Sandy Hook to Cape May

[captden]

Hi Duncun
we're still here in the boatyard looks like we will be here a few more days. Keep us posted and good luck
Dennis

[duncan_ellison]

Dennis,

Very sorry to hear about that, must be a serious fix.

We are underway at the moment. Making 5.2Kn under full sail but having to tack my way down. Will probably revert to motor this evening, easier on the Admiral.

Swells not very pleasant, but nothing horrendous yet.

Duncan

[sailingmonica]

Duncan, you will have to learn how to find the weather window yourself. There are no special skills that are required when you do coastal cruising, besides common sense. All you need is an internet connection, which you seem to have and then you have to access NOAA website Coastal/Great Lakes Forecasts by Zone

click on the area you are in, the area where you are going in the next leg AND all areas in between, if applicable. If you are doing short hops (which you should, only because it seems this is your first big trip) of say maximum 24 hours you will have to find a weather window of at least 48 hours.

We left from the Verazzano Bridge at 6 am and got to Ocean City, MD the next morning at about 8 am. But you can easily stop at Atlantic City and/or Cape May if you want.

Then, we left Ocean City, MD at about 4 am and got to Norfolk by 1 am or so the next day.

The only hop longer than 24 hours was Charleston, SC to St Augustine, FL, but the weather was nice and if it changed we could have gone in at Savannah, St Mary's or St John's.

Also, listen to the weather reports on your VHF. The only problem with those is that you cannot pick up the weather ahead of you, just where you are.

Slow down and enjoy the trip. Why would you not want to spend a week or two in Manhattan?

Happy sailing.

Monica

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by sailingmonica

The only hop longer than 24 hours was Charleston, SC to St Augustine, FL, but the weather was nice and if it changed we could have gone in at Savannah, St Mary's or St John's.

Reading this moved me to share a pointer to Steve Dodge's inlet book: Inlet ChartBook: Southeastern United States - 3rd Ed. .

It's a few years out of date but sufficiently useful that I keep in my fly-away bag for deliveries. It's saved me a number of times on deliveries between FL and Annapolis or NE when someone got sick or the weather turned foul. I've run almost half the inlets in the book based on the data there alone (can't count on good charts on delivery boats).

[Tempest245]

Hi Duncan,

Sorry, I was not here for your check in...I teach a class on tues..and weds mornings.....glad you got underway...the swells should diminish throughout the day and for tomorrow...I'm going to see if I can pick you up on the AIS...and watch your progress....the winds will be pretty much on your nose..though....keep a line in the water, and you might catch fish!

Hopefully you will have a pleasant evening at sea the skies are certainly clear...check in, if you have internet access. Watch for your next window to get up delaware bay. It's a long, sometimes, boring trip..but great old lighthouses..and a nuclear powerplant.

6:16 p.m. I'm not picking up your ais signal..are you transmitting?

[duncan_ellison]

All, thanks for the help and advice.

We decided to abort after about 12 miles out. The winds were gusting up to 25kn right on the nose and the swells were combining with some short steep waves to make the motion pretty unpleasant.

Perhaps it may settle down later, but I'm thinking this ought to be fun and since I was only making <2 Kn under engine at that point I figured there will probably be a better day.

So taking Monica's advice, we'll slow down and enjoy NY some more.

Duncan & Joan

[Tempest245]

Hey Duncan,

Sorry to hear that NJ would not let you escape her grasp.....But you're right, it's supposed to be fun. Hang out...enjoy the area. Let the weather settle a bit..

[sabray]

Good choice having felt the Jersey chop its no fun. Go when it s right. I once sat in dead horsebay for 2 weeks waiting cause I didn't want to get it on the nose. That and a fitting in the tranny let loose. I was having more fun then I would have been dogging into a Jersey chop. Ive ducked into Atlantic city before real tired and thats kinda weird if youve been out sailing used to tuck in at Capemay ocean side and clear the bridge. Now that I cant clear the bridge if short up I hole up the other side at harbor of refuge. Aint pretty but you can sleep in some reasonable holding.The idea on the Deleware is to buck the tide at the mouth and catch it with you up where it narrows.. I think I jump henlopen 3 hours before slack and that usually works pretty well unless the wind isn't right. Once did all this real well sailed the delaware and when we came out the other side on the chessie the wind was straight up the Elk and the bay. The tide had turned. so I sympathize with your 2 knots against the wind. that was pretty ugly. Enjoy your choice when your beating the clock sometimes your just getting beaten.

[sailingmonica]

A few more things, Duncan.

Hunters are beautiful, spacious, elegant boats. But, they are known to be really uncomfortable in a bumpy anchorage. I would recommend Marine Basin Marina Marine Basin Marina - Home just East of the Verazano Bridge (by the Toys R Us sign). It is close enough to get an early start when the window opens, yet protected. Plus, you can visit around, lots of public transportation available.

Our practice is to always wait for a forecast of 5-10 knots and waves of 1 ft. I know it sounds yellow, but it has been our experience that when they forecast 5-10, the actual winds you encounter is the sum of that, which is 15. If they say 10-15, it is actually 25, and so on. So, better safe than puking.

Last but not least, and please forgive me if what I say comes across in any way offensive, but Joan has to be comfortable during the trip. I cannot stress enough how important this is, for both hers and your sake. I know of many sailors who had to give up the dream after their wives couldn't take it any more and caught the first flight home. What a man can take may be unbearable for his wife. That is why I suggested you slow down, take in the sights and wait for a comfortable ride. If she is happy, then so are you.

[duncan_ellison]

Monica,

Thanks for the input, no offence taken at all. Anything advice offered honestly with no malice is always gratefully received here.

Right now we are on a ball at Atlantic Highlands and one of the friends we met on our travels on the catamanan CUL8R has shown up here as well.

The only wakes here are from the AH > NY Seastreak and they are gone pretty quickly. It's a nice town, so we'll probably stay here for a couple of days.

Nice tip about the marina, we saw the ToysRUs as we passed the narrows, so we know where that is. I expect the wakes there are considerably less than the Hoboken, NJ marina we stayed at. Will consider that if we have to stay or come back this way.

Actually Joan was up for toughing it out, it was me who called a halt as I wasn't sure she would feel the same way after 24 hrs and with progress we were making it looked like a long slog.

Duncan & Joan
S/Y TALISA

[duncan_ellison]

Thanks to everyone who helped out here.

We are now sitting in Cape May having done the overnight in loose company with about 15 other boats.

It wasn't plain sailing by any means, the actual conditions were much tougher than the forecast (SailingMonica is about right with the add together the low and high values), but we had a safe and utimately uneventful trip.

If anyone else goes down this road, my only advice is to pick your weather window carefully then prepare for conditions to be a little worse (That way you won't get caught out when they are not the perfect sailing day you expected) and, if you can arrange it, go with others. You'll easilly find them hanging around Atlantic Highlands looking for a window, like you.
An informal radio net on the way down makes the passage a lot easier.


Duncan & Joan

[Doug Wood]

Very smart move! Waiting for the right weather and not being afraid to turn around and try another day, when you don't get what you want, is just plain good seamanship. It's easier on your nerves, your vessel and your crew.

[francie]

Really enjoyed the timely-ness of this discussion. We are about a week behind you and looking at the weather window this Saturday. We have just brought our boat from Chicago via the Great Lakes and Erie Canal and are now on the Hudson. There are several other boats that we have been traveling with on since Lake Erie. Any thoughts on the weather window which seems to be coming up on Saturday. It is heavier winds than have been recommended in the last several posts, and comes on the heals of some storms and strong south winds.

Thanks for any input
Francie & Mike on Anam Cara - headed to Florida

[lorenzo b]

Hey guys, we're up here at the Worlds Fair Marina enjoying NYC, lunch at MOMA and some Matisse and dinner out here in Flushing, best Hunan I've ever had. No need to suffer out there at Sandy Hook.

[Dudeman]

Francie I hope you guys are tucked in somewhere for the next few evenings. Our prop fell off while trying to pick up a mooring in Marlboro so we picked up a new one today. We're going to try and make it to Sandy Hook by Sunday and probably day sail down the Jersey coast starting on Monday. Hopefully we'll bump into you guys again and we can polish off some more bottles of wine.
The Colorado crew