Fri. May 30     0750/1715

83 miles        Beach Haven, NJ to Sandy Hook, NJ

The winds finally calmed down and changed direction. It was time to move on. We traveled 20 miles on the ICW then took Barnegat channel out to the Atlantic. From there we cruised on the Atlantic in 3-4 foot swells 63 miles to an anchorage by Sandy Hook. The ICW continues north from Barnegat another 40+ miles but it gets way to shallow and we were tired of touching bottom so we chose to go outside. It was a long day but the wind and waves were in our favor. Tomorrow if the wind stays down we will be entering New York harbor.

Barnegat channel.

 

  New York skyline.

 

 Anchorage

 

Sat. May 31   0635/1344

58 miles       Sandy Hook NJ to Greens Cove, Hudson River NY

We got an early start to get into the New York harbor and Hudson River because the winds were coming out of the north and supposed to build as the day goes on. As soon as we came under the Brooklyn Bridge we could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance standing so proud. We have never taken our freedom for granted and as we cruised by her it gave us goose bumps. She is one beautiful lady.

Brooklyn bridge.

 

 New York City

 

 

 

Next came Ellis Island. What can you say. Most of us had distance relatives come through those doors.

 

The winds did pick up and we were getting a 2 foot chop on the Hudson. After heading several miles north we found a nice little bay to tuck into and anchored out of the wind.

Hudson River

 

 Palisades along the New Jersey shore. (the cliffs stretch north 20 miles, 300' to 500' tall)

 

 Sing Sing (maximum security correctional facility).

 

 Anchorage

 

 

 

Thurs. May 29    

0 miles        Beach Haven, NJ

The winds were still up today so we stayed put. The rain finally stopped but the temperature stayed in the mid 60’s. Beach Haven is a very quite town at this time of year. Most of the homes here are 2^nd homes used for vacation so a lot of stores and restaurants don’t open till June. Even the marina was not busy but the staff was always around and offered help if there was anything we needed.  

Atlantic Ocean shoreline.

 

 

 Every block the street has an access to the ocean.

 

 Amusement park right down town. The next block over there is a water park.

 

 The marina is right off the ICW. Very easy in and out.

 

Tues. May 27     0800/1500

62 miles        Cape May, NJ to Beach Haven, NJ

We left the harbor through the channel and came out into the Atlantic Ocean. There is an ICW channel that goes from Cape May to Beach Haven but there has been a lot of silting and it was recommended to not go thru so we took the ocean instead. At Atlantic City we came back into the ICW for the rest of the way to Beach Haven. (Even that section was not very deep in places. We touched bottom several times.) A storm was predicted for tonight so we stopped at Beach Haven Yacht Club to get a dock for the night. Oh Boy, were we glad we did. The winds came up and the rain came down. We rocked and rolled in the slip for 1 ½ hours.

Channel leaving Cape May looking south.

 

 Cruising along the shore line we saw several amusement parks.

 

 Atlantic City NJ.

  

 A couple of miles into the ICW it's all flat marshes.

 

 Clam diggers.

 

 

Wed. May 28

0 miles       Beach Haven, NJ

Today was overcast and we had rain off and on all day. Our temperature also stayed in the 60’s. Brrrrrr (Randy said it’s time to head back south) One of the guys that works around the marina took us by car to get some oil for the engines and also to a grocery store. We spent the afternoon changing the oil and cleaning inside the boat. There is another couple here from Virginia who just started the Loop so we had pizza with them tonight. The winds are supposed to pick up again tonight so we will hang out here another night or 2.

Mon. May 26     0810/1530

60 miles        Delaware River, DE to Cape May, NJ

55 miles of our cruising was down the Delaware Bay which is a body of water that consists of 782 square miles of water. The last 5 miles was through the Cape May canal to get us from the bay to Cape May Harbor. Our ride through the canal was quite interesting. The canal is 100’ wide, 8-15’ deep and is NOT a No Wake area. Boats were flying through both ways and at one point we had 2, 40 foot boats pass one on each side. It was not very fun bouncing around in that wake.

Nuclear Power plant.

Ship John Shoal light.

 

 Cape May Canal entrance.

 

  Ferry service between NJ & DE.

 

 Cape May canal.

 

 Cape May Harbor.

 

 Need a sport fishing boat? There must have been a hundred of them in this one marina.

 

 Our anchorage. (I don't think anyone is going to bother us here)

 

Sun. May 25     0640/1700   

72 miles        Annapolis, MD to Delaware River, DE

Our travels today took us under a 4 mile long bridge, “reach out and touch me” close to a container ship, past a huge mobile home park, and through a 14 mile long canal. Just your average boating day!

 

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

 

 

 C & D Canal (manmade canal connects the Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware bay).

 

 

  

Right after coming out of the canal into the Delaware River we tucked in close to shore to anchor for the night. This anchorage stages us perfectly for tomorrow when the tide goes out with a 3-4 knot current down the Delaware River. Since we have 60 miles to travel down the Delaware it will save us not only time but fuel traveling with the current.

Our anchorage in the Delaware River.

 

 

Sat. May 24     

0 miles        Annapolis, MD

Today we went back to the Naval Academy and walked all the way around the outside. 2 sides border water so it was a scenic walk. Later in the day we took the dinghy for a ride up river. Being a Sat. and a holiday weekend there was a lot of boat traffic.

Part of our walk around the Academy bordered the mooring field our boat was in.

 

 The Academy's fleet.

 

 Saw this cute boat during our dinghy ride.

 

Fri. May 23     

0 miles        Annapolis, MD

First thing this morning the Blue Angels flew over head to help celebrate the midshipman’s graduation from the Naval Academy. We spent the day walking through the shops downtown and touring the Naval Academy. It was a perfect sunny 75 degree day with very light winds.

 

 Randy getting into character as we entered the Naval Academy.

(he is a navy veteran)

Main Chapel.

 

 Crypt of John Paul Jones which is located under the Chapel.

 

 Bancroft Hall - The largest dormitory in the U.S.

 

 Some of the midshipman after graduation.

 

 Dinghy dock downtown.

 

 Main Street.

 

 Water Taxi will pick you up from your boat and bring you to town.