Norfolk to Oyster Bay Long Island Sound

We left Norfolk almost 2 weeks ago with good weather intending to cruise slowly up the Chesapeake River however like all well made plans..... We moved up to Solomons Island one of our favorite stops on the western shore and as we were anchoring we got a call on the radio from old friends Frank and Patti on Dream Weaver who are on their way back to Connecticut from the Bahamas. We tried to anchor close to them and put on a demonstration of how not to anchor. We put the hook down at least 4 times and dragged half way across the harbour until we eventually moved to another spot and found good holding. We poured the evening cocktails and hid in the cockpit embarassed while the whole anchorage had enjoyed our problems for their evenings entertainment. The travelling weather was so good that we moved with Dream Weaver the next day to Galesville and enjoyed dinner with them at a waterside restaurant for our first taste this year of Maryland crab cakes and a chance to catch up on all the cruising news from the Bahamas. From Galesville we moved a few miles up the western shore to Annapolis.

Annapolis is full of expensive sailboats and is the sailing capital of the Chesapeake. The Town docks along the waterfront is nicknamed ego alley because of the chance tie up your boat by the waterfront bars and be seen! The building in the background is the Maryland State house  and home of the Governor of Maryland.
For those of you who are fans of " The Wire" here is a picture of Rob as Carcetti on the steps of the Statehouse waiting to see the Governor. We didn't get in.... one crew member did not have  her ID , so we were out on our ear!

On our second night in Annapolis the wind shifted east & we rock & rolled alnight as the swell from the wind & a huge storm offshore made this "protected anchorage" not so pleasant. At 7 am we were up anchor & out of there headed up the bay. Well.. we caught a good tide & before we knew it we were barelling through the C & D canal at 9knots & no turning back. At that point we realised that we were not dawdling anymore but hell bent on a mission for  Cape May!! 

Next day we were barelling down the Delaware River, close to the nuclear power plan & dodging the big ships.  

Now comes the exciting part. Cape May has a back door entry to the harbour via a canal (the cape may canal) which saves a long detour around the cape. However, there are two bridges to pass under which have only 55 foot clearance... no problem, our mast is 52 feet plus one extra foot for antenna, light wind vane etc. 2 feet to play with, should be a snap, never a problem before. Unfortunately we neglected to take into account the 18 inches of flood water blown into the canal from the storm offshore, plus its high tide.  
We were dead lucky that all we left behind at the bridge was the wind vane & mast head light. The skipper needed a stiff drink when we got the hook down. The smile on his face is hysteria & relief. The jeans went to the laundry next day...

Dumbest thing we ever did.
So.. lets push on, as we have one day only of a very marginal weather window.. the offshore storm has left a good swell running  but winds will be fairly easy for the next day so its go time. 20 hours up the Jersey  shore to Atlantic Highlands just south of New York. I hate this stretch of shore line.. no good harbours to go in if the weather cuts up & its dead ugly. We dodged the bullet.. seas were rolly, a gravol day, but got better as day went along, & we both knew the alternative was 7 days in Cape May.. no thanks.
So .. 20 hours later we dropped the hook at 2am ,had a large celebratory drink or two & slept like babies until the fishing fleet woke us up at 6am .
We took off next morning for New York harbor across the bay and under the magnificent Verrazano Narrows bridge into New York harbour.

 Its always a thrill to sail past the Statue of Liberty and all the skyscrapers of Manhattan. We caught the tide up the East River and flew trough to Oyster bay in placid Long Island Sound. Where as you will see we are trapped by wet cold Baddeck type weather

Here we are dodging the Staten Island ferry which runs fast from Manhattan to the Jersey shore

 After a great sail through NYC harbour taking in all the sights we are holed up in Oyster Bay in Long Island sound with our first real taste of the stinky spring you have all been having. Cold, wet, foggy & the east wind blowing 25 knots. Ugly.

Good thing.. bread in the oven baking & all boat chores done. This boat looked like a refugee boat when we got here , dirty & messy & then the engine needed a bit of TLC. So scrub, scrub & we're looking a lot better. The crew needs a hair cut but we have loads of hot water for showers so at least we are sweet smelling even if we don't look so hot.

Thats all for now

Warm Rain.. out