Smooth Cruising to Baltimore

 Bob's View:

As we slowly made our way east passing Sandy Hook at the entrance to New York Harbor and then south to Cape May, I began to realize I had been worried unnecessarily about the passage along the New Jersey Coast.  I calculated it would take us three days of off shore cruising down a coast with very limited access to safe harbors and I also was acutely aware that the entire cost would be a lee shore as the prevailing seas were always on shore.  What I did not know was how shallow the sea was along this 150 mile stretch.  We were 2-3 miles offshore the entire way and saw 12-40 foot depths.  We had waited for a weather window and when Wind Alert, the website we like to show predicted winds and wave heights, showed seas of less than 2 feet and winds out of the south less than 10 knots, we made the commitment to transit this forbidding coastline.  The seas were relatively calm for the days we cruised south along the coast.  The sea life was a surprise, as we were surrounded by schools of baitfish, myriad seabirds circling and follow us, breaching humpback whales off our port quarter bow, dolphin gamboling around us and some very large fish swimming just below the surface off our bow at times.  And while we did experience some periods of 2-3 foot seas , the passage along this homogeneous (and boring) portion of New Jersey was for the most part a gentle ride.  The courses we had charted each day over 3 days varied from 45 miles to 55 miles, however one day we did log over 65 miles due to an unfortunate and never to be repeated decision to plot our course after several rum and tonics, ooops! 

Day one was an exit from New York Harbor, into new water for us, past the iconic Manhattan skyline at dawn, the majestic statue of Liberty and passing several very large tankers entering the harbor.  They stayed on their side of the channel and we stayed on ours.  Sandy Hook is about 10 miles from Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City (its still in New Jersey, PM) where we had stayed a few days to visit New York, catch up with Bob and Essie Schlegel, our son's soon to be official in-laws (he's been 12 years with an unofficial status but a glowing friendship), and enjoying, under Essie's exceptional tutelage, the unique flavors and nuances of Cuban food while planning a never to be forgotten wedding event.  We took the fastest cab ride of my life, hitting over 50 MPH on city streets, to meet with Essie and Bob at Victor's Café on 57'th street in The City for a memorable evening. 

VELOMER's Perkins engine hummed smoothly along at a cruising speed of 1625 RPMs for days on end as we made for Cape May and a turn west along a short canal and then north into Delaware Bay towards the entrance of the C & D Canal, which would finally get VELOMER into Chesapeake Bay.  I still do an engine room check about an hour after starting the engine each day and again every few hours to confirm fuel pressure within norms at the Racor filter, confirm charging voltage by the alternator on the smart charge panel and spot check temperatures at various places on the engine and alternator.  The alternator belt is just a bit too large and as the new one I put on in Connecticut wears, the tension changes due to wear and it has a tendency to slip, causing an uncomfortably loud squeal and allowing the temperature of the unit to rise.   The Balmar Marine Alternator is extremely well suited for marine use and is designed to cool the unit as the belt spins the blades, but if the belt slips, the cooling effect is diminished.  As the temperature of the alternator rises, the efficiency of the charging circuits change and at around 140 degrees the unit stops charging to protect its circuitry.  I have solved this issue temporarily with Belt Ease as the spray increases the stickiness of the belt and prevents the slippage  I also discovered the first time I used this spray while the engine was running so the stream of Belt Ease was atomized throughout the engine room atmosphere, that the smoke detector in the engine room senses the chemical odor or the mist in the air and activates a loud alarm to warn of fire.  Another lesson learned and I now detach the smoke alarm for a few minutes if I use the spray on the belt while underway. The better solution of course is to change the belt to a smaller one that will allow me to tighten it to a greater tension.  The one currently on the unit is so long that the maximum adjustment for tension is just barely enough to remove enough slack.  I will wait for this belt to stretch a bit and when the Belt Ease solution no longer solves the issue will make the change to the smaller belt.  I also have discovered that if I do not run the inverter while underway the demand on the alternator seems to be such that the belt does not slip. 

Finding out about the systems on VELOMER has been a learning curve.  PM and I  are getting to know all the ways things can fail or need adjustment.  From heads to alternator belts, to maintenance and routine cleaning of sump drains, thru hull screens, pulleys, fenders, hull and deck, standing and running rigging, bright work, ball valves, sump pumps, water lines, fueling, pump outs, dockage, setting fenders for the various docking options, maneuvering VELOMER into tight spaces by backing into slips against wind and current, setting up the chart plotter for our daily courses and navigation at sea, observing sea conditions, especially at inlets, planning daily passages with respect to tides, wind and sea conditions and generally making life aboard a 36 foot craft with 1/10 the living space of our former home in Maine a pleasant adventure every day while continually learning the fascination of the sea and each other.  We learn something every day. We are loving this life afloat.

We made Manisquan Inlet the first day, 45 nautical miles (Hoffman's Marina), Atlantic City the second, 55 miles (Farley State Marina), and Cape May the third, 50 miles (South Jersey Marina).  Each time we made port, we had a welcoming marina staff great us with help attaching dock lines and power, information about local sights (and especially breakfast options) and tips on the courses to follow and places to visit along our intended route to Chesapeake Bay, a destination we had been trying to reach since mid July and expected to make by early August.  Leaving Cape May, we passed through a short three mile canal into Delaware Bay.  That day we were occupied watching the depth sounder very attentively as the depths were deceptively shallow in places and we had to avoid several shipwrecks noted on the chart.  Delaware Bay was unlike the waters we were used to, where further distance from land equates to deeper water.  The wide bay became narrower and more like a river as we moved north.  If we were to continue up the Delaware River we would reach Wilmington, Delaware in 20 miles beyond Delaware City and then, in another 40 miles, Philadelphia, a city we intend to visit on our passage north next spring or perhaps in 2016 as we return to our home port in Maine after completing the loop.  At least that is the plan.

After resting a few days at Delaware City Marina, a sweet little dockage with low key energy, just our speed, and enjoying local characters, visiting the state park offices at Fort DuPont to learn about the history of the city as a major seaport of the last century, the development of the canal from a private venture in the early 18th century to the current canal managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and consuming crab for the first and, according to PM, the last time, in Delaware City, we departed Delaware for Maryland and cruised at our normal sped of 7 miles an hour west along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal ( C & D) into Chesapeake Bay.  We were passed by two other motor yacht along the 13 miles of the canal.  Only when we were in Chesapeake Bay beyond the western entrance, did we see a tanker coming towards us.  The canal is wide enough at 450 feet and deep enough at 35 feet to allow two of these ocean going tankers to pass each other safely, so we were not concerned about the meeting.  In fact, PM was handling the helm at the tine as I was in the engine room and she was calm as ever.  Her helming has become competently routine as we share time there each day, roughly splitting the day equally.

Transiting the C & D Canal on 9/3/14, we made it to Georgetown Yacht Basin on the Sassafras River in Chesapeake Bay (at long last); we thereby became travelers with a major accomplishment behind us.  It had taken VELOMER 19 days of cruising over 6 weeks, 624 miles (N), 108 engine hours, memories of harbors and memories of people we will not forget behind us with many more in our future travels.

There is a tendency to have certain expectations when we visit new places.  Both PM and I try not to have expectations and we have found this to be a better way to experience our time in exploring the waters and cities and villages during our travel on VELOMER.  Each place we find ourselves has interesting people to meet, new adventures to experience while playing tourist, and we become students of history in the same towns and waters whose first history was written during the formative periods of this country. As we went north towards Delaware City at the entrance to the C &D Canal, we were in historic waters.  We are entering harbors and crossing bays and cruising rivers that John Smith travelled in 1620, George Washington occupied in 1776, Commodore Perry sailed through in 1812, and on which Francis Scott Key, aboard a small sailing vessel retained by the British on September 13 (200 hundred years prior to our arrival on the same water on the same day), was witness to the shelling of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore and from whose decks he penned the words to the Star-Spangled Banner.  We learned that the reason the British retired from Baltimore Harbor and eventually the American Territories after bombarding Fort McHenry for 25 hours, was that they ran out of ammunition.  The English Admiral had hoped to destroy the fort and thus gain entrance to the city and destroy it as they had Washington just a few weeks before in August of 1814.  Of the 1,000 American defenders in Fort McHenry during the shelling, many of whom were untrained citizens of the city, only 5 were killed.  One patriot later penned "it felt like we were pigeons tied to a stake and used for target practice", a frightening experience but one that did not result in abandoning the defenses.  The fort's French long guns, on loan from our allies at the time, had a range of barely 1 1/2 miles while the British ship's cannons were able to fire rockets, mostly to intimidate, and canon shells from 2 miles away.  When the British ships left on the morning of September 14, we declared victory.   This event was widely publicized and was the first real victory against the professional British armies and navy during the three year conflict.  The "victory" inspired American resolve, which was lackluster at best prior to this event, during this war fought primarily over economic control of the agricultural wealth of the Americas. It's strange how and why history plays out. 

After stopping in Georgetown on the Sassafras River, we cruised south to Rock Hall and then Oxford, Maryland along the eastern shore.  Arriving at the Brewer's Boat Yard in Oxford, we were surprised to find ourselves directed to a slip 4 removed from a Northaven 55 named JOURNEY.  How many vessels of this make and size are named JOURNEY?  It evolves that this boat is John and Bobbee's vessel, which they have left in long tern dockage after bringing it up the coast from Florida this summer.  It's a small world.

After spending several weeks on board, PM had a business appointment in Portland so we rented a car from Enterprise in Easton and drove back to Maine.  It took just over 8 hours to cover the distance we had traveled over water in 6 weeks.  Going home to Maine was strange.  We had been on a boat travelling 7 miles an hour, now we sped along I-95 at 70 miles an hour.  The pace of life on land is equally fast.  Anyway, we had to make this trip so we made the best of it, stopping at Rine's Deli in Vernon, Connecticut for a scrumptious meal of matzo ball soup and the best corned beef sandwich I have eaten in years.  Five days later we were back on VELOMER.  It was strange to be on land, it was wonderful to back on the water.

Now for Baltimore Harbor and the 200'th anniversary celebration of the penning of our national anthem, a party we had desired to be invited to but had been told there was no room at any marina and had not been for months.  Five days prior to Saturday September 13, and the day before we left for Portland, we got a call from one of the marinas where I had asked to be put on a wait list, never expecting to be able to get a slip.  The Baltimore Marine Center at Lighthouse Point had a space open at the last minute and if we wished we could have it.  Well, yes we would, thank you.  Our passage up Chesapeake Bay 50 miles from Oxford was on a day that we would not have normally chosen to travel, as Wind Alert had wind and consequent seas of 3-4 feet predicted and also rain for the better portion of the day.  The day was wet at times but not unpleasant, the seas were less than predicted and we made the entrance to the harbor at Francis Scott Key Bridge about 20 minutes after the security zone blocking all boat traffic due to the afternoon air show was lifted.  Great timing!

We arrived a few hours before the fireworks were scheduled to begin at 9:30.  The harbor was closed again to boat traffic as five barges were lined up along the inner harbor, one of which was directly in front of our slip.  The fireworks display had to be seen to be believed.  I was told they fired 90,000 rockets during the show. The amount of bursting pyrotechnics was as dense as any I have ever witnessed.  Typically fireworks shows save a few minutes of intense display for the beginning and end of the event.  This one was dense in number of bursting displays of color and sound for a full half hour.  As we watched from the fly bridge, we saw the large garrison American flag flying over Fort McHenry through the smoke about a mile across the harbor from our dockage location.  Francis Scott Key likely witnessed much  the same, from about the same distance but for 25 hours.  It is no wonder the British ran out of ball and powder and rockets. We could not have chosen a better location to view the display. The Universe provides for us again.  I suspect this number of bursting rockets exceeded those used by the British exactly 200 years prior.

Our dear friend Susan Meyer had hoped to be with us for the show in the sky, but just missed the closing of the road by 5 minutes so she saw the glare of the bursting rockets from the streets behind buildings close to the harbor.  Her visit was not without memorable times though, as we witnessed the air show from Fort McHenry the next day from the perfect location.  Watching the demonstration by the Coast Guard of Search and Rescue techniques in the water off our vantage point on shore, and the skill of the pilots of the Blue Angels naval aerobatic team over our heads were events we will forever recall with awe.

After she returned to her teaching work in Charlottesville, Virginia , we relocated to another marina across from the National Aquarium to be near Johns Hopkins Hospital, where other friends were to be seen for some routine tests two days later.  Carol and Ed were only on board for a few hours for an early delicious dinner of orange chicken over rice, salad and chocolate before departing for Richmond, three hours drive by car, but we did have a fine afternoon visit with their sweet labradoddle, Paddy.

VELOMER departs Baltimore with the morning tide for Rock Hall, Maryland on the eastern shore.  Our adventure continues.