Remember I told you we were going to have to pick up the pace to get Alex to NYC in time to see the city and fly out on the 27th. This is turning into a costly schedule for sure. We have now done 3 states in 3 days. Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Yes we are already at the Jersey Shore and looking for Snooki! If she is here old Alex will find her. I bought him a crab net today to help catch her.
This morning we got out of Delaware City around 0800 and as soon as we were in the Delaware River we hit it. The tide was rising and we had waited to get more water in the marina to leave. There are 5-6 foot tides here and you just cannot go at dead low tide.
We were running all morning against an incoming tide which slowed us down to around 21 mph but in less than 3 hours were in Cape May, NJ.
Along the way we passed numerous huge container ships going out to the ocean and met others coming in. It was like running through a land of giants. Alex slept most of the way. Jan will not let me wake him up to see ships or lighthouses. She believes in letting sleeping dogs lie. I believe in poking them with a stick!
We took on fuel at South Jersey Marina and found out the cost of running fast. We last took on fuel at Dennis Point Marina near St. Mary’s. That was just inside the mouth of the Potomac. We have run for approximately 30 hours since leaving DC and burned 378 gallons of diesel. That is 12.6 gallons per hour! Today we paid $3.79 per gallon. You do the math. It makes my tummy hurt.
You know you are in South Jersey when they pick your pocket and you never even feel it. After paying for 203 gallons of fuel, our largest fill up yet, we found out we were now staying at the most expensive marina we have ever docked at with a price tag of $2.99 per foot plus $15 for power. I nearly had a stroke but we leave here first thing in the morning. We learned the marina next door is $1.75 per foot but not as fancy. I can do with less fancy.
Late this afternoon the mega yachts began arriving and now we know why the high prices. Those folks don’t have to ask the price. We should have. Of course they cater to small boats too.
Now to our dilemma. From here you either run out into the Atlantic Ocean and up the coast to NYC over 130 miles away or go up the Jersey Canal where it is shallow and no-one hardly ever goes. Why you ask is this even a question? Because today and tomorrow there are four foot waves out in the Atlantic and once you commit out there then you have few options up the coast to get back in. The Commander is working on the weather and we will confer tonight around 2200 to determine the best course of action. Just in case Alex’s mother is reading this, Cbay can handle it and he thinks it is a roller coaster. We would not take unnecessary chances. What we are looking at is wave interval. These are not breakers but rollers and it is fairly easy to get in a rhythm handling them.
Stay tuned tomorrow to see what we did or just watch the SPOT and you will know as soon as we do.
