Advice - Sailing from Phillidelpha to Cape May

[Stu Jackson]

just plan according to CURRENT rather than tide. Important distinction.

Good point, George. Many of us have simply given up on this obvious and necessary correction, but for newbies to ocean waters...

 

[jssailem]

@artleyt115 and @TheBigDeal Unless the Delaware Bay has a specific meaning to your goal for an adventure, the purpose for several guys getting together before a friend leaves the home front, might be better served in waters that have places:

• to enjoy good food,
• a little excitement
• good sailing (if there is wind)
• good beer

Here is a link where you can find free charts to help plan your boating part of this experience.

Chesapeake and Delaware Bays Charts

www.geographic.org

 

[Davidasailor26]

Keeping Cape May in the plan more than the northern Chesapeake, maybe Atlantic City to Cape May, weather permitting? That’s just under 40 miles and could be a fun trip at both the origin and destination.

 

[artleyt115]

@artleyt115 , I get it that you want to include Cape May in the itinerary, but the truth is that hardly anyone sails Delaware Bay for fun. It just doesn't have very much (or anything, really) to offer. Opposing wind and current seems to be a constant. Motoring for hours just to get to Cape May won't be fun or scenic. You'll have to deal with an industrial complex along most of the shoreline and huge ships in the northern stretches. It widens out so much in the southern section that there is no scenery (only ships) and the trip will seem endlessly tedious until you finally get to Cape May. I wouldn't recommend a trip across the bay between Cape May and Lewes for your experience. To be sure, I have no idea what the sailing is like around Cape May (except on the Atlantic). We never hear from anybody that frequents that area. We only hear about experiences passing through Cape May because it is a major stopover.

In short, I think the experience that you are suggesting would be a huge disappointment and possibly a disastrous failure. You would have such a better experience on the northern Chesapeake or you might think about Barnegat Bay, which also has endless possibilities for you.

So I agree actually, the big deal and I talked last night and we decided to change course and go from Atlantic city like what @Davidasailor26 said. We figure it would be a much more pleasant trip with more sailing than motoring. The DW bay doesn't hold any value to us I just figured it would be easier to drive there and launch but I was sorely mistaken. So for now that's the plan and I've found a few launch points I can go to but if you have any recommendations for a launch point near Atlantic city that would be awesome! Luckily our boat with its short draft of 2.5 feet makes it easier to get off the trailer on a ramp. But I wouldn't be surprised if I have to find a marina to help me launch it there (With the difference in tides and all) thank you @jssailem for the charts!

 

[Ward H]

@artleyt115 AC to Cape May does sound like a much better, more enjoyable plan.

@Scott T-Bird s idea of launching into the Barnegat Bay is also a good one.

BB to AC 1 day, AC to CM 1 day. Then reverse. Get in some ocean sailing and bay sailing as well as motoring the ICW.
The marina Scott and I are in, Can launch you and maybe get a transient slip for a day to two. There is also a public launch ramp but not sure if it can accommodate the O26.

 

[thinwater]

From the entrance to the C&D Canal to the Anchorage at Cape May (Near the CG Station) is a pretty long trip around 50 nm. With the ebbing tide figure 7-9 hours. If the tide is adverse or the winds are adverse add much more time. The return trip can be longer because the flood tide is not as strong and it is shorter.

A southerly wind against an ebbing tide will make for bouncy wet motoring. Likewise a northerly wind against a flooding tide will make the bay quite nasty. Once past Delaware City places to hide are few and far between, there are a couple of possible anchorages near the entrance to the Canal there is an anchorage about mid way on the bay on the NJ side.

Expect to see a lot of commercial traffic, freighters and barges.

Here's a screen shot of our Chart Plotter the last time we went through the Bay. Note, while we're moving along at 9.6 knots, we had a 3.4 knot favorable current and after 3 hours we still had 22.8 miles to reach the entrance to the CM canal. By the time we reached the canal the tide and turned and we had a 1-2 knot adverse current. The little boat shapes are an assortment of boats picked up by the AIS, some recreational some commercial.

View attachment 217768

Course up for motoring I get. Like Waze. I don't care for it on a boat, but I use it driving. But driving is different, because your course is defined by roads. Sailing, the way it spins when tacking or even following shifts has got to be dizzying.

Do you switch to north-up when sailing?

I was involved in study about north-up vs. course-up and how people perceive their environment. Big picture vs. a linear focus. Just curious.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Course up for motoring I get. Like Waze. I don't care for it on a boat, but I use it driving. But driving is different, because your course is defined by roads. Sailing, the way it spins when tacking or even following shifts has got to be dizzying.

Do you switch to north-up when sailing?

I was involved in study about north-up vs. course-up and how people perceive their environment. Big picture vs. a linear focus. Just curious.

I prefer heading up. For my brain it just feels best to have the map match what I’m seeing looking forward. Course up varies too much with leeway, or when drifting sideways or backwards in light wind.

 

[dlochner]

Course up for motoring I get. Like Waze. I don't care for it on a boat, but I use it driving. But driving is different, because your course is defined by roads. Sailing, the way it spins when tacking or even following shifts has got to be dizzying.

Do you switch to north-up when sailing?

I was involved in study about north-up vs. course-up and how people perceive their environment. Big picture vs. a linear focus. Just curious.

I almost always use course up. It is less confusing when looking for buoys and land marks as I can take a bearing off the CP and not have to do any math.

When plotting a course I will use North Up because I want to see the big picture, but once we're sailing or motoring I am more interested in what is directly in front of me and I rely on the compass heading and COG to know what direction I am going.

 

[Stu Jackson]

N up for me, all the time.

I'd betcha that the age of folks using N up is beyond oh say 60 or 65 because most of us old geezers used (Gasp!!!) paper charts!

 

[thinwater]

N up for me, all the time.

I'd betcha that the age of folks using N up is beyond oh say 60 or 65 because most of us old geezers used (Gasp!!!) paper charts!

True.

I don't think I have ever felt disoriented by north-up, because I see the world as a north-up map. I am always oriented. Heading up might be handy on the ICW and some rivers, if you are just following the yellow brick road.

BTW ... Waze is course-up, because it is following a plotted course. Chart plotters are typically heading-up (which is not exactly the same thing), though some can be course-up. To me, the idea of the map rotating with every tack and wind shift is disorienting. It comes down to whether you are focused on what is ahead on the map or your place on the map.

 

[Johann]

I prefer heading up. For my brain it just feels best to have the map match what I’m seeing looking forward. Course up varies too much with leeway, or when drifting sideways or backwards in light wind.

Agree. In aviation all electronic cockpit displays are heading up while enroute. Even using paper charts we always oriented the chart heading up for visual navigation. The little LandNav I did the map was always oriented to the earth, so when you looked at it it’s essentially heading up. North up for planning, but when you are actively navigating using visual references, having the chart heading up gives you a better chance of corresponding what you see to whats on your chart in my experience.

 

[kappykaplan]

N up for me, all the time.

 

[dlochner]

I'd betcha that the age of folks using N up is beyond oh say 60 or 65 because most of us old geezers used (Gasp!!!) paper charts!

BTW ... Waze is course-up, because it is following a plotted course. Chart plotters are typically heading-up (which is not exactly the same thing), though some can be course-up. To me, the idea of the map rotating with every tack and wind shift is disorienting. It comes down to whether you are focused on what is ahead on the map or your place on the map.

Back in the day when water resistant paper charts were a new thing and chart books were a novelty, I learned to rotate the chart to match the course. So, having a chart plotter with course up seems quite natural.

When a course to a waypoint is set the screen orientation does not change. If you look at the image I posted there is a red line to the left (N) of my position, that is the rhumb line course from the entrance to the C&D Canal to the entrance of the Cape May Canal. (You will also notice the course line takes a shortcut across NJ. I don't blindly follow the rhumb line.) This keeps me orientated to my destination, because that is more important. It also keeps the boat moving on the screen oriented in the same direction that I am traveling. In Delaware Bay, if the screen was N up, I would be traveling down on the screen which is not at all intuitive.

Here's an another shot with the CP in the heading up mode. We are leaving the Abacos and heading to Charleston SC. A plotted route with multiple waypoints was plotted and the rhumb line to Charleston. The plotted route was the fastest course to the fastest current in the Gulf Stream based on weather conditions about 24 hours earlier from our anchorage. The plotted route and the rhumbline were our reference points and for this segment of our trip it gave me the most useful information.

In practice I choose the orientation that works best for the situation I am in. On Delaware Bay, course up was most useful, heading home from the Abacos, heading up was most useful. In the end, it is what works best for you and your situation.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Also with heading or course up you can set the plotter to keep the boat on the bottom third of the screen. That gives you more visibility of what’s coming, especially when zoomed in coming into a channel. I don’t need to see what I’ve passed but seeing that 50% farther forward at the same zoom is handy.

 

[jssailem]

North up for planning, but when you are actively navigating using visual references, having the chart heading up gives you a better chance of corresponding what you see to whats on your chart in my experience.

It enhances your situational awareness

 

[Ward H]

Also with heading or course up you can set the plotter to keep the boat on the bottom third of the screen. That gives you more visibility of what’s coming, especially when zoomed in coming into a channel. I don’t need to see what I’ve passed but seeing that 50% farther forward at the same zoom is handy.

I agree. For me it's about whether I'm looking for the whole picture. When I am it's N up. When I'm motoring and sailing I get the best view of what's coming when I use Bearing up. I also use a split screen on my Axiom with the port side at the 2500' view and the starboard side at the 500' view.
Of course I'm mostly day sailing in the bay so I really don't even need the chart plotter but it's there when I want it.

 

[shemandr]

For us dyslectics switching between North up and Course/heading up is problematic. Some fuses may blow.

 

[kappykaplan]

For us dyslectics switching between North up and Course/heading up is problematic. Some fuses may blow.

 

[jssailem]

Some fuses may blow.

?noisufnoc of stnemom era ereht naem uoY

 

[shemandr]

I can read that.