Offshore From Montauk Pt. to Cape May

SW wind up the nose


36 hours offshore from Montauk Point to Cape May, NJ. I remember being disappointed that I hadn't been able to catch some of the more violent action, well... I didn't get seasick then, but watching it now gives the woopsies, and I'm just sitting here.

Thank god for a 66HP Perkins diesel, and thank god for a heavy boat, or we would have been slamming and pounding even more than we did as we clawed our way to windward. Should I say motored? Yes. Because that is all we did. Lovely, sunny skies, and a firm wind out of the SW, right up the nose. Good solid 4-6 foot seas, the only saving grace being it was a swell, not short, abrupt waves. Whew!

Here then is the abbreviated log:

Monday, Oct. 2nd 6AM to 11:30PM- lovely broad reach, following seas to Cape Cod Canal, super!
Tuesday, Oct. 3rd 1AM to 9:30AM- Buzzards Bay to jump off at Montauk Pt. Lots of ship traffic, snaking our way thru the channel.
Tuesday 9:30AM to Wednesday 7PM- Montauk Pt to Cape May NJ. Up our snoots wind from the SW, motoring into poundy seas for 36 hrs. Just exhausting, brought back some trauma from my first offshore disaster. Hard, but sunny...
Wednesday, Oct. 4th 7PM to Thursday 5AM- Motorsail up Delaware Bay staying well out of superhighway/ship's channel. Short but intense squall, Andy awoke from a snooze to part the storm. (Pretty damn amazing!)
Thursday, Oct. 5th 5AM to 7AM- thru the C&D Canal, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous early morning peaceful.
Thursday 7AM to 9PM- motor down the Chesapeake until about 6PM, freshening winds out of the E, nice brisk romp to the mouth of the Potomac, everyone asleep but me at the helm, kinda cool.
Thursday 11PM- turn up the Potomac, Northeaster hits, still sailing, zero visibility, lottsa rain, I wake up
as we are about to get run down by a tug, lose control of our headsail, and almost run down an unlit buoy. AAARGH!
Friday, Oct.6th 6AM to 3PM- I wake up, Andy crashes hard, finally, and female Andy and I wend our way up the river, Northeaster again up our nose, see Mt. Vernon from the river, cool, my Andy wakes up as we near DC.
Friday 4PM- we arrive dockside and almost fall on our faces from rubbery sealegs. Female Andy and her hubby Pete depart forthwith for Williamsburg, Andy and I clean boat and wander around, numbly, taking care of business.
Saturday, Oct.7th AM- wake up, Andy shaves off beard (aah!), pack, take cab to National, rent car, drive to Newport News, (Andy has wedding to perform on Sunday), stopping to have lunch and argue about stupid stuff.
Saturday 3:30PM to 9PM- I catch plane to Boston, bus to Portland, and then bed, still stumbling with sealegs.