We’re on the move again. Woooohoooo! Leaving Deltaville was actually bittersweet. We’d been so antsy to leave after being there 3+ weeks, but that meant saying goodbye to great friends we made there. We’re hoping our paths cross again soon….maybe the Bahamas! To Lou and Kim, Toby and Leslie, Bobby and Connie thank you for the great times, laughter and friendship, We will never forget Deltaville and the good times we had together, Toby, we’ll see ya in Ft Lauderdale next spring :)
Each morning we pull up the forecast for the wave heights and winds before we leave. I’m telling you right now that NOAA (the government agency that reports the conditions) lies!!! We always make sure that the waves are under 2 feet and winds under 15 knots before heading out. When you are in a deep calm inlet, you can't tell what is happening ‘outside’ in big water by looking. Well our trip to Solomons up the Chesapeake was a nightmare. Waves were big and throwing us all over the boat. By the time we tied up to a mooring ball in the marina 68 miles later, Derek’s eyebrows and eyelashes were coated in salt from all the spray coming up over the bow!!! And of course the A/C needed a quick repair…AGAIN. Thankfully, Derek has become quite proficient at solving this issue. No time to ease back into the boating life slowly.
The second day out was just as bad. 51 miles of rough seas and high winds. It seemed we were taking our lives into our own hands just to make it downstairs to pee! We anchored in a protected cove by Gibson Island. The scenery was beautiful nestled between tiny islands with beautiful trees. The ospreys showed off their ability to catch fish while flying and there were many nests close by with fuzzy baby ospreys gobbling them up. It made our “we could live here” list.
Third day out was a boater’s dream. We were close to the eastern shore of the Chesapeake and got to see the charm of this side of the Bay. The sea was like glass and we had the current behind us, so we were zipping right along at about 10 knots. Well, that is zipping for us! The high temp was 80 degrees, and we remembered what it was like to have an awesome day on the water. Faith restored. We stayed at a marina on the tip top of the Bay in Chesapeake City, so our time on the Chesapeake was over. We had traveled 2 days with new Looper friends, Bear and Gerry, and we decided to make the trek down the Delaware Bay the next day together.
The Delaware Bay can be an awful mess if the wind/weather conditions are anything but perfect. Some boaters will wait days and days in Chesapeake City till a good day to cross presents itself. Our luck was good and we had a calm window the following day. NOAA actually got it right for us, and our 62 miles were uneventful. We were now in New Jersey where the Delaware Bay empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Cape May. We stayed at Utch’s Marina, which had the skinniest boat lanes EVER! We could barely turn the boat around to get into the fuel dock and slip. Then we were greeted with our first taste of New Jersey ‘talk’ and ‘attitude’. We felt like we were in a Soprano’s episode! All southern charm had magically vanished when we left Maryland. Fuggedaboutit!”
The weather held up for one more day, and now was our time to leave the inland waters and bays and head out to the Atlantic Ocean. We left as soon as the sun was creeping up since seas would be rough by 2 PM. Being 2 miles out puts into perspective how small we really are in the world. The waves increased just as we arrived in Atlantic City.
We stayed in Kammerman’s Marina for 3 nights which looked out over the casinos. AND we met some lovely people, so New Jersey DOES have charm and hospitality. Of course we gambled. Of course we lost money. We walked about 5 miles checking out the Boardwalk. Derek beat me AGAIN at putt-putt. It was a great day. Back at the boat, we spent time with our new Looper friends, Paula and Tom. We hit it off right away, and we’ll be traveling together for the next couple of days. We met the captain of the Atlantic City police department who's wife runs the marina, and one evening we passed around the bottle of rum (which the captain provided) with him and several other locals who live at the marina. One neighbor even had a commercial Pina Colada machine in his house which Lori thoroughly enjoyed. Great peeps and lots of laughs.
Looks like we’ll be spending July 4th in NYC!!!! But we have to get their by the New Jersey ICW (which is the inland waterway) first before we go out in the ocean again. We chose the WORSE time to be on it. July 4th weekend! Does anyone remember in the movie Jaws when all the boats crammed the waterway to catch the shark? Yeah….that’s what we’ve been driving through. Everyone in New Jersey apparently owns a boat and were out in full force this weekend. I’m also convinced that not one New Jersey boater has ever taken a boating course. ‘Idiots’ is the nicest word I can come up with! But we lived through it and anchored last night.
Have a wonderful July 4th everyone. We love you!
Each morning we pull up the forecast for the wave heights and winds before we leave. I’m telling you right now that NOAA (the government agency that reports the conditions) lies!!! We always make sure that the waves are under 2 feet and winds under 15 knots before heading out. When you are in a deep calm inlet, you can't tell what is happening ‘outside’ in big water by looking. Well our trip to Solomons up the Chesapeake was a nightmare. Waves were big and throwing us all over the boat. By the time we tied up to a mooring ball in the marina 68 miles later, Derek’s eyebrows and eyelashes were coated in salt from all the spray coming up over the bow!!! And of course the A/C needed a quick repair…AGAIN. Thankfully, Derek has become quite proficient at solving this issue. No time to ease back into the boating life slowly.
The second day out was just as bad. 51 miles of rough seas and high winds. It seemed we were taking our lives into our own hands just to make it downstairs to pee! We anchored in a protected cove by Gibson Island. The scenery was beautiful nestled between tiny islands with beautiful trees. The ospreys showed off their ability to catch fish while flying and there were many nests close by with fuzzy baby ospreys gobbling them up. It made our “we could live here” list.
Third day out was a boater’s dream. We were close to the eastern shore of the Chesapeake and got to see the charm of this side of the Bay. The sea was like glass and we had the current behind us, so we were zipping right along at about 10 knots. Well, that is zipping for us! The high temp was 80 degrees, and we remembered what it was like to have an awesome day on the water. Faith restored. We stayed at a marina on the tip top of the Bay in Chesapeake City, so our time on the Chesapeake was over. We had traveled 2 days with new Looper friends, Bear and Gerry, and we decided to make the trek down the Delaware Bay the next day together.
The Delaware Bay can be an awful mess if the wind/weather conditions are anything but perfect. Some boaters will wait days and days in Chesapeake City till a good day to cross presents itself. Our luck was good and we had a calm window the following day. NOAA actually got it right for us, and our 62 miles were uneventful. We were now in New Jersey where the Delaware Bay empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Cape May. We stayed at Utch’s Marina, which had the skinniest boat lanes EVER! We could barely turn the boat around to get into the fuel dock and slip. Then we were greeted with our first taste of New Jersey ‘talk’ and ‘attitude’. We felt like we were in a Soprano’s episode! All southern charm had magically vanished when we left Maryland. Fuggedaboutit!”
The weather held up for one more day, and now was our time to leave the inland waters and bays and head out to the Atlantic Ocean. We left as soon as the sun was creeping up since seas would be rough by 2 PM. Being 2 miles out puts into perspective how small we really are in the world. The waves increased just as we arrived in Atlantic City.
We stayed in Kammerman’s Marina for 3 nights which looked out over the casinos. AND we met some lovely people, so New Jersey DOES have charm and hospitality. Of course we gambled. Of course we lost money. We walked about 5 miles checking out the Boardwalk. Derek beat me AGAIN at putt-putt. It was a great day. Back at the boat, we spent time with our new Looper friends, Paula and Tom. We hit it off right away, and we’ll be traveling together for the next couple of days. We met the captain of the Atlantic City police department who's wife runs the marina, and one evening we passed around the bottle of rum (which the captain provided) with him and several other locals who live at the marina. One neighbor even had a commercial Pina Colada machine in his house which Lori thoroughly enjoyed. Great peeps and lots of laughs.
Looks like we’ll be spending July 4th in NYC!!!! But we have to get their by the New Jersey ICW (which is the inland waterway) first before we go out in the ocean again. We chose the WORSE time to be on it. July 4th weekend! Does anyone remember in the movie Jaws when all the boats crammed the waterway to catch the shark? Yeah….that’s what we’ve been driving through. Everyone in New Jersey apparently owns a boat and were out in full force this weekend. I’m also convinced that not one New Jersey boater has ever taken a boating course. ‘Idiots’ is the nicest word I can come up with! But we lived through it and anchored last night.
Have a wonderful July 4th everyone. We love you!
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