We got underway about 0800 from Port Washington for our passage through the East River and New York Harbor. Timing is everything for this journey, because in some portions of the East River the current can flow at 4-5 knots, and if it is against you, very little progress is made. After careful study of tidal current tables, the captain determined that a departure time of 0800 would place our arrival time at the first narrow spot with a current, Throg's Neck Bridge, at slack water before the beginning of the flood tide. That would place us in the faster sections of the river later with a favorable, but not unmanageable, current. It happened as planned, and we passed Hell Gate (named for the current flow) just before Roosevelt Island and Lower Manhattan at 12.2 knots! It was an exciting, but controlled, ride, and the favorable current helped us all the way through the harbor, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and even along the upper New Jersey coast. We had not determined a specific destination for this day's run, but since we were making such good time, conditions were so favorable (light wind behind us from the north and mild sea state), we elected to continue down the New Jersey coast. In addition, weather was expected to deteriorate within a day or two, with the possibility that we would be "stuck" for days. We passed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge out of New York Harbor about 1100, Barnegat Inlet, NJ at 1800, Atlantic City at 2200, and reached the eastern side of Cape May about 0200. It was a beautiful full-moon night in the Atlantic. Since the slack current at the entrance to Delaware Bay occurred at 0330, we elected to continue around the tip of Cape May, and reached the Delaware Bay entrance right on schedule at 0330. Thus, we were able to ride a favorable current all the way up Delaware Bay, adding at least two knots to our boat speed. Conditions were a little sloppy since we were going more into the wind that previously, but it was not an uncomfortable passage. We arrived at the C&D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal entrance at 0930, and continued to ride our favorable current through the canal and into the Chesapeake Bay! I don't know that we could ever again expect to have the current with us for almost the entire trip. We even had favorable current at least half-way to Annapolis, where we elected to dock and recuperate.
We arrived in Annapolis about 1645, negotiated the ever-present sailboats racing in the harbor, and nestled into the "back half" of a slip with a larger boat, well-protected from the impending storms, and crashed. I didn't rinse the boat, because the heavy rain coming was to do that for me. Not! Despite the appearance of the sky, we saw nary a drop. So, the next morning, before setting out to sightsee and shop Annapolis, I got to wash the boat. We enjoyed re-visiting this sailing mecca, but were surprised at the relatively empty docks and moorings. I suppose that, in a couple of weeks as the boat shows approach, that will all change and the harbor will once again be bustling and filled to capacity. The slower pace suited us well this time, however, and we enjoyed our stay!
 |
| New York City |
 |
| New York City |
 |
| New York City |
 |
| Always Awe-Inspiring |
 |
| Annapolis, Storm a-Coming (?) |
No comments:
Post a Comment