Our Atlantic Ocean Adventure

(picture: last night at Atlantic Highlands)

So Friday was the day. Sal and I had our anchor up and out of Atlantic Highlands by 7:15 am. The winds were good and the skies clear. We rounded Sandy Hook and were in the Atlantic Ocean. We had all three of our sails up with a reefed mainsail. We had our motor on because we wanted to make the trip as short as possible so that we would be in Cape May in about 24 hours. We had a great sail and were making excellent progress. No one was seasick or queasy. We even saw a pair of dolphins and some jellyfish. We thought we saw a shark!! But it could have been a large fish of some sort. Both our parents and us had a little birdie that hitched a ride for an hour or so. By hour 12 we had passed the half way point. As the sun started to go down, it seemed to get windier and windier and the waves seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. I thought that maybe this was just an evening blow and that as soon as the sun went down it would settle….. however this was not the case. The next 6 hours were a wild ride of climbing the waves and belly flopping into them with the spray of salt water getting us wet in the cockpit. I was sure that our rudder would not make it as it slammed every time we went over a large wave. As Atlantic City approached we were desperately contemplating seeking refuge within the city, but it being dark and the currents and the waves strong, we decided to keep going. Regular calls to mom and dad on the hour kept us in touch. At 1 am, just as we were passing Atlantic city they caught up with us and followed us the rest of the way to ensure that we were safe. After we passed Atlantic city, the wind and waves seemed to subside a bit, allowing us to breathe a little easier. Everyone was freezing, tired and impatiently waiting for the sun to come up. For a while I swear our clock was broken because every time I looked at it, it said 3:50. Sal and I took turns steering and would change up about every hour. The sun rose at 7:03 am and none of us could have been happier. Cape May was in sight.

Just when we thought the wild ride was over, we were very wrong. At the inlet to the canal the waves were HUGE! And coming in from ever which direction… We revved the engine and slowly inched forward hanging on for dear life. We were getting pushed and rocked and rolled and all we could do was hang on and hope for the best. We finally made it into the safety of the breakwater. We let out a giant sigh of relief as we pulled up to the anchorage, so glad to have made it. We felt the smallness of our boat during that trip, but even my parents agreed that it was a rough ride. We anchored, made a celebratory omelette and crashed. Saturday we just recuperated, and dried out a few items that got wet on the journey.

We left Cape May Sunday morning and motored out into the Delaware Bay. It was completely the opposite, very calm seas and the winds eventually dying, so that after having a good sail for about an hour and a half, we had to motor to make it to our destination. We stopped in the Cohansee River and docked at a marina at $1/foot. As soon as we were settled, we made reservations with a car rental place so that we could drive to Annapolis the next day and visit the boat show (Monday was the last day it was open). Then we got to SHOWER!!!

This morning, Sal and I were up at 7, and called the car company at 8 like planned. Unfortunately when we finally got a hold of the company at 8:15, they told us that they had no cars available until around 10. We called every other car company in the area without luck, and since it was a 2 ½ hour drive to Annapolis, we gave up when the car company did not pick us up by 11. Very disappointed, we spent the day cleaning and making minor repairs to the boat. We had a very picturesque walk to the village of Greenwich but other than that had no excitements.

Tomorrow we are departing with the tides in our favour and going through the C&D canal to Chesapeake City. We are ready to continue on after a day of rest.

(picture: Bald Eagle)