24 hours to Cape May

[sailaway78]

Now we are really headed south. Into Cape May this morning around 10am. We left from behing the statue of liberty at roughly 10 am yesterday, so just about 24 hours on the water, and 130 or so miles. I don't worry about exact times or distances anymore. The boat did wonderfully. Worst thing that happened was a cover came off a cable run below the sink. It did get pretty snotty yesterday afternoon, and early last night. The winds that were supposed to be 15 to 20 MAX, were blowing 30 knots at Sandy Hook according to the NOAA weather. Settled down around midnight. We passed Atlantic City around 4 AM, and it is a beautiful site at night. And there was a nice sunrise this morning. To farther answer Tony's question about how old is too old, I had all I wanted coming down. It was cold, and very wet. I think the last 24 hours have found my limits. I wasn't about to get up on deck in the dark, fighting a mainsail down. I ended up spending a lot of the night with the iron genny going, auto pilot on, and sitting on the top hatchway step with the stove on. At least that way I could keep warm, and see where we were going. But I can handle this when I have to. But damn sure don't want to.

 

[wm frech]

nice n easy rules!

...as a sailor who has made part of your passage I am very interestd in your emails along the way...tks for the entertainment...can you tell us something about your boat?...fair winds, Bill.

 

[Warren Milberg]

How far

offshore were you for the leg from NY down the Jersey coast to Cape May? I've done that leg a few times and, at times, found it "crowded" with commercial shipping. I usually stayed about 10 miles offshore. In two instances at night, I saw and hailed some big ships and asked them if they saw me on their radar (I was flying a small radar ball reflector and was under sail). In both cases, they did not see me and were glad to hear from me (on Channel 13). In both of these cases, only one person was on the bridge and the ship was on autopilot heading north....Be careful out there.

 

[Franklin]

Companionway seat

is one of my favorites while sailing in bad weather. Keeps me a little warmer and the sail controls are within arms reach...especially the traveler, and I can still see ahead.

 

[Jim Seamans]

Tried hailing you..

Nice N Easy, we were coming up the Chesapeake Friday and Saturday and tried hailing you. Guess you weren't that far south yet. Friday and Saturday were very pretty days out on the bay.JimS/V Java

 

[Franklin]

Radar

I have a feeling that the big ships turn the sensitivity of their radar to filter out all the sea noise while offshore and in doing so, it also filters out the small boats. I know I'm always trying to fine turn my radar so everything shows up but not the waves. If my little radar can do that, I'm sure theirs can to. Of course, the higher the waves, the more they filter. I always assume out there that they don't see me.

 

[sailortonyb]

PHILLIP.......U DA MAN !!!!!!

PHILLIP.......U DA MAN !!!!!We all envy you, except for the cold weather. Hope Lois is doing well. And I know you must really need some sleep. Anyway, I'm quite surprised that the ships RADAR didnt pick up that boat with a ball reflector. They generally work quite well, and I never been on a comm'l ship where they did not fine tune the RADAR. If they couldnt see a ball reflector, then they probably couldnt see a buoy either. Hmmmmmmmmm ?????FRANKLIN......you are correct in your settings. Their should actually be a slight random speckling on your screen. This can be annoying till you get used to it. Too many people have seen too many old war movies where the screen is crystal clear except for their targets.By the way.....how you be? Tony B

 

[RAD]

Phil......

If that was this mornings sunrise I also enjoyed it from Fire Island Inlet at 7am, boy it was cold (34)nice pic of the green ladyfair winds and a safe trip

 

[Ken "Dancin Bear"]

Hi from other side.

Ienvy you. It sure beats having to get up tomorrow and go to a paying job.I am watching with envy. It is terrific entertainment now that our boats are out of the water up here. Tell us about your boat. Do you have a website?About the big vessels on Radar. Is there not a traffic control that you can talk to? I have used them on the west coast entry to Strait of Juan de fuca. (pathway to Seattle and Vancouver for commercial traffic). They will warn the big stuff to keep a visual out for you.Where are you headed eventually???Fair winds and remember your audience is pulling for you.Ken

 

[Franklin]

Weather

Phill...keep an eye out for the low in the gulf right now. It seems to want to go northeast towards you. It's pretty nasty in the Gulf now and we've been getting outter bands of it all day. The winds seem to be just in the low 20s but lots and lots of rain.

 

[Franklin]

Weather update

I take that back Phil...STRONG WINDS TOO. At about 5:30 am here winds gusting up to 50 mph hit and lasted for about 30 minutes then settled down to gusting to 30 mph. I don't think you want to be caught out in this stuff so keep a sharp eye out for it.Good luck.

 

[Ted]

options

NiceWhat were your options going down the coast of NJ? I know it's difficult to cruise the NJ ICW because of air draft. Are there easy inlet/anchorages to make this a 2 or 3 day trip if necessary?Thanks for the reports

 

[Chuck15486]

Options for Ted

When we made the trip last year we broke the NJ coast up into smaller legs. Granted because of the lack of wind we motored most of the way but the stops were as follows:Sandy Hook to Mannasquan, NJ about 5 hoursMannasquan, NJ to Atlantic City, NJ about 10 hoursAtlantic City, NJ to Cape May, NJ about 6 hoursBarnaget Inlet is about 28 mile south of Mannasquann but several guide books and some locals cautioned us that it could be a very tricky stop.

 

[Franklin]

Well...he hasn't replied yet

and it's been two days so I'm assuming he is trying to shoot for the Chesapeake Bay. If he had a good wind he might have made it. I sure hope so because the rain is about dead on him...just another few more hours and it's going to get wet for a long long time. He's gotta be dead tired by now and worried as to what the system will bring. I'm off to bed now. I hope to hear from him tomorrow.

 

[Franklin]

Cape Hatteras

Isn't that a very dangerous area? If so, I hope he's not trying for that. I would hate to think of him being there and being hit by 50 knots of wind.

 

[Ross]

the danger at Cape Hatteras is shoal water out for

twenty-five or thirty miles. If you stand well off 50-60 miles the is no danger but with strong wind and shoal water you can get breaking surf thwenty miles off shore.

 

[Scott]

Not going around Cape Hatteras

When I chatted with Phil when he first arrived, he said he had no intention of going around the Cape (Graveyard of the Atlantic). He planned on getting to Norfolk and taking the ICW from there down through North Carolina and South Carolina at least.It sounded like he intended to go on the outside from Cape May to Norfolk if the weather permitted but he was considering going up the Delaware to canal over to the head of the Chesepeake if weather was not good. He was pretty anxious to get further south since he had more experience with cold weather on the Chesepeake last year than he enjoyed!I don't think there is much safe haven on the coast between Cape May and Norfolk and it would be another long overnight trip. Since Phil arrived in Cape May on Sunday morning and wanted time to rest up, my guess is that he is still there or taking the Chesepeake Route. Yesterday would have been a georgeous, tempting day to start out since it was warming up and there was a nice breeze from the west, but this morning is a different story. He'd be out in 20 knots or higher from the east, or southeast as you get further south, and it would be cold and wet from the rain and spray! I suppose that if they took a very brief rest and headed out Sunday afternoon they may have had a good weather window, but that's not allowing for much sleep!It sounds like Lois is a new to sailing, so it would be a tough ride on the Atlantic this morning! Those are some beautiful pictures, Phil! We're looking forward to your report!

 

[Jack Hart]

Thanks for keeping us informed.

Hi Phil, if you are keeping up with this post; thanks for letting us enjoy your trip with you.If you are in the ditch south of Elizabeth City, NC in the next few days call me at 828-310-8111, me and my fiance would love to treat you and Lois to lunch or dinner if you stop for a little bit down through there. We are headed to the Outer Banks tomorrow, back on Saturday.Jack HartSEA-YA!

 

[tom]

Damn I hate getting old

Sailed Saturday by myself on Wheeler lake in northern Alabama. The rail was in the water much of the time. Overall a great day of sailing. But Sunday morning I could hardly move!!! Very stiff and I slept at the dock. Phil's a better man than me. I sailed sunday but it wasn't as windy and my wife joined me for the day. It will take some serious effort to get into shape for a long offshore passage. Good luck Phil I am green with envy.Tom

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

I spoke to Phil on Sun Nite.....I think

I spoke to Phillip the other night, I think it was Sun nite (I'm having a 'senior moment'). He was still at Cape May recovering. And yes, Lois is new to sailing.I think his biggest problem is keeping warm behing the wheel. I think he partially conquered that by using the auto pilot and sitting partially in the cabin at the hatchway entrance. Remember, we live south of I-10, or close to it. I think Phillip lives about 1 mile north of I-10. It still qualifies us as sub-tropical people. Tom....Phil is in very good physical condition as far as I could tell. Not a drop of fat on him. He did fall from his mast a little over a year ago and recovered from that.Phillip is either 67 or 69, I can never remember which. Not a kid anymore, but still hanging in there. He is also one hell of a boat mechanic, although not by trade. Im convinced he can fix anything with a some bailing wire and a roll of duct tape.