Cape May NJ to Annapolis MD via the C&D Canal

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We arrived in Annapolis today via the C&D Canal and a very pleasant visit to Gibson Island (thank you Bruce and Elisabeth) for 150 miles in three days or a total of more than 600 miles since beginning this adventure. We had a few exciting moments when we touched bottom for the first time Sunday morning exiting the marina on the C&D but just cleaned the marine growth off the bottom of the keel and we were on our way.

Yesterday, we continued our trip southbound and Amelia and Carole tried their hand at fishing from the boat. Bruce was kind enough to give us a lure guaranteed to catch striped bass, as well as a catch net. No luck so far, but we will keep on trying. We arrived in Annapolis mid-day and had a chance to explore this beautiful town with a rich naval history.

Now that we are in Annapolis we plan to leave the boat in a marina here until early November when we will return from Boston to continue the voyage south.

Cape May, NJ - Waiting for the Weather

We are learning that sailing requires patience. Back in the days of sail, when motoring was not a possibility, crews regularly “hove to” for weeks on end waiting for favorable conditions for entering a harbor. We are now experiencing our own version, waiting for reasonable weather to sail up the Delaware Bay to the C&D Canal to enter the Chesapeake Bay.

We’ve been ready to go at 5:00 am each of the past three days but each morning the weather has been uncooperative. Yesterday we woke to severe thunderstorms and heavy rain. This morning we decided to abandon our departure plans due to gale warnings and 40 mile-per-hour wind gusts on the Delaware Bay. We were glad we did when a couple of boats pulled into our marina and the crews told us about the extreme conditions they had experienced. Doubly so when we heard about a 56 foot boat that ran aground and sank last night off Barnaget Light.

Luckily, we are marooned at the world’s nicest marina, in an area with great restaurants and services and a lot of fun activities. So far we’ve visited the zoo and the nature center, taken a trolley tour of historic Cape May and toured a restored Victorian house. And perhaps at 5:00 am tomorrow we actually will leave. And not too soon, since our 90-degree summer-like days have been replaced by crisp cool fall weather and we feel the need to continue making our way south before the snow falls.

Night Sailing

Sailing at night is, in a word, unnerving. But in our case it was necessary, since it was the only way to make it from Sandy Hook NJ to the closest southern harbor at Atlantic City while arriving to dock in daylight hours. We left Sandy Hook at 3 am, with a sliver of a moon (as well as our GPS) to guide us, and counted the minutes until dawn while making time along the Jersey coast, pulling into the Trump Marina and Casino in Atlantic City around 5 pm. I took a quick stroll through the casino, but it wasn’t really my cup of tea, and we elected to have dinner on the boat and leave early the next morning.

After another long sail, we arrived in Cape May NJ yesterday. We have a slip at a great marina right in the harbor (newspaper delivery to our boat and a welcome fruit basket, no less!) Cape May is a charming and historic town with spectacular Victorian seaside architecture. The late October weather continues to amaze us, with record-breaking 90-degree days. Amelia and I visited the county zoo today, and she really enjoyed seeing all of the animals as well as the long walk on land. We plan to stay here another day and then Thursday sail up the Delaware to the C&D canal, weather permitting.

New York, New York

We spent two days on a mooring at the 79th Street Boat Basin, enjoying NYC while waiting for the wind to stop blowing from the south so we can continue in that direction. The mooring field was a little rocky due to wakes from boats passing on the Hudson River plus considerable current with the tides but the great location, facilities and the price ($30/day) more than made up for spilling my coffee once or twice.

We made the trip from City Island down the East River with the current and up the Hudson starting at first light, arrived at 79th Street by 11:00 AM. Except for being pulled over by the Coast Guard for being on the right side of the channel near the UN building and fouling the prop on something floating under the Manhattan Bridge, the East River and view of NYC was spectacular.

We had a chance to visit with friends, sample some of the local cusine, and spend two days at the Museum of Natural History, where Amelia wanted to find every exhibit featured in the movie “Night at the Museum.” Lots of fun!

Marion MA to City Island NY

The past five days have been exceptionally fine for sailing south, with good winds and favorable tides and fantastic weather. We now find ourselves at City Island anticipating an early morning departure for points south. We've managed to make significant progress and solve (we hope) most of our mechanical issues. The marina last night in New Haven - the Oyster Point Marina - was a nice surprise: intimate, and with a great restaurant.

Favorable conditions have enabled us to settle into a nice routine of watches, home school lessons for Amelia in the morning and meals underway. Tonight, in a flight of culinary ambition, we actually baked a cake to celebrate Amelia's birthday tomorrow.

Living Small

I asked several real estate brokers I know – all specializing in city condominiums – what the size of the smallest unit they have ever sold. The answers varied, from a small 234 square feet “a tiny unit near Harvard Square”) to a relatively palatial 400 square foot loft in the South End (“but way too small for the couple that bought it”.) A few weeks ago I read about a tiny apartment in the Notting Hill section of London with a “coffin-sized” shower that sold for over $500K. When in college, I spent one summer living with a roommate in a dorm room that was under 200 square feet.

So, with the theory that you actually can live in a very small space, I measured the space available on our boat for the three of us to live, sleep, bathe, study, plan, read, cook and play. We have a total of 213 square feet, plus a back porch (the boat cockpit) of around 35 square feet (we can’t really count the space on deck since it is well taken up with lines, blocks, sails, kayaks, our tender and a mast).

What is it like to have three people share 213 square feet? Well, you run into each other surprisingly often – with us literally brushing past each other as I make something in the galley and Dave checks the engine. Or Amelia and I crossing over each other as we snuggle on the settee, her watching a video and I read a book. And you start to think of privacy in a different way, as much psychological as physical. Having your own little space in your head in your head is the key to living small.