We are anchored in familiar waters in Cape May, N.J. It’s a very quiet night, not a wisp of wind, about 15 boats in the anchorage along with Dragonfly. On such a quiet night it’s hard to believe that last year we waited out very strong winds for two days in this same spot.
As expected, weather continues to play a big part in deciding our pace but this year we are on less of a schedule so we have waited out the most stormy and uncomfortable “wind on the nose” days as they presented themselves, and also taken the time to visit with friends & family often along the way.
Still, whenever the temperature dips we look at one another and exclaim “we need to get south”. Well, Cape May is the first town south of the Mason Dixon line, so we are almost there!
Rick reminded me earlier today that we went all the way from a point south of here to Marblehead in one leg on our trip home last June – we were on a mission! To review or course to date: Marblehead to Scituate, MA to Cuttyhunk, MA to Wickford, RI to Bristol, RI to Montauk, NY to Westbrook, CT to Milford, CT to City Island, NY to Manhattan to Cape May. We have had a number of beautiful days when we lathered up with sunscreen and a number of days when we layered up in long johns, multiple jackets and fleece hats. The longest leg to date was the 26 hour leg from NYC to Cape May covering about 151 miles; the shortest, a few hours to go the 12 miles from Wickford to Bristol. We have had some very fast sails with perfect wind and some very slow trips motoring with wind in front of us all the way.
We seemed to have stepped right back into “cruising mode” even after a very fun 3 months ashore. I am more at ease than I was last time this year, and more trusting of the boat as a result of all the miles last year. Unfortunately, Rick continues spending many hours in the engine compartment, solving one problem after another – it’s frustrating as it is only the third week of our trip.
So, that brings you up to date with Dragonfly’s current whereabouts. FYI, we have started updating our position via the ham radio, so you can once again look for us using the URL
Interesting factoid we just read in a scuba magazine ( in anticipation of our upcoming underwater adventures): More people were killed last year by vending machines than sharks.
Take it easy.
