Day 2, Year 8: Passage to Cape May, New Jersey, Day 2
Date: Monday, November 5, 2012
Weather: Totally Overcast AM, Partly Sunny PM; Temp 47 degrees F
Wind: N18-20 Gusting to 23 Knots Overnight; Turning NW 12-15 Mid-day
Latitude: 39 24.913 N
Longitude: 073 55.053 W
Location: Off-shore Little Egg Inlet, New Jersey
Just as Herb on South Bound II told us yesterday afternoon, around 7 pm last night the weather changed drastically. The front went through and the wind shifted to the NNW blowing 15-23 knots all through the night. The engine went off and the sailing began. With the switch in the winds, the seas started coming from NW which hit us on the starboard hind quarter. There were periods of 15-18 knots, then periods of 18-23. Most of the time we were on a beam reach, so it was a rowdy night and morning. Around noon today, things settled a bit. The wind is still coming from the NNW but it is down to 10-15 which makes for a much nicer beam reach ride. In addition to the rowdiness last night, the temperature was miserable. Actually the temperature has stayed around 47, but with the 20 knot winds blowing under the cockpit enclosure, it was VERY cold. We wrapped in blankets and made it just fine, but it is not our favorite way to sail. IF the wind stays as it is currently we will reach the Cape May before sunrise and enter the Delaware Bay. The nor’easter that was coming is predicted to much stronger than expected with possible hurricane force winds along the coast, so we are going to as fast as we can to get into the Chesapeake Bay and hope things are better there. This afternoon Herb said the high winds will arrive on Wednesday morning. We should either be in Chesapeake City or in the northern Chesapeake Bay if we decide to just keep going. That will depend on weather reports we get between now and then.
Note: We just had a scare with the auto pilot. We were swinging from 120 to 320 degrees. We finally figured it out. The remote control was low on battery power. Once we took it below and plugged it in, things have been fine. Whew! I really didn’t want to hand steer tonight!
