Early in the morning, we were up and ready to move into the Utsch's Marina. We really didn't have a real reason to move to the Marina; we were enjoying the anchorage. However, we had made reservations and had already paid for one night. So we weighed the anchor and headed over to the Marina. After we settled in and visited with the Loopers that were there, we decided to rent bicycles and ride to the beach. Oops! I forgot to mention that is was in the 90s! It really wasn't all that bad though. Cape May is a really nice little beach town. It says that it's been a summer tourist destination for nearly two centuries. The town itself is filled with old Victorian architecture with quaint little houses and really interesting shops. There's a pedestrian mall and boardwalk. A lot of the houses have been converted to bed and breakfast inns. We road to the beach which was beautiful. We wanted to ride on to the lighthouse at Cape May Point, but it was another three miles and it was really hot. So we stopped off at a little beach bar to cool down. Had a couple of drinks and I went to the t-shirt shop next door. Mike was happy to wait in the air conditioned bar. After that we rode around some more and decided to go back to the boat where it was cooler! We stopped along the way at a Marine Supply store to buy new charts. Ours ran out here in Cape May. Kind of important, huh!
Marina was really filling up. There was a shark tournament this weekend. I guess it's a really big deal! Our neighbor told us that there will be well over 200 boats in the tournament. Big money and boats come from all over. Wish we could be around to see the weigh in! Forgot to mention that Larry, our neighbor, was flying a huge rainbow flag. He claimed that his buddies hung it one night and he's deliberately leaving it there to bug them. I have to admit I really liked Cape May. I was surprised to find such a cool spot in New Jersey.
Trident, Jeremiah and NautiNell held Happy Hour on the dock. There was lots of stories and laughter. We then walked up a short ways to the Lobster House Restaurant. Had a great evening visiting with everyone.
The next morning consisted of watching the weather and waiting on our mail. Trident was staying another day, but we were anxious to get going. While waiting, Mike messed about the boat and I baked cookies. Guess I was feeling a little domestic. Jeremiah and NautiNell headed out around noon with plans to anchor out at Big Egg Harbor. We were told by the guides that there was good anchorage there. However when we got there it was looking a little hairy. In fact as were were heading toward the bridge, it was looking a little scary. Then a message came on the VHF from a boat in the area telling us that we should not approach that area. The storms had really messed it up and he guaranteed that we would run aground. I don't know who you were, Captain but I greatly appreciate that information! A few minutes later another boat came on the radio and told us of a good anchorage near Atlantic City. Just a few more miles. We anchored in a small basin just off Rum Point. Perfect!! Jeremiah, NautiNell, Aurora (the ones that helped us out) and another boat were the only ones here.
We were right across from the Trump Building. It is has a very large LED sign that fills the entire side of the building. Along with the other skyline lit up in the dark, it was gorgeous. Now, we did know that possible thunderstorms were in the forecast. We prepared as much as we could. Then right after dinner, it hit. We rocked and we rolled!! It was very unnerving! It was very exciting! Although Mike was continually checking on it, our anchor held throughout the entire evening. We had about three different storms pass through. Not sure Jeremiah will anchor again with us. This is one of the few times they have anchored.
The early morning found a beautiful sunrise and peaceful waters. We headed out to Barnegat Bay. We knew that more storms were still in the forecast. We decided that if we could find a fairly cheap marina, we would stop and possibly spend a couple of days until the weather cleared. Well, we found one. Only a $1.00 a foot. Not bad! It was really tough getting in to it. The inlet is really shallow. Even though it's marked fairly well, it was still hard to stay in the channel. The state of New Jersey lacks in dredging its channels. We finally found the way to the marina but only after we took out some guy's fishing lines. He was fishing on the seawall along with several people. Most of them pulled in their lines when they saw us coming. After all, we had to stay snug close to the wall to have enough water to pass. He didn't like it one bit. He was the "typical" New Jersey guy yelling at us and throwing around his hands. He didn't have any nice things to say about us. Jeremiah came by after us and he was still giving it to us. Jeff said that he was using words he had never heard before! Oh well……… Forget about it!!!
We finally made it to the marina only to be greeted pretty much by dumb and dumber when it came to helping us in. Actually, we were okay – we were in a cheap marina – safe from the weather and could stay till Monday without a problem. A few hours later, in comes Moonstruck! Doug and Judy have a Catamaran. They had met Jeremiah along the way and wanted to party with them again. They had made it here from Cape May in six hours. It took us two days!!! They are a hoot!
After visiting with everyone on Jeremiah, we all walked over to Michael's on the Bay for dinner. It is a true New York Italian type restaurant. We didn't know it but it was BYOB. So Michael had his son drive the guys back to our boats to get out drinks. Now that's service. The food was great! What a great night!
We woke up to another gloomy day. Mike took the dinghy out fishing. I hung around and caught up on some things that needed to be done. Jeff and Linda invited us over to their boat for dinner. Linda is true blue Italian. And what a cook she is! Meatballs and linguini! Wow! We ate entirely too much and drank entirely too much wine. But what fun! Another great night in a cheap marina. Perfect!
Well, it's still crappy out this morning. Moonstruck decided to leave anyway. They're faster than us so the waves are as much an issue as they are to us. Jeremiah is even slower than us so they definitely didn't want to leave yet. We stayed with the original plan and hopefully we will leave out in the morning. In the meantime, Mike is catching some crabs! Now what am I going to do with them!!!
Stay tuned!
Till next time
Admiral "C"
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