On Sunday, we took a nice long dinghy ride of the Cape May waterway. The next few pictures are what we saw from the dinghy.
This is a big training area for the Coast Guard
There are lots of jelly fish
And...there are boats of every size and shape. This entire dock was filled with large pleasure fishing boats that go several miles (sometimes over 100 miles) off shore in search of big game fish
Then there are the comericial fishing boats...
This one is unloading his catch...we could not tell what they had caught
There were more concentrated comercial fishing vessels here than anywhere we have seen yet
And, also sightseeing boats as well
This is a large dreging boat in the ICW's channel. When we first came in here last week, I was not sure exactly which way to pass, and actually tried to pass him on the right side, but he sounded his alarm, and told me to stop.
At the time, Deb said, "I wonder why those dreges are not better marked". Then, when we got a little closer, we saw he was perfectly marked (check out the green arrows)...we were the problem.
FYI...people ask how we know we are following the ICW? Every ICW marker has a yellow reflective tape on the marker. If you follow these...you are in the channel.
Here is one on a red day marker...
Here is one on a green day marker
When we got back from our dinghy ride, the dinghy lift on the back of the boat, stopped about 1/2 way down, and would not work. My log tells what I had to do to get it fixed.
On Tuesday, we took a ferry ride to Lewes, De.
These ferry's carry 100 cars, and up to 1000 people
Out in Delaware Bay we passed a large Coast Guard ship. You can also see several ships on the horizon. They are anchored...waiting for a spot to unload in Philadelphia...80 miles away
In Lewes we visited a very old cemetary...Deb loves doing this
Here is a tombstone that markes a lady who was buried in 1707...292 years ago
Our friends Bob and Susan...who have a summer home in Lewes
A great shot off the back of the ferry on our way back to Cape May
Log 169
Day 469
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
6:30 AM EDT
Location: Utsch’s Marina; Cape May, NJ.
Weather: 61 and partly cloudy...a high of 75 today and beautiful
It’s a beautiful morning, here in Cape May. I woke up about 5, and could not go back to sleep, so I’ve been up a while, checking on all the headlines, and looking at the weather for the next few days. We are in an interesting pattern. A high pressure area is all around us, and we have NE winds predicted for the next several days. Normally that would pass, and winds would switch back to the south, but as far as I can see the winds remain NE or ENE.
Sunday...after a relaxing early morning, we put the dinghy in the water, and took a long tour of the area. We had a great time, and I think the pictures tell a great story of what the area is like (at least from the view point of a dinghy). Back at the boat, I had a problem with the dinghy lift. You can see in the picture, it was 1/2 way down in the water, but would not go up, or down. After about an hour of trying to do everything I could, I gave up (for now) and decided I’d have to fix it later (or get help). One of the things I did, was email the company (Freedom Lift) and told them of my issue...hoping they would contact me on Monday to help me diagnose the problem. But, after cleaning up the boat, and taking a shower, I heard a beep, and noticed I had 2 voicemails on my cell phone. It turned out to be 2 calls, from 2 different people at Freedom Lift, trying to help me fix the problem...ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON...that’s customer service. Anyway...I called one of them back, and he agreed with what I had found so far, and suggested one other thing. He thought I might have a bad ground wire...along with a bad solenoid. Not one to let something that needs fixing wait until morning...I went back and tore apart the lift again, and got it working. But, I needed to fix it permanently.
Monday...first thing I dug back into the dinghy lift, and fixed what was really wrong...a bad ground wire. After several trips to the marina store, I had it better than new, and we were back in business. I still think the solenoid is bad, and will order one of them when we get to Baltimore. The rest of the day was spent doing boat chores, that ranged from small fix it projects, to a good inside cleaning. Nothing real exciting...just another good day on a boat.
Tuesday...at 9:30 we took a taxi to the Cape May/Lewes Ferry. About a 10 minute ride from our boat, this ferry takes you from the southern tip of NJ (Cape May) to Lewes (pronounced “Louis”), DE. (a 20 mile, 1 hour and 20 minute run) We have some friends (Bob and Susan Burris...Bob owns, and runs, Burris Logistics) who have a summer home there, and we wanted to see them on our way through this area. We had a great day. The ferry ride was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed a great lunch, at Bob and Susan’s summer home, and they gave us a great tour of Lewes. Lewes is like many of the small east coast towns, with a quaint feel, and a lot of history. We walked the downtown, toured a cemetery that is several hundred years old, and drove around the area to see some WWII bunkers. Back on our boat, later that day, we did have a little scare. We were back a few minutes when Deb got a call on her cell phone, and the caller asked if she had lost her wallet. She checked...and she did. It turned out that as Deb got out of the taxi, her wallet must have fallen out. This boater was walking in the parking lot, and picked it up. He saw one of our boat cards in the wallet, and called her. Bottom line...20 minutes after loosing her wallet, she had it back. We were very fortunate. Great day.
Today and tomorrow...not sure what are exact plans are yet. We have a few things on the list (flounder fishing; trip to West Marine; bike ride into town; relaxing) but not sure in what order. Right now, the weather looks good on Saturday or Sunday for heading up the Delaware Bay. Several folks have left the last couple of days, but I’m sure a few of them have not enjoyed the ride. We...on the other hand...are not in any hurry, and all about comfort. So, we’ll wait for a better time.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
Here is one on a green day marker
When we got back from our dinghy ride, the dinghy lift on the back of the boat, stopped about 1/2 way down, and would not work. My log tells what I had to do to get it fixed.
On Tuesday, we took a ferry ride to Lewes, De.
These ferry's carry 100 cars, and up to 1000 people
Out in Delaware Bay we passed a large Coast Guard ship. You can also see several ships on the horizon. They are anchored...waiting for a spot to unload in Philadelphia...80 miles away
In Lewes we visited a very old cemetary...Deb loves doing thisHere is a tombstone that markes a lady who was buried in 1707...292 years ago
Our friends Bob and Susan...who have a summer home in Lewes
A great shot off the back of the ferry on our way back to Cape May
Log 169
Day 469
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
6:30 AM EDT
Location: Utsch’s Marina; Cape May, NJ.
Weather: 61 and partly cloudy...a high of 75 today and beautiful
It’s a beautiful morning, here in Cape May. I woke up about 5, and could not go back to sleep, so I’ve been up a while, checking on all the headlines, and looking at the weather for the next few days. We are in an interesting pattern. A high pressure area is all around us, and we have NE winds predicted for the next several days. Normally that would pass, and winds would switch back to the south, but as far as I can see the winds remain NE or ENE.
Sunday...after a relaxing early morning, we put the dinghy in the water, and took a long tour of the area. We had a great time, and I think the pictures tell a great story of what the area is like (at least from the view point of a dinghy). Back at the boat, I had a problem with the dinghy lift. You can see in the picture, it was 1/2 way down in the water, but would not go up, or down. After about an hour of trying to do everything I could, I gave up (for now) and decided I’d have to fix it later (or get help). One of the things I did, was email the company (Freedom Lift) and told them of my issue...hoping they would contact me on Monday to help me diagnose the problem. But, after cleaning up the boat, and taking a shower, I heard a beep, and noticed I had 2 voicemails on my cell phone. It turned out to be 2 calls, from 2 different people at Freedom Lift, trying to help me fix the problem...ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON...that’s customer service. Anyway...I called one of them back, and he agreed with what I had found so far, and suggested one other thing. He thought I might have a bad ground wire...along with a bad solenoid. Not one to let something that needs fixing wait until morning...I went back and tore apart the lift again, and got it working. But, I needed to fix it permanently.
Monday...first thing I dug back into the dinghy lift, and fixed what was really wrong...a bad ground wire. After several trips to the marina store, I had it better than new, and we were back in business. I still think the solenoid is bad, and will order one of them when we get to Baltimore. The rest of the day was spent doing boat chores, that ranged from small fix it projects, to a good inside cleaning. Nothing real exciting...just another good day on a boat.
Tuesday...at 9:30 we took a taxi to the Cape May/Lewes Ferry. About a 10 minute ride from our boat, this ferry takes you from the southern tip of NJ (Cape May) to Lewes (pronounced “Louis”), DE. (a 20 mile, 1 hour and 20 minute run) We have some friends (Bob and Susan Burris...Bob owns, and runs, Burris Logistics) who have a summer home there, and we wanted to see them on our way through this area. We had a great day. The ferry ride was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed a great lunch, at Bob and Susan’s summer home, and they gave us a great tour of Lewes. Lewes is like many of the small east coast towns, with a quaint feel, and a lot of history. We walked the downtown, toured a cemetery that is several hundred years old, and drove around the area to see some WWII bunkers. Back on our boat, later that day, we did have a little scare. We were back a few minutes when Deb got a call on her cell phone, and the caller asked if she had lost her wallet. She checked...and she did. It turned out that as Deb got out of the taxi, her wallet must have fallen out. This boater was walking in the parking lot, and picked it up. He saw one of our boat cards in the wallet, and called her. Bottom line...20 minutes after loosing her wallet, she had it back. We were very fortunate. Great day.
Today and tomorrow...not sure what are exact plans are yet. We have a few things on the list (flounder fishing; trip to West Marine; bike ride into town; relaxing) but not sure in what order. Right now, the weather looks good on Saturday or Sunday for heading up the Delaware Bay. Several folks have left the last couple of days, but I’m sure a few of them have not enjoyed the ride. We...on the other hand...are not in any hurry, and all about comfort. So, we’ll wait for a better time.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
