The ocean had other plans

 

 We left this morning intending to travel on the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean had other plans for us. We traveled about a quarter mile out from Cape May and I turn the boat around (not as easy as it sounds). The waves were supposed to be swells. They reminded me of five footers on Lake Erie. When a rogue  seven footer crashed over the bow I told Mo to hold on as I spun the boat around.

 

  There appeared to be an inland waterway on the charts that snaked it's way from Cape May to Atlantic City so we decided to try it. We didn't travel more than a thousand feet without a sharp turn and at least 50% of the water we travelled was less than 6 feet in depth. I got hung up on one sand bar for a few minutes when I mistakenly went right of a red marker. All in all it was certainly safer than the ocean, but not without challenges.

 

We planned to stay in Atlantic City tonight but when I called to make reservations the entire harbor was booked due to a massive boat show. We wound up docking at Seaview Harbor Marina (6 miles south of Atlantic City) and will be leaving the boat here until October 9th. The Erie Canal will reopen around that time and we can finish the trip Home.

 

Mo has been a great deck hand and at this time has lost some $$$ to me at gin. The next blog will begin after the 9th.

 

These fellas were going out from Cape May on an 8 hour ocean fishing trip. I feel sorry for them.

"SKINNY WATER"

Dinner in the universal cooking utensil.

Mo e-mailing one of his (several hundred) children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

For the girls

"Driptroit Diesels"

  After viewing the picture above you may be able to guess how we spent today. Our plan was to travel to Atlantic City today, just 40 miles of open ocean water, a mere 5 hour trip.

  I pushed the starters on the engines at 9:30 and heard a familiar sound, RRR, RRR, RRR (very slowly), then click, click, click. The batteries were dead. I had noticed over the past two weeks that the engines were getting a little hard to turn over. I turned to Mo and said; "If we are going to have engine problems, being tied up at a dock is the right place for it to happen".

  I hired Scott (pictured above), a local marine mechanic, to drive me down to the marine supply store. We purchased 4 new batteries and a new battery charger (the old charger was acting up in the Florida Key's last spring). Four hours later Scott had the new batteries and charger installed and the engines roared to life.

  "Whatever It Takes" is powered by twin 350 HP, 8-71 Detroit Diesel engines. One of the nicknames for these engines is  "Driptroit Diesels" referring to the powerplants' propensity for leaking oil on everything in or near the engine compartment.

  The 2-Cycle engine powered most of the twentieth century's diesel-driven industrial history. By land or sea, in peace and at war, the Detroit 71 series diesel engines are considered the most reliable (and nearly indestructible) engines ever built. 

  Mo and I spent the evening driving around Cape May in a rental Kia. Cape May is a very pretty place with lots of vintage homes and many specialty shops. I wouldn't mind spending 3 or 4 days here.

  Tomorrow morning we leave for Atlantic City in a boat powered by "Driptroit Diesels" with brand new batteries!

New batteries and charger.

This poor bird was disappointed.

Cape May lighthouse.



For the girls

Wish I had a rearview mirror

  I wish I had a rearview mirror on the boat. Today we had a LARGE ship sneak up on us. I didn't notice the behemoth until it was very close. "HOLY ****" was my first comment when I looked back. We also had a commercial tug come up on our stern without notice, the wake from him had us rocking and rolling pretty good.

  We left dock on the C & D at 6:30 this morning to head for Cape May, New Jersey. The trip is only about 65 miles but we left early to take advantage of the outgoing tide. The Delaware Bay gets really narrow at the top and an incoming tide would slow us to around 7 MPH (making this a 9 to 10 hour trip). We were travelling at 13.6 MPH most of the way down the Bay with help from the tidal current. 

  We enjoyed a fresh Scallop dinner at the bar/restaurant across the street from Miss Chris Marina, our home for the night.

Red sky on the C & D Canal.

This big fella actually snuck up behind us in the shipping channel on Delaware Bay.

He passed by pretty close, note the swell of water at the bow.

The weather on the Delaware was looking a little dicey.

Sign at the harbor entrance to Cape May.

Our marina for the night. This place is kind of ratty. We docked here last year and the restaurant/bar across the street has really good food and the people are friendly.

Sunset in New Jersey.

For the girls (my daughter and others complained that I hadn't posted any decent pictures of myself)

Like a moth to a flame

    Like a moth to a flame, the Delaware State Police followed us into our marina tonight. They stopped to ask where we were headed and I said "Cape May tomorrow, then on to Cleveland, Ohio". The lead patrolman said he has his boat docked at Cape May and recommended a marina and restaurant. He even said he was going down to his boat tomorrow and may see us there. 

                           Like a moth to a flame.

  We got out today at 9:30 after fueling up and emptying the holding tank. Our goal was to travel the balance of the Chesapeake Bay, half way across the C & D Canal, and arrive before 5:00 so we would have a dock hand to grab lines. We actually arrived at 4:57. I love it when a plan comes together.

  Cowboy dinner tonight, beans and steak. I grilled the steaks in the most versatile cooking utensil ever created, my electric fry pan.

We met Mike and Dawn at the marina last night. They toured "Whatever It Takes" and I gave Dawn a candle. This morning they surprised us with a delicious Apple Bundt cake before we left. A very good trade.

The Bay Bridge separating the upper and lower Chesapeake Bay.

The north end of the Chesapeake is much prettier than the south.

These lights are navigational aids. As you travel across large expanses of water, you line up the two lights and aim for them to keep you in the channel (and off the rocks).



This Panama ship is one of the ugliest I have seen. Its hard to tell the bow from the stern.



This is a crab pot. It has a chain or rope attached that leads to a crab trap on the sea bottom. These cables will get tangled in a boats props if you don't avoid them and cause all kinds of trouble. Walter became an expert crab pot dodger when he piloted the boat across the Albemarle Bay (there had to be more than 1,000 pots he weaved the boat past).

The entrance to the C &D Canal.

Boy is that an ugly specimen (the fish)



Like a moth to a flame.

A cowboy dinner. The steaks were grilled in my electric skillet.

For the girls

Sunrise from the pilot house

  Mo and I left Walter and Bill on the dock at 6:45 this morning. We had to travel 10 miles out the Mobjack Bay just to get back on the Chesapeake Bay (one hours cruise). We got to see the sunrise from the pilot house, pretty cool.

  After reaching the Bay we travelled 95 miles up the Chesapeake and arrived at Herring Harbor Marina South at 6:00. Unfortunately the dock hands quit at 5:00. That means Mo and I have to dock the boat without someone to catch lines. Mo absolutely cannot leap from the boat so I can toss a line. Fortunately the dock master said we could tie up at the fuel dock and there were lines coiled on top of the poles. All I had to do was slide the boat up to within inches of the dock and bring the boat to a complete stop so Mo could grab a bow line and I could scramble to grab a stern line, then secure both. We were successful on our first attempt. 

  We now have 60 miles of Chesapeake Bay left to travel and only another 12 miles on the C&D Canal to reach the upper end of the Delaware Bay. Piece of cake.

  We cheated and had dinner at the Marina restaurant tonight, long day. I told Mo I would do the dishes tonight.

Handing off the ships responsibility.

We were on the water cruising as the sun arrived.

Sunrise through the binoc's.

The bow slicing the water at a blazing 11 MPH. 

44,000 lbs makes a BIG wake .

And leaves a wide trail.

This why we waited the storm out.

HOLY COW, their sending the big rigs after us.

Mo, ready to hook a dock line.

For the girls