Day 6, Year 11: Passage to Little River, SC—Bump in the Night
Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Weather: Overcast, Rainy, and Windy; Wind E 20-25 Going SE 15 (in the harbor)
Location: Anchored Off Coast Guard Station, Cape May, NJ
We had a little ‘bump’ in the middle of the night. It jolted Mark and me wide awake and we ran to the cockpit to find another boat sitting right next to our bow. It was a smaller sailboat whose anchor had broken loose. Even though the three people aboard were on deck, they had not been able to keep from hitting us. But they quickly drifted away, started their engine, and drove around the anchorage for a long time trying to find a new spot to anchor for the night. While driving round and round, they came back very close to us to yell that they were sorry. As far as we can tell no damage was done, so all is well. But this afternoon they drove by again to check to make sure we had no problems and said they were going to a marina for the night. I think they just don’t have an anchor strong enough for these winds. The winds got up into the twenty’s last night and this morning and tonight they could be even stronger. We have let out a little more anchor chain and seem to be secure. Most of the boats that were here last night are still here tonight. All of us will sit tight until at least tomorrow afternoon when there might be a chance to head out.
In the meantime, we are doing little jobs. Mark and James checked out the watermaker salt water intake as it just stopped working on the way here. Nothing appeared to be wrong, but when they were done, the watermaker was working again. So that’s good. They took down the ceiling over the galley to work on a 12-volt plug in the cockpit that stopped working. They put it back together and the plug-in is now secure and working. Then they whipped the ends of some lines that were frayed. That was their day. I trimmed Mark’s beard this morning and he cut my hair. And I worked on editing, naming, and uploading photos from the past three days. That was my day.
We will leave here either tomorrow afternoon (Thursday) or Friday morning and head offshore to the mouth of the Chesapeake. We will enter the Chesapeake and pass through Norfolk on our way to Mile 1 of the Intracoastal Waterway. If we leave tomorrow afternoon, we get into Norfolk on Friday evening. In that case, we will stay there and leave on Saturday or Sunday to start down the waterway. If, however, we leave here on Friday morning, we will arrive in the Chesapeake on Saturday morning and continue on down the Intracoastal to Chesapeake, Virginia for Saturday night. We’ll make our decision after listening to the weather tomorrow morning.
It is windy here in Cape May but the temperature has been in the upper 60’s. That has allowed us to spend time up in the cockpit keeping the companionway open. We listened to taps at the Coast Guard Station about a half an hour ago, but Mark and James are still up in the cockpit without jackets on. It will be in the 70’s here tomorrow but back down into the low 60’s when we get to Norfolk. That will feel a little chilly, but really not bad at all for this time of year. We are enjoying the relative warmth. It is time for dinner now, so I’d better send this log and get those tacos on the table.
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| 151028 Day 6 Passage to SC–Whipping Line Ends |
