The weather during our visit to Cape May was wonderful so after enjoying some time at Cape May Beach on Friday after doing some boat chores we took a cab over to Wildwood on Saturday. To my surprise despite all the changes it still looks the same. Linda commented that it was like going back in time as so many of the 50's and 60's icons looked brand new. The Boardwalk had the same buildings and even many of the same stores and restaurants.
Two big changes we found was serving alcohol on the boardwalk that only happened a couple years ago and the ocean is now far away from the Boardwalk. In fact sand dunes are being created as a protective barrier. When I was a kid and we went to the beach we sat under the Boardwalk out of the sun and then walked into the water. Now that walk would be at least a quarter to a half mile.
Saturday night we had dinner in Wildwood with Sue and Tom Jones who we met in the Bahamas and have a place in North Wildwood. As always it was great catching up and looking forward to seeing again in the south this winter.
But Sunday morning it was time to leave the Beach one more time as we continued our journey south. The forecast was daunting with heavy winds on the nose as a cold front passed through during the morning and the tide would be against us in the Bay and in the canal.
We left about 0600 in the early rays of daylight in the dewy calm at almost dead low tide. Fortunately the tide was till running out so we had current behind us through the channel into the ocean. We rounded Cape May Point on the inside of some very tricky shoals just off the Point known as "the rips" that had heavy opposing current and we quickly got out way into the Delaware Bay. This was the best way since we couldn't use the canal out the back side of the Cape that would have saved us over an hour.
With the tidal current running against us we stayed in the shallow water where the current would be less. The wind started out of the southeast but quickly turned to the north and built from a breeze to over 20 kts. Fortunately it was far enough off the nose that we were able to motor sail with the main and staysail. In the shallow water the chop and current were less so we were able to keep up speed over 7 kts. We knew that in a few hours the tide would turn giving us a boost. By late morning we were no longer opposing the tide and increased our speed to over 8 kts all the way to the C&D Canal.
When we got to the canal we were again opposing current but at least the sun was shining. The passing front brought in heavy cloud cover and the winds made for a cold trip although closing our enclosure helped. The tide in the canal also began to slacken and by the time we got through we had a favorable current helping us down the Chesapeake.
We made it to Worton Creek, the spot we anchored on the way north, a trip of over 90 miles in just over 12 hours. An average of over 7.5 kts in opposing winds and current. We dropped the hook and it set quickly. I even dove on it to ensure its set. A long day but any day on the boat is a great day!
Tonight the moon's first quarter shone brightly on the water as we ended the day with a dinner of the shrimp we bought in Stonington and a nice Spanish wine. A perfect ending to our northern summer trip north.
Now we prepare to head south in just a few weeks.
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