Day 218: Cruise to Atlantic City

Day 218: May 20: Left Chesapeake City bright and early before anyone else was stirring. Cruised onto the C&D Canal under the Chesapeake & Delaware Lift Bridge; a bit of mist and dampness was in the air. 


The C&D Canal into the Delaware River was everything a boater could ask for. Aside from the cold, it was Slick! Glass! Quite a bit of commercial traffic as well as the Army Corps of Engineers and pleasure boaters passing us by!



Long story short, when we arrived in Cape May we made the decision to keep on trucking out onto the ocean and head to Atlantic City. By putting this segment of the trip outside, we would have fewer miles to travel when we head to New York. The inlet was riled, made worse by a large boat racing by us. Although I am pretty used to rough water, having boated on Buzzards Bay, I admit I enjoy the ICW and rivers a bit more. 


Thankfully we were taking the rollers on the bow. Additionally, the stabilizers are finally working so having them on reduced any rocking side to side. We traveled 100 bumpy miles before reaching Atlantic City, rising in the distance. It was a welcome sight. 


Just as we made the turn to port we heard the Coast Guard hailing us. They had received a report of something floating in the water in our location and were asking if we could see anything near a specific pier. John told them we were not familiar with the area so wouldn't know where to look. 

With that conversation over, we pulled into the inlet looking for our anchorage. With a following sea, the boat undulated with the swirling motion on the stern. John slowed down; it was at that moment that we heard a loud banging noise coming from the starboard side. We hoped it was coming from shore but realized it was emanating from us. Our best guess is we might have snagged something like a crab pot and it was banging against the prop. Safely anchored, there was nothing we could do until the morning. 

We anchored just off the Coast Guard station along with two other sailboats. On shore some men were lined up along the water; car trunks open and speakers blurring rap that did not quite meet our taste in music! I was thankful they shut it down at 9:00. After a 13 hour day and experiencing a problem, we definitely need some sleep. 

The Atlantic City skyline was quite beautiful all lit up! The sun will come out tomorrow and we will get busy trying to get the problem solved. 









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