Maine to Chesapeake Bay in May

[SG]

BY THE JKliens...


If you want to have some work on the boat. You should get it done in Maine. It's less expensive. Motor mounts, included.

[sully75]

DO NOT GO INTO SHARK RIVER

The only reason you'd go is because the weather is bad and you're not going to make Mannasquan but the Shark River inlet is horrible. I was not too far aware from losing my boat.

After doing the LI Sound and the NJ coast I can't see any disadvantage of going outside and aiming for Cape May. You could go to Atlantic City too. There are really few places worth ducking into on the NJ coast and I'd rather be off shore in that case.

I don't have a ton of experience but I really did not enjoy the NJ coast at all. Atlantic City was cool, I was in front of the Golden Nugget and the facilities are decent (also you can use the outdoor hot tub on the roof if you pay for the marina, and it's pretty amazing).

Shark river is hell though.

Plus the transient dock is the favorite of the large ducks that like to poop on your boat. they are pretty nasty about it.

[jkleins]

Originally Posted by SG

If you want to have some work on the boat. You should get it done in Maine. It's less expensive. Motor mounts, included.

It has been there all winter getting ready for the trip. I hope it is.

Thanks again for the info. Do most people pull into Cape May or just duck behind the breakwater on the Lewes side if just waiting to go up river?

[sully75]

I anchored by the coast guard station. The anchorage is not huge (it's long but not wide). I made the mistake of anchoring relatively close to the sea wall in a southeast wind. The wind shift southwest (duh) and got quite strong and I ended up with my stern about 2 seconds of anchor dragging away from the sea wall. Don't be like me.

[Jack Lahr]

Cape May is well worth a visit. Consider the South Jersey Marina and its nearby great seafood restaurant. Taxi to town.

[SG]

I've only been into Cape May once. The anchorage near the Coast Guard station is bigger than it looks on the chart -- but it's relatively between the channel and shallower water. There is a bunch of current, so don't get too close to other boats, depending on the current and wind, you might make an acquaintance you didn't expect. :^)))

It's really a question of time: If you have too much vertical or underwater draft to get under the bridge and out the western side of Cape May, then tucking in there takes some time, because to get back out to the buoy and then make it around to the proper channel into the Delaware Bay will take time. Also, once you're in there, you need to watch when you're leaving to time the entry into the "Mouth of the Bay" go head up.

If you want to hang-out, there are some marinas (few with a lot of draft) -- but that time of year should work to your advantage, as long as there isn't a fishing tournament.

AS for the "Harbor of Refuge", it's very wide open. It does have protection from the sea if you position yourself. Certainly, if you're in a stormy situation with an easterly wind, it works. It's not all that deep. It really isn't anything but what it's name suggests.

If you're with the tide, and the wind isn't counter to it at more than a few knots, it's only 50 nm up to the C&D Canal. The Delaware Bay is fine as long as you stay to the side of the Channel; and keep your eyes (and AIS/Radar on the traffic coming up your stern.) Use Channel 16 and 13. I've always found the traffic to be responsive and courteous. Stay to the side, you'll be fine. At the bends in the long runs, be mindful that the big traffic needs some "swing" room.

[sully75]

Get your colregs lingo down. Big ships will be calling "1 bell" or "2 bells" on you and you want to know what they are talking about. I learned in Hell Gate, which is a terrible place to learn.

[SG]

http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=Rule34

Usually it horns or whistles. On the VHF you do get a variety of verbal descriptions. Since all big ships in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays have pilots, the tend to be most verbal precise. The tug captains are more colored in their use of language. When in doubt, I always clarify what the ask.

They are running on the Inland Rules in the Bay's and Canals?

You won't usually get a signal if the ship is going overtake you and pass you on your port unless you look too close. If you are anywhere on his port (i.e., he's going to pass you on your starboard) and he's in any doubt, you will get a horns. You then are supposed to respond with the appropriate "toots" back.

I would stay where you cause the least grief. In this case, up the Delaware Bay with the current, almost ALL the traffic will be coming up. I always stay to the starboard side of the channel just inside the edge. Occasionally the will ask me to move just outside, and of course I do. If you have the current you want to be in the channel. There are places outside the channel with submerged objects, spoils, toggles, etc. I

[donradcliffe]

79th st moorings are now limited to 40' boats. Better to take a free mooring at Pt Washington and take the train into the city. You do have a dinghy, don't you? Most places will not have shoreboats in operation yet.

You are leaving pretty early. One time we got into Newport from the Caribbean on Memorial Day and froze our tropical tushes--they said the season didn't start till Mid-June there. If it was me, I'd catch a NE wind and not stop till it gets warm enough.

I've gone up Delaware Bay against the wind a couple of times, and it's a wet lumpy trip. The first time I had a new Air Marine wind generator (s/n#31) and it was making so much noise my wife made me shut it off...

[Pendragon35]

Originally Posted by sully75

Get your colregs lingo down. Big ships will be calling "1 bell" or "2 bells" on you and you want to know what they are talking about. I learned in Hell Gate, which is a terrible place to learn.

Ok, I'll admit my ignorance...what do "1 bell" and "2 bells" mean? I thought bells were ways of telling time.

[sully75]

Collision regulations (Maritime Safety Queensland)

[sully75]

http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=Rule34


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[SG]

Jim, I believe the term "bells" was meant to be horn or whistle "toots" (or "blasts"), depending on the vessel or context.

If you look at http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=Rule34, I'm sure you'll remember what you probably have heard before. ;^)))

Inland Rules on the Chesapeake?