After some really nasty weather in Annapolis we decided we would take some shorter passages the rest of the way up the Chesapeake Bay. Our paid time on the City mooring was up and there was no need to stay in the area as there was nowhere we could go that was open. After a two mile round trip walk for a few groceries we got underway.
We went up to Bodkin Creek in Pasadena, MD for our first night. This was an easy, quick passage to a place we've anchored frequently. It's near a marina we used to use for annual maintenance haulouts. The next day was windier earlier than forecast, of course. Our angle across the Bay was fairly rough but once we turned up the shipping channel it wasn't too bad. We stopped in Worton Creek, another frequent overnight stop. Very protected so we didn't notice the increased wind. The pattern seemed to be better winds in the mornings then tougher each afternoon so our plan of short passages was working. So far. It was still quite cold. Hard on exposed eyes. Our four hour passages continued up to Chesapeake City, MD on the C and D Canal. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal connects Chesapeake Bay with Delaware Bay and is, I think, the third busiest level water canal in the world. That's by memory, not Google, so I may be off. They have a free (for 24hrs) dock for boaters. With Maryland closed for recreational boaters we had the dock to ourselves. BTW, we are NOT recreational boaters. We are aboard our mobile home. That's our story and we're sticking to it. We borrowed some 15a electricity for overnight heat and left early the next morning. We were thinking we would be stuck there a while because of the weather patterns but we hoped if we left early we would have good conditions most of a long day down the Delaware River/Bay.
Once we got to the Cape May area we ran out of favorable current and light winds. Both turned against us. With a vengence. Very choppy and slow around the Cape. Two hours of misery. Our trade off for the earlier nice day. We were trying to remember our last nice trip around the Cape. It must have happened before, we just cannot remember when.
We went into Cape May Harbor to anchor to wait out the weather. Again. It was blowing pretty hard when we anchored off the USCG station but from a direction with no fetch. All good. During the night the wind faded but in late morning of the next day the wind got very strong, and from a long-fetch direction. It was very strange. The wind went from near zero to 20+kts in mere seconds. We worried about dragging our anchor but after a while we could tell we were set well. At night the wind faded again so we decided to get up before sunrise again to get underway. We went up to Atlantic City in following seas (2-3ft) and breezes in about 5hrs. We took a very expensive slip at a crappy marina for fuel, showers and laundry. The shower was lukewarm in a cold room and the fixed dock made getting on and off the boat difficult. The wind at night eased again so the boat quieted down. After this one night we left the marina to anchor out in the main harbor south of the fixed bridge and east of the USCG station there to wait for another weather window.
The wind blew at about 20kts all day but the forecast said it would ease overnight. Briefly. We took the chance. Our passage started before 1900 (7pm) and was a little rough to start. Going into 2ft seas is worse than going with 2ft seas but they were ocean two footers, not chop, so we didn't bang too much. During the night the wind clocked around to the south which was a much nicer direction. It faded away for a while which was even nicer. Skies cleared up and the stars were very sharp but it was very cold. We took one hour shifts instead of two hour watches. The wind at our backs instead of in our faces helped also. A little. Going around Sandy Hook, NJ was tricky in the dark but it got light before we completed the rounding. There are a lot of buoys for several different channels and the lights of the City make this area very tricky. It takes two of us together to do the piloting.
We anchored at Atlantic Highlands, NJ about 0730, had breakfast and took a long nap. Until lunchtime. The forecast weather front delayed a bit but hit us hard in the early afternoon. Very hard. Heavy rain and at least 40kt gusts. The National Weather Service said it got up to 60mph. Our anchor held. Later in the evening, about 1645 (6:45pm) another blast of cold air came. We guess it was 40kts again but steady. We dragged. This means our anchor was being pulled through the bottom and we were not staying put. Very dangerous. I could barely stand upright on deck as we struggled to reset the anchor safely. It took a while (30 minutes) but with a lot of extra chain out we got ourselves secure again. The problem was we couldn't be sure we were secure until time had passed. And night was nearby. And we were bouncing in two foot waves. In other words, sleep did not come early. Or easy. Sigh. Boating. Once in while we wonder.
Overnight the wind eased a little. Very little. Enough that the waves dropped to 1ft instead of 2. Carol got semi-seasick. In bed. Laying down. Never happened before. During the day it continued to blow and stayed choppy. So much for coming here for protection behind the breakwater. The wind finally eased during our second night and we got underway first thing in the morning. Heading for the big City. Before we got to the Narrows-Veranzano Bridge it started sleeting. That's how cold it was. Sleet in the face on a boat is an excellent facial exfoliant. Highly recommend it. Nope. We arrived in Port Washington on Long Island to get a formerly free mooring. Now they are $25 per night. It includes launch service so we took it to the Stop and Shop for groceries. They were totally out of fresh vegetables. Zero. None. Zip. Zilch. Oh, they had a couple of green peppers and a few onions. That's it. Once again we are staying put for two days to let bad weather go by. Seems to be the pattern. Seems like it will continue.
The second day in Port Washington was cold and rainy and we sat on the mooring and shivered. Pretty miserable. All day. We had storms inside briefly, too. The only positive was the launch driver did not come around to collect the mooring fee on the second day. Don't know if it was our charming conversation the day before or it was too miserable to come out to collect from only one boat. Probably the latter. We got underway before 0700 on Saturday to head to Port Jefferson, L.I. It was cold, of course, but sunny. It was also flat calm. We haven't had a nice day since uh, I can't remember. A long time. Absolutely flat water. Not a ripple until we were close to Port Jeff. We expected to pick up one of the private moorings that are packed behind Old Field Beach. We've been 'borrowing' one of these moorings for ten years, before or after the main season. To our great surprise, there were no moorings. They were all gone. Not a trace. This part of the harbor is quite deep so anchoring requires a lot of anchor rode to get proper 7:1 scope. Scope is the ratio between the water depth and length of the anchor rode. Also, it was forecast to get breezy on Sunday so we put out extra chain. There was not another boat in the anchorage so swing room was not an issue. Preventing dragging was our concern. Again our pattern of one nice day followed by two crappy days was going to hold. The only difference was how nice this day was. Unusual.
After the one nice day we had another two miserable days (and nights) at anchor. Very windy and lumpy. And cold. Very cold. We are sick of the cold. We did, however, secure a summer mooring in Niantic so that was settled. On Tuesday we got underway for Duck Island off of Westbrook, CT. It was a little choppy but not too bad. Wind was northwest and we were heading northeast. 1 to 2 foot seas were not too bad. It was about a 5 hour passage as we were continuing our short day pattern. It helped enduring the **$$@#** cold. I am really sick of the cold. During this passage we were notified the mooring we thought we had in Niantic wasn't available. We were too big for it. We scrambled for another, cursed, made phone calls and finally got a mooring at our 3rd or 4th choice marina. Sigh. We'll have to get by and try for our 1st choice next year.
We got underway from Duck Island at 0745. It was cold, of course, but the breeze was fairly light. Seas were well under 1ft. We turned up the Connecticut River and headed to our new marina. The Old Lyme drawbridge once again expressed displeasure at our proper radio procedure. I taught boating safety, navigation and radio procedure for thirty-five years. The habit is ingrained. We also go through about three dozen bascule, swing or lift bridges each way each year as we go south and back up here in the north. The only place we get a complaint from the bridge operator is right here on the Connecticut River. I bite my tougue and continue to use proper radio procedure.
Shortly after going through the railroad bridge we tied up at our new marina, Old Lyme Marina. We tied at one of their fixed docks in a very strong current with some difficulty. Our mooring has not yet been installed. It is going to be exposed to river traffic and the southwest to the northwest so we may not be happy here. We'll see.
So this ends our tenth round trip for the winter season. It is very cold here which has only happened once before this early for us. It was a bit different from other trips because of the pandemic, Carol's job changes and my health changes. The chemotherapy session schedule affected our winter in Marathon as well as our passages north. As I've mentioned before, schedules are very bad for cruisers. We don't like them and they are bad for us. Sometimes dangerous. We now have medical schedules that are necessary but annoying. We continue to endure these treatments in the hope we won't need them at some point. I know this is a chronic condition which will not be cured but I keep hoping we'll have gaps of normality. The problem with this hope is I have rarely been normal and these days we no longer know what normal is. Remember, we are not in the same boat but we are in the same storm. The boat we are in here is pretty good. We have to be thankful.
Bye for now.
Nice to hear that you are back in CT again, although the trip sounds like it wasn't as comfortable as one would wish. Here's hoping that the weather warms up here soon and that you enjoy a mostly "normal" summer!
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