Oct. 8, 2026 Non-Negotiable - We Make it to Lewes, DE.

 Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026  Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE    26 miles and 3.2 hours

Outstanding night's sleep.  Never even woke up worried about or needing to check the anchor. Planning for an 8AM departure as we want to arrive in Lewes with time to start exploring.   Short trip - just a few hours. We'll use the Cape May canal route which ultimately drops us out into the Delaware Bay.  Takes a little longer due to no wake zones but keeps us off the ocean.  Anchor comes up with some soft mud that washes off easily.  One last look at this nice anchorage and we're on our way.  Need to wait for a guy fishing in the middle of the narrow channel to get out of our way before we can get to the canal.  He finally relents as we edge up closer and closer to his 16' jon boat.  Pass by the Cape May commercial fishing fleet and under the bridge.  Pass the Coast Guard station and the sailboats still anchored there. 

Morning view of the housed shoreline protecting us from the SW winds 

A few of the colorful ships of the Cape May fishing fleet

 On the Delaware Bay end of the canal is the terminal for the Lewes to Cape May ferry.  One is departing at 9:30 and we're right on schedule to intercept it.  Just as we pass behind his berth, we hear the horn blast. Long-short-short-short.  He's reversing out of the slip.   We both take the same heading out into the bay before he finally overtakes us.  Wind is still blowing SW - now across the open bay and kicking up some waves.  Wind will be dying down, and the fetch will drop off making the final half of the trip nicer.  For now - more wind-blown spray with every wave.  Getting tired of these conditions, but glad they quickly diminish.  Almost calm waters as we navigate between the harbor of refuge breakwater and the ice breaker rock piles before entering Roosevelt Inlet. 

Lewes - Cape May ferry overtaking us in the middle of the Delaware Bay

From there it's a scenic 2-mile cruise down the man-made Lewes - Rehobeth Canal to Lewes.  There's a strong outgoing current as we head for our reserved dock space.  A bit daunting. It's a 200' side tie dock with the 100' Cheoy Lee yacht Prince of Tides already secured.  Our spot is the 60' of open dock in front of it.  Beyond the dock is the base of the Route 9 drawbridge.  I make my approach and simply can't get the boat against the dock.  Makes no sense to me figuring that I'm pushing into the current. Getting the boat to point just slightly towards the dock and the current should work to push me towards it.  Decide to back away and try again.  Then I see the issue.  Water is rushing out under the bridge but then creates a huge eddy and water swirls backwards along the dock.   The trick is powering up-current strongly enough to get to the dock while also being ready to quickly back up as the reversing current takes hold. We get it done just fine on our second try impressing the spectators watching from the bridge and even get a "Good Job" from the dockmaster.  

Lewes-Rehobeth canal heading into Lewes

Some of the displays as part of the Maritime Museum

Approaching our dock space in front of Prince of Tides. 
  I just kept thinking "Don't hit that boat.  Don't hit that bridge base."

Safely secured at the Lewes town dock

Big decision once we get here.  How long to stay. Certainly not a one nighter, but there's a good weather window Saturday if we want to keep moving along.  Alternative is to wait out rain and winds from remnants of hurricane Isaias but that puts us here until Tuesday.  Cute town, multiple museums, farmers market Saturday, good secure location with power.  We opt to stay put for the extra days.

Journey for Oct. 8, 2026

Oct. 7, 2026 Rounding the New Jersey Coast

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026   Great Kills, NY to Cape May, NJ  135 miles and 11.9 hours

Enjoyed a pleasant but short night's sleep on the mooring in Great Kills until the alarm sounded at 4:30AM ensuring we would be dropping the mooring lines for our 5AM departure. It is DARK out.  No moon to help light the way.  Martha's on the bow using a portable spotlight to illuminate the channel markers to help direct us as I'm driving by instrument with my face glued to the navigation systems and our planned route.  We go slow, idling along at a leisurely 1000 rpm's for the first hour as we cross over Raritan Bay. Finally starting to get the first signs of light as we round the corner of Sandy Hook onto the open ocean. 

Dark morning as we feel our way across Raritan Bay

Sun makes it's way above the horizon to officially start the day

Seas are good as we start the day just as forecast.  Long offshore run ahead. Always the longest travel day and mileage we encounter on our trips. We're running less than 3 miles offshore, so land is always in sight. Once the sun breaks the horizon we throttle up and run at a little stronger 1500 rpm's for some extra speed.  Aided at this point by a slight positive current we're making decent time. Pass the usual mileposts as noted by amusement parks, inlets or buildings. Asbury Park, Seaside Heights, Barnegat Inlet, etc. Keeping an eye on our projected arrival time and opt to run on plane for an hour. 2300 rpm's and burning fuel but insuring we arrive well before dark.  Southwest winds start building as we approach Absecon Inlet and Atlantic City. Increasing 2' short period waves on the bow.  Not uncomfortable but once again we're pelted with windblown spray.   Bump speed up for another hour to get us on plane.  Partly to smooth the ride and partly to just get to Cape May Inlet quicker.  Make our way past Ocean City, Avalon, and Wildwood. Finally reach the inlet.  Water flattens out as soon as we enter the protection of the entrance inlet breakwaters.

Casino's at Atlantic City are a good landmark from quite a distance

These two search and rescue vessels conducting training were about
 the most interesting thing we saw all day

 The normal anchorage here is inside the inlet in front of the Coast Guard station.   There are already multiple sailboats anchored there.  We're still skeptical of the area based on our bad experience last year when a squall came through in the middle of the night causing our anchor to drag.   I had researched an alternative anchorage called Sunset Lake.  A few miles away and past a draw bridge, but we have plenty of sunlight left and the bridge clearance won't require it to open for us. The entrance is narrow and shallow but then opens to fairly big anchorage area. We have good shoreline protection from the SW winds that will continue overnight thanks to the houses lining the water.  Depths at just 10' mean no need to put out excess anchor chain.  Even better, there is room for 10-20 boats yet only us and one sailboat are here.  No real current and hardly a ripple of a wave on the water. Believe we will make this our go-to Cape May anchorage. Location is aptly named as we have a wonderful sunset to end the day while enjoying the last of our Frank and Sal's Italian dinners over a glass of wine.  Long day, early morning, full belly and secure location at anchor, so we're in bed early and sleep very soundly. 

The lone sailboat we share the anchorage with at Sunset Lake

Sunset almost duplicates the sunrise.  Good end to a long day.

                                                                     Journey for Oct. 7, 2026                                                                        (Forgot to start NEBO, so track is a little short)

Oct 6, 2026 NYC Here We Come - Again!

 Tues. Oct. 6, 2026  Eaton Neck Anchorage to Great Kills, NY Mooring  57 Miles and 5.5 Hours

What a difference a day makes!!   Winds were still running a good 10-15mph as we raised anchor at 8 AM, but forecast was for rapidly decreasing winds and reduced seas.  Reduced seas were also aided by the narrowing width of the Long Island Sound as we approached the city.   Yeah, waves still 2' and we took some spray on the windshield for the first hour or so before things settled down.  Nothing like yesterday's misery.  Pretty ideal timing for our transit down the East River today.  We've got a favorable current all day and particularly favorable as we head towards and through Hells Gate.  Notoriously terrible if you catch it full force against you. Once we enter the narrower waters starting at the Throgs Neck Bridge, we're picking up several mph even with reduced rpms on the engines.

Our Marine Trawler Owners Assoc. burgee took a beating over the past few days

Passing Execution Rocks Lighthouse

Passing sailboat Rubycon as we head for the Throgs Neck Bridge

Stepping Stones Lighthouse

Hells Gate has us rushing through with an extra 5 mph's.  Kind of sad, but cruising by NYC via boat has sort of lost its novelty.  Becomes more of a chore with constant attention to AIS and the multiple fast ferries crisscrossing all over the river.  Seen the sights before.  Bridges, buildings, parks, ferries, UN, Empire State, ships, tugs, etc.  Kind of just want to get through it all and on to Great Kills (Staten Island) to grab a mooring ball and relax. 

For more blog posts and pictures from previous transits through NYC click the links below.

Headed north on our Great Loop Trip:

On the Water with As You Wish: June 4 Going through NYC

On the Water with As You Wish: June 9 More NYC then up the Hudson to Kingston,NY

On the Water with As You Wish: June 10 It's all about the CRUMBCAKE

Headed north on our Triangle Loop Trip:

As You Wish - Our Adventures: June 25-26, 2024 New York City and Haverstraw Cove.

Headed south after our Down East Trip:

As You Wish - Our Adventures: Friday Sept. 26, 2025 Through NYC a New Way

As a kid in NY we heard ads on the radio to tour NYC on the Circle Line. 
Made it sound like a fantasy boat ride. Always wanted to go, but never got to. 
 Instead, we rode the Staten Island Ferry back and forth for an adventure.

Distinctive Art Deco styled Chrysler Building in the background

U.N not in session so we got to travel the normal western branch of East River

Either the Williamsburg Bridge or the Manhattan Bridge.  Not sure anymore.

Brooklyn Bridge with One World Trade Center in background

Lady Liberty

Red, White and Blue tug. 

Leaving NYC in our wake

 With our 8 AM departure and the help of the current we make it there a little after 1 PM.   Gives me time to catch the launch to shore and walk over to Frank and Sal's Italian Market.  Pick up the usual.  NY Crumb Cake for breakfast, Italian cookies for snacks, and then prepared foods for a couple of dinners.  Chicken Parmesan in vodka sauce, meatballs, two slabs of lasagna, and some fresh bread. Quick cruise back to the boat on the launch   Chill while posting pictures and finalizing yesterday's eventful blog. Dinner. Sunset. Call it an early evening as we're both exhausted and we'll be up extra early for our 5AM departure to get around the NJ coast.  

Verrazano Narrows Bridge exiting the Hudson River
as we head to Great Kills. 

Forts on both sides of the narrows protected NYC throughout numerous wars. 

Twilight from our mooring looking back at Verrazano Narrows Bridge

Nighttime look back at the city

Journey for Oct. 6, 2026

Oct. 5, 2026 Complete Change of Plan and Today's Weather Made us Pay

 Monday, Oct. 5, 2026   Essex to Eaton Neck Anchorage   68 miles and 6.4 hours

Musings by Martha:  Did you ever go to bed thinking the entire next day had a set plan/schedule, only to wake up and everything suddenly changed?  That was my Monday morning.  We had reservations and paid for three nights at the Essex Dauntless anchorage.  The plans (in my mind) were to meander around town most of the day, maybe stopping at a bakery and getting a fancy coffee, checking out some of the shops, then have dinner at the Griswold Inn and stay for their Monday night singing of shanty songs.  We had been told about these Monday night gatherings when we drove up to Essex by car back in early August, so we've been looking forward to stopping on the south-bound trip and making sure we were there on a Monday night.  The usual 7am alarm goes off and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day out, with the sun streaming in the portholes of the stateroom.  At some point close to 8:00, John poses the question of "if you had to choose between the shanty song night here or stopping at Lewes, Del, which would you choose?"  I actually want to do both...but apparently the weather forecast is really REALLY good for traveling down the coast of NJ on Wednesday and if we stay another night, we'll miss that nice weather window and for a 12-hour trip, it's certainly nice to have ideal weather.  John knows how much I want to stop at Lewes, so I tell him that one is non-negotiable...I'm willing to head out now and we will come back and visit Connecticut next year, by car, instead of traveling all the way up here by boat and we'll coerce our friends, Rich and Lynn, into experiencing shanty night with us. I suppose the point of my rambling about this is that well, this is boating. Things can change on a dime, plans can change on a dime, the weather basically controls your decisions and how many times have I heard John say "there's a reason it's called pleasure boating".  I appreciate all the diligence he takes in making sure all the traveling is as comfortable as it can be, but changes to plans can come with repercussions.

All of today's weather forecasts say 2' waves and 10mph westerly winds, so we scramble to get ready to leave and drive from the flybridge.  As we head out the Connecticut River, the Old Lyme RR bridge is open, but as we are about 10 minutes from arriving at the bridge, the bridge tender hails us that he's sorry, but he has to close the bridge and will reopen as soon as he can.  Not a big problem, we maybe waited about 10 more minutes and then it re-opened.  We get through the bridge and out into the Long Island Sound and it becomes very obvious that the winds are more than 10mph and waves pretty consistent 3 footers.  The winds carry the spray over the bow and even up to the flybridge, so we make the decision to run from inside the pilothouse instead to stay dry. 

Essex disappearing in our wake as we leave the mooring field on a beautiful morning

Biggest concern going down river is the glare off the calm water

Got to the I-95 hiway bridge when the bridge tender called that he needed to lower
 the bridge.  We crept up expecting to see an Amtrack train pass.  All we saw
was one of those pickups with the drop-down railroad wheel attachments cross
over before he lifted it back up.

Passing by the lighthouses that guard the breakwater at the river entrance. 
Still looking pretty idealic!

Back to the usual blogger - John:  We're out on the Long Island Sound and I'm wondering "what happened to all those beautiful cruising conditions we had on the sound when we were headed north?" By the time we're 2 hours into our trip conditions are nasty.  Waves are on the bow, wind is on the bow, and we have a 2 mph current on the bow slowing us down.  Our usual 1400 rpm's and 10.5 mph is only making 8.5 mph.  This will make for a LONG day.  Bump rpm's up to 1700 hoping for better speed and a more comfortable ride. Works for a while but as the winds continue to build so do the seas.  Coast Guard Special Marine Weather broadcast comes on saying small craft advisory is out due to possible gusts to 35mph.  That was not on ANY of my weather info this AM!.   About every 3rd wave sends spray onto the windshield. We're headed to the anchorage at Eaton's Neck.  Used it before so know we'll have good protection from waves but will feel the wind which is now forecast to continue overnight.  Decide we just want to get there quick as possible so push the throttles to cruising speed at 2300 rpm. Gets us to 15 mph and a bit smoother ride but kicks up more spray which the wind is now catching and tossing all over the boat. At times the spray from 2-3 waves in succession tosses water so furiously on the windshield the wipers on high can't even clear it.  We see two boats all day.  A charter head fishing boat that is smartly headed back for shore and the ferry from Bridgeport to Port Jefferson.  A couple other boats show up on AIS but are never visible to us.  We beat our way through at cruising speed for three hours and eventually make it to the anchorage. Wind still blowing but just a ripple of a wave as we get the anchor set and give it an extra tug to make sure it's set.   Looking only to the clear blue skies it would appear to be a wonderful cool crisp sunny fall day.  It makes for a wonderful sunset.  But the wind continues to howl after dark. We can feel the boat swinging and tugging on the anchor while the bimini framework rattles with each gust. At 9pm winds are still steady 15+ and gusting over 25.  Set three different anchor alarms just in case we drag in this narrow anchorage.  Despite it being a very physically and mentally draining day there's no good sleep to be had. I'm nervous all night and get up every 2 hours to check our position.  Wake up tired but glad to find everything is fine.  Except that the boat is covered top to bottom in salt.  That's going to require a serious washing at some point.

No pictures taken during the balance of our trip.  Three points of contact
required at all times.  Did get a nice sunset picture once we were anchored.

Journey for Oct. 5, 2026

Oct. 3, 2026 On to Connecticut

Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026   Hadley Harbor to Essex, Conn.  97 miles and 9.0 hours 

Wind had swapped around from SW to NE overnight as expected.  Winds running 10-15 mph.   Glad we opted to move to the mooring ball and didn't need to worry about the anchor as we swing 180 degrees.  Making a crack of dawn departure at 6:30. Anchorage is quiet except for the sound of the halyard slamming against the mast of the sailboat behind us in the wind.   Running from down below in the pilothouse as we're finally out of lobster trap buoy territory. Martha at the controls as we unhook the mooring line and head out.  Dead low tide so navigating through the narrow twisty entrance takes extra caution.  She makes it look easy.  Once clear it's evident the winds are chopping things up.  The thoroughfare that goes out to Woods Hole is notorious for its currents and today's wind against current makes for a confused and choppy ride out into Buzzards Bay.

Coastal Queen made a few passes through the mooring field before
anchoring out. Love that there are people up here with time, money and
 inclination to keep some of these beautiful old wooden boats alive

Just a bit roll-y as we make way past Point Judith Lighthouse

Open water forecast this morning is showing 2-3' swells from the SW with 1-2' waves on top from the NE. Not a good combination for us as we're heading west which simply means we're riding up the swells and then getting pushed around by the waves at our stern.  Expectation is for calmer conditions late morning. Our ride through Buzzards Bay and then the Rhode Island Sound is mainly open water.  Not too many people out but we run across a large fishing trawler coming at us straight to port surrounded by a huge flock of seagulls. He's not dragging nets so normally I would just slow down and pass behind him.  With all those birds around him we opt to gun it and cross just in front of him.  There's a small white section on our journey track showing where this occurred.  

Checking behind us after passing the trawler.  

While our ride is not overly uncomfortable it is frustrating.   We're trying to run a long straight line, but these waves are making the boat wallow almost uncontrollably.  Try using Otto and it's surprising to watch the indicator swing 25 to 30 degrees off track before eventually coming back to center. Only to have the next set of waves set us off course again.   Try my hand at manually steering which seems a little better.  Feeling the movement of the boat and reacting a bit faster but it is exhausting work.  Give up and just succumb to let Otto do the work.  By the time we're approaching Fisher Island we opt to take the inside passage anticipating things would calm down.  Then hug the shoreline to the Connecticut River. Good decision as the moderating winds and protection from swells makes the last few hours of the trip enjoyable. A bit more activity through here.   Check out Taylor Swift's place as we pass by Watch Hill Point.   Several lighthouses along the way and even have two ferries out of New London pass in front of us. 

Perfect little starter home for Taylor and Travis

The 1855 Watch Hill Lighthouse replaced the 1807 lighthouse
which had replaced the original 1745 beacon

The 1884 Latimer Reef Lighthouse  - another "spark plug" light

The 1849 North Dumpling Island and Light are privately owned by
Dean Kamen - inventor of the Segway

Another beautifully maintained wooden boat

Inbound and outbound ferries pass us at the entrance channel into New London

Made it to and through the eastern entrance of the Connecticut River and start heading up.  We have a short wait at the Old Lyme RR bridge until the Amtrack train passes. The bascule bridge does a quick lift and we're on our way.   Then under the I-95 bridge and up to Essex. Takes a few minutes to get a lay of the mooring field and find the one marked BDM-30.  Made a little more difficult as the strong current is pulling half the mooring ball onto its side and under the water.  But Martha inches us up perfectly as I grab the pendent and get us secured.   Long day, light dinner, decent sunset, watch Clemson football team get manhandled by Miami.  Call it a day.

Sunset from our mooring in Essex

Sunday afternoon we were able to catch the launch to town.  Rich and Lynn are our neighbors in Richmond Hill.  They're finishing up their stay at their summer cottage here in Connecticut.  Perfect timing for us to be able to get together as they're heading back south Monday!  Picked us up and we headed to the Rusty Rail for a beverage and a bite. Got to hear about their recent trip to Spain and Portugal.  Sounded amazing.  We're looking forward to a return to our land-based house for the winter and getting back into some neighborhood projects and playing pickleball with them.  

John, Rich, Lynn and Martha. 

Journey for Oct. 3, 2026