effort to hang on. What was amazing was that the offending captain was completely unaware of the mess his wake was making and cheerfully waved to us as he zoomed by! It got a little hairy in the canal for a while but we were finally through it.

Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey Ferry

When we left Galesville we were so excited to head out that we did not pay much attention to the calendar. So here we were heading into Cape May on the weekend before the Fourth of July. It was getting late in the day, and with the strong current, we were not about to go wandering around the congested harbor to look for a place to drop the hook. There is really only one good anchorage with limited space. So, with the holiday approaching, we decided not to take a chance but to see if we could get a marina for a day or two to provision and stage for our offshore trip north. It took several calls but we finally found a marina that had a slip and enough water to accommodate our five foot (1.5 m) draft.

Heading out for our Summer Cruise - Post 1

Over the next fourteen weeks we will be sharing with you our 2018 summer cruise. We will be posting once a week. We hope you enjoy the posts.

June 25, 2018 
It's 8:30 pm and we are at our mooring on the West River. The temperature in the salon is still 82F (28C) but in the V-berth the evening breeze provides a gentle freshness. Outside the temperature is balmy. Tomorrow we are leaving our mooring for new harbors and new acquaintances. It’s more than exciting. It has taken lots of work and tons of flexibility to get to this point. 

After spending nearly a year refurbishing Rosalind in 2016, we wanted to head south that year. Some unexpected engine room work pushed back our departure until it got too cold to leave that season. Then, we tried going north the following summer but our plans were forced to change. In the fall, work intervened and changed our plans to go south that year too. Now we are going north, heading out almost two years later than originally planned.

Rosalind

It’s been a long road, but we have learned a lot along the way. We have learned how to live on board and have made a number of important improvements to Rosalind. But we have also learned to really enjoy the process, because at the end of the day, that really is cruising.

June 26, 2018

The weather window that we were waiting for had arrived. Mid-morning on Tuesday, June 26th, we picked up our mooring pennant and headed north on the Chesapeake Bay. The light following winds and seas with assistance from Lucy, our trusted Beta 30 horsepower engine, pushed us up the Bay. We passed Thomas Point Light and before long we were passing Annapolis, the furthest north we had ever sailed until now.  

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

On the VHF radio there was a report of a school of dolphins spotted in the Chesapeake and we took that as a great omen for our cruise. Soon after, we passed under the Bay Bridge and turned east. The wind picked up from zero to 10 knots (0 to 19 km/h) in a matter of minutes, then it went up to 15 knots (28 km/h). We took advantage of the afternoon bay breeze and we had a beautiful sail to the Magothy River entrance. When we reached our destination and anchored in the Magothy River, the wind quickly rose to over 20 knots (37 km/h).

Over the years we had heard great stories about the Magothy and we were soon to discover what a special place the Magothy really is. We anchored in Forked Creek in 14 ft (4 m) of water and enjoyed a great dinner with a spectacular sunset while Rosalind rode out the strong breeze at anchor with her anchor riding sail. 

Sunset, Magothy River, Chesapeake Bay

It's been a day of firsts for us: 

• First time under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
• First time in the Magothy River
• First time this far north

June 27, 2018

A weather front with strong thunderstorms was moving through the area so we decided to stay an extra day in the Magothy River. We stayed on board and worked on the port hardtop handle in the morning then, after lunch, we listened to podcasts and relaxed. 

June 28, 2018

We left the Magothy River and headed northeast across the Bay to Worton Creek. After 25 miles (46 km) we arrived in Worton Creek where, after setting the anchor and getting Rosalind organized, I jumped overboard for a swim. This far north, the Bay is almost entirely fresh water. The water was a beautiful green color and we could see halfway down the rudder. I had been in the Bay before to clean our prop (not a pleasant experience when you cannot see your extended arm!), but this was my first “pleasure” swim in the Bay. The swim was refreshing and I ended up swimming twice that afternoon as the Mid-Atlantic was starting to see the beginnings of a nationwide heatwave. We shared Worton Creek with a couple of other sailboats, had a great evening, and were again treated to a beautiful sunset and moonrise.

Motorsailing past Baltimore Light towards Worton Creek

June 29, 2018
We had to plan the next leg of the trip carefully because of the strong currents at the top of the Bay and particularly through the Chesapeake & Delaware (C&D) Canal. After consulting Eldridge, the nautical publication that has been providing tides and current information since 1875, we decided that we needed to get out of Worton Creek at first light if we wanted to make it to Chesapeake City without having to fight the current.

We got up before sunrise and at 5:35 am raised anchor and headed north towards the C&D Canal. The C&D Canal links the two namesake bays and offers a shortcut for both commercial and pleasure boats. The Canal is very well marked and is also lit for night transits. Our destination was Chesapeake City, 3 miles (5 km) into the Canal where there is a small anchorage. Chesapeake City is an interesting destination on its own and we planned to stage there in order to get a fair current to transit the remaining 12 miles (22 km) of the Canal. 

The current was with us all the way that day and we flew up the Chesapeake, at times reaching over 7 knots (13 km/h) instead of our normal cruising speed of 5 knots (9 km/h). As we were approaching Chesapeake City we concluded that we should be able to make a run for it and get through the C&D Canal all in one go with about an hour left over before the tide turned. We motored by Chesapeake City, leaving it to explore at another day, and shortly after noon we were in the Delaware Bay.

Conrail Lift Bridge, C&D Canal

We anchored just outside of the Canal in 23 ft (7 m) of water at almost slack water. It was very hot, in the 90s (32+C), so we had cold showers on deck to cool off. By three in the afternoon, the water was flowing by Rosalind at almost 3 knots (6 km/h). There was a light breeze on the water and it, together with the current, created an illusion that we were moving fast. It was a strange experience. We were treated to another beautiful sunset with no wind and slack water. We consulted Eldridge, planned our trip down Delaware Bay, and turned in early. We were going to have an early start (again!) to leverage the outgoing tide.

Sunset, Anchored off Delaware City, Delaware Bay