2023: Last Leg to Home

 8 May 2023

Depart: Sunset Lake anchorage, Cape May, NJ 6:40 a.m.

Arrive: Atlantic Highlands, NJ anchorage 8:20 p.m.

Distance: 115 nm (a new record length)

Conditions: Calm seas < 2 foot, Some clouds, i.e. PERFECT 

We debated last night whether we should "go for the gold" and aim to get all the way up the Jersey coast in one day or split the day and spend one more night at Barnegat. Clark knows of no anchorages at Manasquan, so that ruled out that option. 

After agreeing that we could take turns napping on the trip, we decided we would leave the decision for morning. If we could get up at 6:00 to get going, it would be a one-day trip. If we needed to sleep in, two days would be the outcome. 

We were both awake at 5:55, before the alarm, and ready to make the day-long trip. With such an early start, we even got a glimpse of the sunrise - an unusual event for us in the spring.

Since we had never anchored in Sunset Lake before (always by the USCG station on the past), I took pictures of the surrounding area.

Glimpse of Clark prepping to raise anchor

It is interesting that in several directions, we see homes and tall buildings. Then, turning around to face the other direction - marshes!

To access Sunset Lake we needed to go through a bridge with a specified vertical clearance of 23 feet. We only need 22 feet, so we were good. Given it was near low tide when we came in and when we departed, the height board showed around 25 feet, so easy peasy!

Two-mile bridge in Cape May, NJ

As we approached the bridge, Clark said, "That opening looks a little narrow doesn't it!" Since we got in this way, I figured we could get out, but Clark was right, it did look very narrow.

Anchoring in Sunset Lake added a bit of distance, about 2 nm, to our path out to the ocean, but we both agreed that it was a nice spot - well-protected, isolated and just a few fish pots that did not interfere with our ability to pick our anchoring spot.

Clark had tried to message another boater yesterday prior to arriving in Cape May to find out how hard it would be to anchor in our normal spot given the dredging activity. He did not reply until today when we were already on the ocean, so we found out for ourselves last night that for any spots that could be used for anchoring, someone had beaten us to that spot. This sojourn into the unknown Sunset Lake turned out to be a great alternative.

As we came out from under the bridge, I could see the USCG tower in the distance marking where we normally drop anchor.

The trip on the ocean was in one word uneventful. The most we had to worry about was telling the autopilot to target our next waypoint on the trip north. Many birds "pretended" to be traps but flew away before we got close enough to care. We thought we saw one fish trap, but it turned out to be a balloon. 

I wish people would understand when they release balloons into the air, they pollute the environment somewhere. In the ocean it can be deadly to sea creatures. The balloon was too far away from us to rescue it from the ocean. 

Balloon masquerading as a fish trap

After close to 12 hours on the ocean, we got a glimpse of "home".

Verrazzano Narrows aka VZ Bridge, NYC

The trip from the shoals at Shrewsbury Rocks near Seabright, New Jersey up and around the tip of Sandy Hook, NJ seems to be the longest leg of the journey. If an inlet existed in Seabright, we would be home in 30 minutes. It does not, so it takes several hours to complete our trip home.

We finally rounded the tip of Sandy Hook and got a view of the Sandy Hook lighthouse.

We passed Earle Naval Base and, off in the distance, could see a vessel docked there.

It is a rare thing indeed for Clark and I to see both the sunrise and the sunset in the spring when the days are longer and we have more daylight travel time than in the fall season. 

Sunset over Earle Pier

Sunset over Atlantic Highlands anchorage

19 May 2023

Depart: Atlantic Highlands, NJ anchorage 9:55

Arrive: Rumson, NJ home dock 11:20

Distance: 9 nm

Conditions: No rain although some potential predicted 

As we left the anchorage, I pointed out some danger markers and mooring markings that Clark had not noticed. Clark called the "Sea Wolf" tug on duty there to ask for directions navigating around the dredge site located by the channel. He told us to go all the way around all the moorings and danger markers and make a U-turn back into the channel. Good thing Clark called on VHF to ask!

Tug "Sea Wolf"

Some houses in this area are built on steep hills to get the best view of the ocean and NYC. Unfortunately, as shown in the picture below, some erosion has occurred over the years. I would not want to live in the house on the right!

Tannish-brown area under the house on the 
right is where the erosion is showing the worst

When we see the building below, we feel like we are already home. It has been located here as long as I can remember. When I first moved to New Jersey, one could drive on a road on the ocean side of this building. There was a site there where we could park and use machines to view NYC. Erosion of the hill closed this park as it fell away over the years. Now this area is closed to traffic.

Today was not a good picture day for viewing NYC. I learned on the news later in the day that they were suffering from smoke that traveled down for a visit from Canada. Thankfully, the Canadian air did not want to visit NJ as well.

My goodness our tax dollars are certainly at work! The Seabright Bridge is being replaced and work is underway. Cranes and caution signs appeared in abundance. Fortunately, being out of prime season, when Clark called for an opening, they opened right up. In season the bridge opens only on the hour.

As we approached the turn into the creek where we dock our boat, I saw an osprey on the green marker. He left as we got closer. He was not a happy camper!

 

The first dock we passed coming into our creek was covered with shell debris. This is common for this particular dock, apparently the sea gulls use it as their dining table and the owners of the property have given up fighting with them. 

When we got to our dock, I found the remains of a long-ago dead fish as well as several spots of goose poop, and thus the work of moving back into the house begins. First job, clean the dock!

Normally, we arrive home late at night and spend one additional night on the boat before moving into the house. Since we arrived in the morning, I asked Clark if we would follow tradition and sleep one more night on the boat. He nixed that idea right away, so while he turned the house back on (water, hot water, etc.), I started packing bags of essentials to move off. 

Before anything could be carried up to the house, however, I insisted that I needed to remove dust covers, dust, and vacuum first. After cleaning the house, the moving began. I cannot count the number of trips we made from the boat to the house loaded down like pack mules. 

People frequently ask us why we still have a house. I tell them is it because it has a free dock. It is when we need to load / unload the boat that I am happiest that we dock the boat behind our house!

Thus ends the 2022-2023 boating season. From this point on, it is routine - fix boat things (Clark's list), grocery shop (Ev), mountains of laundry (Ev),  massive amounts of gardening (Ev), work on house repairs (Ev's list), etc. etc. etc.

2023: Philadelphia PA to Cape May NJ

 6 May 2023

Depart: Darby Creek anchorage 10:00

Arrive: Philadelphia, PA Penn's Landing Marina 11:55

Distance: 11 nm

Conditions: Quiet anchorage; temps warming up today

We waited until 10:00 to leave the anchorage to take advantage of current going up river. We had originally thought we would be arriving after lunch, but we went further yesterday than expected. Arriving at the marina at 10:00 was a good time to meet up with Clark's college friend, Cris.

Yesterday, we were cheering when we saw speeds above 6.4 knots. With today's current we saw 8.4 knots and above. Traveling up the Delaware turned out to be a game of dodge 'em through a continuous debris field of tree parts and planks. I was glad Clark was piloting so I could not be held responsible for any clunks of wood hitting the hull.

Our travels today took us past the Philadelphia airport. Major airlines flew directly over the boat to land at the airport including Spirit, Frontier, American, and Southwest. 

On route, we passed by the Naval Shipyard.

Our first look at Philadelphia skyline ...

Clark saw cars coming off a car carrier. I had seen the ship but not the cars flowing off to be delivered to car dealerships. First I saw one and a while later another. Then suddenly a stream of cars came off one after the other.

We saw a lot of containers from container ships.

Philadelphia is an old city with old buildings.

We were lucky to get a slip at Penn's Landing. They said that their seasonal customers had not arrived yet, so they had available space for us. After we got in the slip and tied up, I noticed something unwanted attached to the bottom of the boat. Clark said the float I saw was wrapped around the fin of the stabilizer. He did not feel like a swim in the marina and pulled out boat hooks to see what he could accomplish without getting wet.

Clark managed to snag the float using the two poles. I held the poles for him while he took a pair of cutters to cut the line. It must have been a strategic cut because the float came away with a bunch of line tied to it afterwards.

Souvenir

When we were busy tying up Sunset Delight to the dock, Clark's college friend Cris appeared. She lives relatively nearby and took the train into the city to come meet us for the day. As soon as we had the boat settled including freeing ourselves of the unwanted float, we gave Cris a quick tour of the boat and then headed into the city to find a place for lunch. Cris had a list of recommended places for us to check out from her nephew. We set off with the target of getting a Philadelphia Cheesesteak for lunch. Clark took many pictures as we walked through the city.

Sailboat restaurant Moshulu

Adventure Aquarium - across the river.

Swing sets at the waterfront

Place your lock here

Cris and Clark climbed up into a huge chair for picture time.

We saw the Christopher Columbus statue hidden in the trees of the park.

Walking into Society Hill, we passed the Vietnam Veteran Memorial.

I enjoyed seeing the historic buildings and row houses.

We went to the Fork restaurant for lunch. There was only one problem when we got there - it was blocked off due to a fire that gutted the building.

Cris and Ev deciding where to go next

It was a lovely day and a street fair was underway.

Cris offered up an alternate lunch suggestion a few blocks away, so we set off for that site passing interesting sights along the way.

Independence Hall

By the time we finally found a restaurant, we ended up with a late lunch at 2:30. Having already walked too many blocks to count, my feet were ready for a break. We ate at the Down Home Diner.

Clark got his Philly Cheesesteak but Cris and I opted for hamburgers. Afterwards we found an ice cream shop nearby and had Cookies and Cream ice cream for dessert. 

Then it was back to the government center to check out some history.

By the time we got back it was 4:00 and the tours ended at 5:00. We decided to see Independence Hall first. Unfortunately we missed the last tour for the day and could not get tickets. However, we could see Congress Hall and arrived just in time to join a group for a presentation on the history of the building.

First we saw the documents room.

Then Congress Hall. The chair on the dais is one of three original chairs from Congress used by George Washington and John Adams.

The remainder of the furniture here is reproductions.

Then we moved on to the Senate quarters. The chairs in this room are originals. A man collected them from all over the country thinking they were the chairs used during the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Even though that was not the case, the historians are thrilled to have the chairs on site.

The walls are based on documents describing the green color. The carpet is an exact reproduction made in Italy with funding provided for the bicentennial. They did not have any pictures of the carpet, but they had the original order form describing the carpet specifications. 

The pictures below are of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette who aided the colonies during the revolution. The originals were destroyed but were replaced by reproductions made from pictures in the Louvre.

We concluded our tour of the Congress building by 4:30 and decided to swing by the Liberty Bell building to see if the line had shortened since the last time we walked by. We were in luck. The line was shorter and gave an estimated 20 minutes to get in to see the bell. That would give us about 10 minutes for a look before the building closed. A look was all that was needed. We bypassed the pages of literature on the walls and went straight for the bell.

Cris, Ev, and Clark in front of 
The Liberty Bell

After we left the Liberty Bell building, Cris made several suggestions for where we could eat dinner. However, given the late hour of lunch plus ice cream for dessert, we had no need for more food and decided to walk back to the boat. My feet were happy to hear this decision.

At the park near the marina ...

Monument to Scottish Immigrants ...

Back at the waterfront ...

We sat on the boat and chatted for a while until it was time for Cris to walk back to the train station. Clark walked her back. I stayed on the boat to rest my acing feet. My Fitbit equivalent said I had walked almost 16,000 steps. My feet felt like it . By the time Clark had walked her to the train and back, he had a count of around 20,000 steps. Cris said his total was equivalent to something like 10 miles.

Even though the boat was closed up tight to stay warm, we could hear music playing at the waterfront until way into the night. I fell asleep regardless, but Clark said he could still hear it at 12:45.

7 May 2023

Depart: Penn's Landing Marina, Philadelphia, PA 7:20

Arrive: Cape May, NJ Sunset Lake anchorage 7:00

Distance: ~ 90 nm

Conditions: Calm seas until 2 nm from Cape May Canal then winds gusting to 25 knots

To catch the outgoing tide, we got up early and got going as soon as possible. Breakfast could wait until we were underway.

Clark had a difficult time maneuvering out of the marina into the Delaware River due to the heavy debris field floating downstream. Some of the debris included wood that was the size of a small tree. On our way down the river, I spied a wagon in the water (like those used on pleasure boats) with only two wheels and the handle slightly visible at water level. I also saw a tire, including its rim, float by.  

As we did yesterday, we got to see lots of planes fly overhead.

We passed by Subaru park.

As we got near the C&D canal, we once again saw Fort Delaware - this time with the sun shining on the building.

After we passed the C&D Canal, the debris field magically disappeared. The waters were calm and clear until we neared the Cape May Canal when the winds picked up to 25 knots and waves rocked us to and fro. Just as we planned to enter the canal, we saw the ferry preparing to exit the canal. We sat and rocked as we watched the ferry leave.

We had a lot of salt spray on the full enclosure from the wave action. Since we were rocking like crazy, I took the ferry picture through the full enclosure and the salt shows in the picture.

"Delaware" heading to Lewes, DE

Once we got on the canal, the water settled down, and we once again had an enjoyable trip. The water was very low on the canal. Most of the ladders leading into the canal were several feet from the water except for one very long one.

Clark knew that anchoring would be an issue due to dredging activity in this area. Still he hoped he could squeeze in somewhere. Unfortunately, we arrived at the usual anchorage around 6:00 and other boats had gotten there before us. 

We normally anchor by the USCG station.

But all this dredging equipment was in the way.

We tried a spot on the opposite side of the canal but decided to look elsewhere. We needed swing room and worried that we might find ourselves sitting on the bottom at 4:00 in the morning when the winds / current changed direction. 

Finally we opted to go under a bridge and along a waterway that took us into Sunset Lake. Here we had a large body of water to anchor in all by ourselves. The only thing we had to watch out for was some traps scattered around the edges of the area.

Clark said there was a tiny piece of sunset, but I told him not to bother getting a picture as it was not impressive.