LAT: N 39° 23.0'
LON: W 75° 20.8'
SLOW TIMES 40s, mostly sunny, winds NW 16-25 kts
today's sunset
today's moonrise
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Calm Rivers Eclipse Rough Seas

Captain's Log

900 - After sleeping in we get ready and head out of Utsch's Marina and into the Cape May Canal.
1010 - We get out of the canal and are tossed about in the brown waves. It is far from fun for awhile.
1120 - The sea starts settling a bit.
1300 - We are through the larger part of the bay and are close to land again.
1500 - Inside the Cohansey River we enjoy the new landscape and the mellow cruising.
1545 - Gently nestled in a river that runs through a marsh we set our anchor outside Greenwich, NJ. Not to be confused with Greenwich, CT.
Arggg me maties, a clear night and full moon. Lucky fer us, there be no Werefish.


The Cappy says: "Click the location up in the top left corner to see a chart of our progress."

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Slowly winds her way through the curvy Cohansey River.

Winter Hot On Our Trail


Run Slowly Run!


Henry David Thoreau - Guest Editor

Excited to move on we left this morning knowing that it would probably be a little rough in the Delaware Bay. We had heard it can be worse than the Jersey Coast, and with enough wind from the NW it keeps the going slow and sloppy. There was a small craft advisory for the day (which we hear on the VHF radio or read at noaa.gov) but we wanted to leave Cape May and we took off anyway planning to cruise at least for the morning.

The first part of the trip was through the Cape May Canal which was calm and pretty easy. Things were looking good until we started getting closer to the mouth, into the Delaware Bay. There was a ferry dock in a small space of water and other boats were trying to get through at the same time. One boat hoarded the narrow channel so we had to move to the side and then a ferry ended up turning in front of us (they always cut in front of us!) which made another middle sized boat lose control while in the ferry's wake and head in our direction. Oy! After all that we got through the mouth only to find some of the worst seas we'd seen yet. We considered turning back but thought that turning at that point would be a worse thing to do (since we'd then be taking the waves on the side as we turned) and hopefully the upper half of the Bay would be less hectic. Luckily, we were right.

An hour later we were enjoying a fine day of cruising. The sun was out and the waves had settled down. As the Delaware Bay got narrower there were more things to look at and, though it was too cold to venture outside, we were delighted at how things had turned out and to be headed inland to calmer waters.

We got out the binoculars and started looking for the relatively easy-to-miss Cohansey River entrance. Once inside and once we were sure the depths were ok, we took a look around us and realized that this was one of the most beautiful parts of our journey so far. Winding through a marsh, our only company were birds. It was reminiscent of taking a canoe up an inlet, turning often and looking around for wildlife. [Sigh. -Ed.]

We were on our way to Greenwich which we read to be a small historic town where the only "commercial" building was the post office... After a final bend in the river, we found two marinas nestled down in the marsh grasses, the first featuring a rad UFO parked in the yard. Just past, we dropped our anchor, and after a bit of dragging it around, it bit strong into the river bed, and we were happily at rest. This conclusion to our day's cruise was a pleasant contrast to numerous frustrating attempts to anchor the day before. A full moon and lunar eclipse were on tap for the evening and that, we thought, is what cruising is all about.

We didn't take the time to lower the dinghy and row to shore, so we cant rate Greenwich and its "Ye Great Street" (supposedly full of old Victorian houses), but the anchorage was splendid, and we give the river 4 and half propellers.

Fun Facts!



We have a Furuno M821, 24 nautical mile, radar. It sends a high frequency radio pulse from a spinning transmitter which bounces off objects within .125 nm to 24 nm. This is most helpful in fog to let us know where other boats, buoys and land are, or to draw our attention to flocks of birds migrating which it picks up.

Animal of the Day
When you think of a vulture, you're probably thinking of a Turkey Vulture. People are usually familiar with them since they enjoy hovering above highways. It is a large bird, with a wing span of 6 feet and has a small naked red head and black feathers. Truly a sinister looking bird. Turkey Vultures love dead animals and love awkwardly soaring (though it is a good flier) in their tell tale shallow "v" shape.

Grub Report
Our special for tonight was: Near East Creative Grains Roasted Pecan and Garlic Blend with Brown Rice, Pearled Wheat and Bulgur; Botto's Italian Sweet Sausage With Broccoli Rabe and Cheese; and a Martin Farms, Golden Acres Acorn Squash.
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