Onwards to New York

From Baltimore to New York our route took us through the north end of the Chesapeake (red), the C&D Canal (green), Delaware Bay (purple), and out onto the Atlantic (day 1 orange and day 2 blue)

The northern Chesapeake, the D&C canal, and Delaware Bay are chock-a-block full of nothing except for our very first glance of New Jersey over the breakwall at the eastern end of the canal:

Yes, the thing that welcomes boaters to New Jersey is a nuclear power plant.  Precisely what I expected actually!

The tides in the area are the highest we’ve encountered so careful trip planning is required to make sure that the currents aren’t too strong in the wrong direction or the wind isn’t blowing against them which kicks up uncomfortable waves.  Luckily for us the skipper of our buddy boat has done this route many times and had lots of good advice.

After the 3 days of nothing we spent 2 nights anchored in Cape May. It is a pretty town but not much happens there. I think the most exciting thing is the wild turkey that terrorizes the residents of Washington street.

The locals say he is dangerous and I believe them. He didn't look friendly at all.

A terrible photo of me but a good example of the cute architecture in Cape May

The only stop after Cape May was Atlantic City but we didn’t go to see the sights at all.  What are a 44 year-old woman and her underage son supposed to do in a casino?  The anchorage we stayed in was a surprise.  Just across the river from the casinos but very protected and quiet.

View of Atlantic City from the anchorage

The day we left Atlantic City I set the alarm for 5 am because it is a long trip to Sandy Hook Bay and we needed all the daylight we could get.  I ended up waking early because I could hear the boat creaking.  The water level had dropped in the night and the tidal current had shifted leaving us in a very shallow spot.  Our rudders were sinking in the mud making the creaking sound. I pulled us forward on the anchor and raised the rudders but didn't get much sleep after that.