Sunset in Great Salt Pond, Block Island
Sunset in Great Salt Pond, Block Island

We ended up staying in Block Island for a few days. Initially because there wasn’t much wind for sailing, and then because squally weather was forecast for Saturday afternoon/evening, which we did not want to encounter. Therefore, we were able to relax a little, enjoy some more paddle boarding and walking along the beautiful sandy beach on the east side of the island, start planning what needs to done before our next trip south, ….. and enjoy some pretty sunsets.  We prepared to leave as soon as the squalls had passed as a northerly wind was forecast for at least the first part of our trip south.  However, by time the squalls were over, it was foggy and dark so we opted to wait until first light.  The sunrise was quite spectacular that morning…

Sunrise over Block Island
Sunrise over Block Island

It felt strange to be back to just two of us onboard again.  We did 3 hour watches which worked out just fine, though I did miss the chat in the middle of the night to keep me alert during my watches.  We had sails up for almost the whole passage, but about 2/3 of the time we were motor-sailing.  Perhaps the most pleasant sailing was as we approached the mouth of the Hudson when we were beating.  Since the sea was calm and the wind around 10 knots, we could point fairly high but our velocity made good towards our destination was way less than 6 knots. The latter speed we use for passage planning purposes, and if our speed drops much below 5 kts, it’s time for the iron genny. We didn’t encounter as many commercial fishing vessels or shipping compared with the trip north, perhaps because it was a Sunday or perhaps because we passed Long Island in daylight this time so the fishing boats, and their blaze of lights and erratic maneuvering, were less scary.

We had debated pushing on up the Delaware River to the C&D Canal but decided to take a break and stop in Cape May. CM has a good protected anchorage.  Having arrived here around 6:45 pm, a cool beer (or two) went down rather well while watching the sinking sun and listening to the sounds of taps and the trainees voices at the nearby Coastguard training station.

Sunset in Cape May
Sunset in Cape May

Cape May is an active port and because we are anchored close to the mouth, we see all the comings and goings, both out to sea and to a lesser degree, up the Intracoastal Waterway.  We have seen plenty sports fishing boats but interestingly, more whale-watching boats than I had expected as well as a few commercial fishing boats, a few yachts, etc.  We actually spotted our first whale on the way here but it wasn’t quite as impressive as I had hoped; we just saw it blow, then saw it’s hump so it was hard to say how big was. We also spotted a couple of sharks and some fish, maybe bluefish, jumping quite wildly, possibly being chased by tuna.

Tomorrow morning we plan to catch the tide and head up the Delaware Bay, transiting the C&D canal later in the evening. We should be back in Worton Creek by Thursday morning.