Cape May, New Jersey

This sailboat either wasn't watching his charts, or
dragged anchor at night.  Either way, he isn't
having a very good day, since he's at high tide now
& still can't get off!

Back at Delaware City Marina, the owner gives a nightly weather briefing (using NOAA’s Delaware Bay Operational Forecast System) to forecast the winds and seas on the Delaware Bay the next day.  The weather guessers all said that the next day is a no-brainer to make the 60+ mile trip down to Cape May.  So we departed at 0600 (do you realize how early you have to get up to depart at 0600?!?) in order to catch the ebb tide and a 2+ mph tail current. 

Good thing we looked in our rear view mirror!

All the guessers were right for the first 2/3 of the trip, but the winds stiffened to 10-15 knots as we got into the tide shift.  Being in an area where the winds oppose the tidal flow is never a good thing, but we were fortunate that the seas didn’t build as much as they could have.  It was a sloppy ride in the confused seas, with no real wave pattern.   Good thing that we have a nice big ya-chut.

 

 

Lots of commercial traffic on the Delaware Bay.
Lots of tankers moving crude oil.

Hey James, recognize this ferry?  Goes from Cape May
across the mouth of Delaware Bay to Lewes DE

 

Well, May 30 used to be called "Decoration Day"

We made our marina & took on over 150 gallons of diesel (and quickly spent this month’s Social Security check).  Because it is Memorial Day weekend, we decided to decorate the boat.  I’ve been accused of being a “flag-waver”, but since both Sue & I have military experience, I’ll have to plead “guilty” to that charge.

 

 

 

 

The following day we took a tour of the historic section of Cape May & saw the gaudy opulence of the Victorian gingerbread houses.  In the late 1800’s, all them rich-folk from New York & Philadelphia built their “summer cottage” in Cape May to enjoy the cool sea breezes, and to let everyone else know how rich they were.

 

 

 

 

Esther, Lucy & Joe

We also met up with a college friend of our eldest son, since the two of them have remained in contact through the years (and have taken some “memorable” worldly adventures together).  Joe, his wife Esther, and his daughter Lucy, led us to a wonderful local restaurant, and we really enjoyed their company.  Joe is a wildlife conservationist specializing in migratory birds, so he had some interesting stories to tell about the local wildlife.

 

As for cruising, the ICW between Cape May & Atlantic City has some pretty bad shoaling (to the tune of only 3’ deep at low tide), so we had planned to go offshore.  But King Neptune seems to have plans of his own, by keeping the winds at 20-25 mph & the seas 4-6’ for the next couple days.  So we don’t know how long we’ll be in Cape May.  I guess we’ll just continue to act like tourists & spread some of those Yankee greenbacks around town.