Monday September 8th, 2008 to Wednesday September 10th, 2008
We cast off from the Montauk Marine Basin before 0700 and by 0830 we were well out to sea, and there was enough of the north breeze to allow us to set the sails, but not enough to turn off the engine.
The predicted north wind did not hold, and shortly after noon the wind was on our nose, and we furled the jib.
Two different small birds stopped by for a break that afternoon. The first looked like some kind of wren, although it didn't seem to cock it's tail up like they usually do. The yellowish bird looks kind of like the picture of a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in my Audubon Field Guide, but he was smaller than a sparrow, and a long way from the woods. If Mary Ann Swain or any other birdwatchers can identify these birds, please respond in the Comments for this blog post.
By early evening the wind came around to the south, and we were able to hoist the sails back up and motor-sail close hauled.
Not one of the best sunsets, but we took its picture anyway.
Taking turns to nap, we continued all night, and by daylight on Tuesday, we could see the shore of New Jersey, but we were north of Atlantic City, and spent the day tacking down the Jersey coast. Charlie apologized for not being a gentleman...I can't find the source of the expression "Gentlemen don't go to weather", but ladies don't care for it much either.
Mid afternoon, we decided to continue past Cape May, and head up Delaware Bay, and go to Summit Marina on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, where we had stopped on the way north. We could
see on the Sirius weather that there was a band of thunderstorms, but thought we could handle it OK. It was spooky sailing in to the storm, but Lady performed well, lots of wind and big choppy waves that we crashed down off (Sooty was quite unhappy about it.)
It was still overcast, but we motored on past the Ship John Shoal.
Good cell phone coverage allowed us to talk to friends and family.
At dusk, we passed the nuclear power plant on Artificial Island.
I was a little nervous about entering the canal in the dark, but Charlie assured me that it would be like driving down the interstate highway in the dark. Well, it has lights about every 100 yards, and the two big tug boats we me had AIS, so Charlie was able to contact them by radio so that we didn't surprise them. We finally docked at the marina at 2100, and after a welcome shower and dinner we both slept very well.
Wednesday morning was glorious. We purchased fuel, and enjoyed the morning going west on the canal and down the Elk River in to the Chesapeake. The current was strong, and in our favor (prior planning!), so even though the wind was dead behind us, we had to motor on and made good time.
Under the William P. Lane Jr. Memorial Bridges that spans the Bay, around the
corner and in to the Eastport neighborhood of Annapolis. We docked at Eastport Yacht Center, glad to be here.
We will be in Annapolis for the next few days, getting sails repaired, instruments fixed, provisioning, and resting up for the next big push.
We will leave here Tuesday 15th, and will head south, as weather permits,and expect to be in Brunswick Georgia in about two weeks. We will be in delivery mode, not cruising mode, so updates to the blog may be few and far between.
Our thoughts are with all our Houston friends as they recover from Hurricane Ike. Early reports are that our old marina in Clear Lake, Waterford, was spared from serious damage.
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