Atlantic City (and back again) Part 4

Monday rolled around and it was time to motor back down to Cape May. Luckily we didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn this time. We figured it wouldn't be a problem to get to Cape May before check-in time at the next marina, but we also weren't in any rush. We were on the water at 9 am and headed south.

I never thought I would be able to say this but the ocean was "like glass." There were rolling waves but otherwise everything was calm. We were even able to get some decent speed. I had to have a picture of the GPS proving that we were in fact on the Atlantic Ocean. I was so happy when I also realized that this photo showed that we were about 2 miles off shore and able to get a speed of 28.4 mph.

It was a gorgeous day, I was captaining the boat while Doug got a sandwich, and then, wait, was that a fin? ....... DOLPHINS! I was finally able to see some. I yelled for Doug and we both watched so we could pinpoint their location. We slowly pulled closer and I cut the engines.

When we realized we really weren't close enough we turned the keys to start the engines. Nothing happened. The engines would not start. Had I flooded the engines by stopping too quickly? Had our engines had too much of the salt water? What now? We were two miles from shore with a dead boat. Doug, being the calm person that he is, told me not to worry he would figure it out. I was supposed to keep my eye on the dolphins' position so we could catch up once we started up again. Doug got the book and was trying everything he could think of - switching the batteries, checking the engine compartment. All the while, the dolphins were getting further and further away. Honestly, I don't know what made me think of it, but I wondered aloud if we were in neutral. Yes folks, I have left the boat in drive when I cut the engines, so of course they wouldn't start. We got the engines started but the dolphins were long gone.

We continued on our trip hoping to see more dolphins so we could get some pictures. We saw one lone fin and then nothing for a while. Finally, we found another pod. We think there were about 11 dolphins all together. Again, we didn't want to get too close. Dolphins are known to be smart animals but we didn't want to risk hurting one. We were finally able to get a few pictures:

 

We watched the dolphins for about 15 minutes but then decided to leave them be. We continued on down the ocean. After 39.04 miles we pulled into Cape May at 11 am. What a trip!!!

Atlantic City (and back again) Part 3

We had a reservation at Kammerman's Marina for three nights in Atlantic City. I have mixed feelings about this marina:

Pros

• it's cheaper than the Trump Marina. We paid $2/foot rather than $4/foot at Trump.
• it's walking distance from the Boardwalk. You could walk to the Boardwalk from the Trump Marina but it's quite a walk. Kammerman's is on the left in this photo, Trump is on the right. The Boardwalk (obviously not in the photo) is to the far left.
• the staff was very nice.

Cons

• it's in a shady part of town. This image shows the transient dockage - yes, that is a boarded up building to the right.
• it seems to have only two slips. No one docked in the other slip the entire time we were there so we didn't get to meet any boaters. I really enjoy talking with other boaters when we dock, so I certainly missed not having that opportunity.
• there are signs that say No Wake, however, many boaters did not follow this request. We rocked around a bit.

We took our zodiac out to a restaurant in Gardner's Basin one night (essentially around the corner from our marina). As we were motoring over I noticed that very few boats had dinghys. I'm so accustomed to the Chesapeake Bay where people frequently anchor out and take the zodiac into shore. I guess when you boat directly off of the ocean, there aren't many opportunities to anchor that way. We asked the dockhand if there were other restaurants we could access that way and he first asked if we had a "bigger boat" to go with the one we came over on. Based on us having a bigger boat he was able to tell us about a couple places.

I have to make a couple recommendations for restaurants:

• White House Sub Shop (I couldn't find an official website for the Sub Shop, if someone else knows one, please pass it along.) This place reminded me of Chick & Ruth's in Annapolis. It's packed with both locals and tourists and the food is great. We waited in a line that stretched out the door so plan to get there early.
• Angelo's Fairmount Tavern - we asked a friend for a recommendation for a restaurant with a great atmosphere and he definitely sent us to the right place. Again, the place was packed. I searched for a hostess station and finally had to ask a bartender how to get a table. The list is kept at the bar and a bartender with a voice that carries yells when your table is ready. If we had been going straight back to the boat I would have taken the leftovers with me. Great Italian food!

Boating to Atlantic City was definitely an adventure. I don't think we'll venture back there anytime soon but I'm so glad we did it.

Atlantic City (and back again) Part 2

It's a good thing we vegged most of Thursday because the alarm went off at 5 am Friday morning. Yes, I actually got up that early on a vacation day. We had the anchors up and we pulled out of Chesapeake City by 5:50 am. I saw some people awake on the other anchored boats, but we were the first ones moving that morning. As powerboat owners we aren't usually the early birds but we wanted to hit the Delaware Bay as early as possible. Okay, fine, I admit, the geese were up and moving about.

After 12.42 miles, we entered the beast. The Delaware Bay is known to be a tough body of water. As I tell my friends, since it's shallow and relatively small the water only has one place to go - UP! We've had friends that have attempted the Delaware numerous times and had to turn back each time. We've also had friends that have had no issues at all. We were hopeful.

The first hour was choppy but nothing we couldn't handle. The second hour was tough for me and I actually laid down on the eurobed at our stern for a long while. Thankfully my husband is not afflicted with motion sickness. After 10 years of avid Chesapeake Bay boating, I've learned to handle the waves but the Delaware was a whole other story for me. Doug was even "nice" enough to take a photo of me sleeping.

Right before we entered the Cape May Canal, Doug saw dolphins. I went running up to the helm but they were already gone. I may have missed the dolphins, but I did see another welcome site. We had made it to NJ! And we were entering smooth seas in the Canal. This image was looking back into the Delaware Bay from the Cape May Canal.

We made it to Cape May by 9 am (63.45 miles from Chesapeake City), filled up with gas, and set off for the great Atlantic Ocean. This was the first time either of us had brought one of our boats out into the ocean. It was a little scary but we could always see land and GPS systems sure make life easy. I don't know how sailors followed the stars and actually got where they intended to go. The water was a beautiful blue and it felt like we could see forever off the starboard side. Doug aimed North and we followed the contours of the land on our port side.

It wasn't long before we could see Atlantic City up ahead. We had made it, or at least by this photo knew we were going to make it. We officially arrived in Atlantic City at 11:30 am...more on that tomorrow.

Atlantic City (and back again) Part 1

My husband and I just returned yesterday from 8 days on the water. Our trip took us to Chesapeake City, MD, Atlantic City, NJ, Cape May, NJ and back home again. Rather than put everything into one big post, I'm going to write about our travels over the next few days. Enjoy!

Our Route - We went north in the Chesapeake Bay, through the C&D Canal, down the Delaware Bay, through the Cape May Canal, and north on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal holds some interesting sights. I could certainly be happy living in a trailer as long as it was along the water:



After about 2 1/2 hours we arrived in Chesapeake City (along the C&D Canal). We've been there before and knew we could easily anchor out for the night. There is a small protected cove right near the Chesapeake Inn Restaurant and Marina.








After a couple of attempts with our anchor, we decided to throw out a second bow anchor. While the area is nice is protected, it's also quite muddy. With a second anchor we were confident that we wouldn't drift in the night. By nightfall, we had been joined by a few other boats.

We used our zodiac for a quick trip into town. If you are ever there, try the ice cream shop right along the water. The ice cream isn't soft serve but it isn't rock hard either. I tried "Fear the Turtle" -- chocolate ice cream with caramel and cashews. If I was still a kid, I would have been wearing chocolate for the rest of the day. Thankfully, I'm a bit of a cleaner eater now.

We didn't stay in town long as this was our scheduled quiet day. We relaxed, laid in the sun, read books, and let the soothing sounds of the water ease our troubles away. And with a little planning we were able to eat well too (chicken fajitas with sauteed red peppers, onions, and homemade guacamole).

As the sun set on the first day of vacation, we settled in and rested before the true adventures began.