Or maybe not…
The waves had died down significantly since Hurricane Erin passed through but they were still going to be on our nose. One of our least favourite activities is beating into waves with the wind on our nose but we must’ve forgotten that and become convinced by the smaller waves that this was our weather window. Ugh! We were quickly reminded as we slammed into wave after wave. We were on a tight close haul, which doesn’t play well with the Mizzen and the Genoa so we were mostly under Mainsail and Engine. The beating was slowing us down significantly and occasionally the wind would completely die, forcing us to put the sails away. When we got to about half way we started to realise that we were burning through fuel much faster than usual too. The beating probably had something to do with it but if we were unable to get enough wind power our chances of making it to the Delaware were looking slimmer. We decided to keep monitoring and make a decision when we got closer to the Chesapeake…that was until the final nail in the coffin of our Delaware plans hit. The mainsail wouldn’t unfurl! Our trampoline seas were not the best for an underway diagnosis so there we were, confined to engine power only and burning through fuel even faster. Chesapeake it was, then.
We suspected that the beating alone couldn’t be responsible for how quickly we had burned through fuel so we hired a diver in Little Creek to inspect and clean the bottom of our hull. Whaddayaknow, turns out the keel had full grown oysters on it that the diver brought up for a show and tell…dinner, anyone? Our previous diver had apparently not been getting to the bottom and cleaning properly. This is absolutely something that will reduce efficiency and is an important item to keep on top of. This could also explain the early ditch we had to do to Wrightsville.
With a clean bottom, a couple of nights of rest and a long weekend we decided we were going to head back out and see how far we could get this time. First step: get fuel. Kevin called up the Marina we planned to fuel up to let them know we were coming and the response was “ oh, we just closed the fuel dock for the day because nobody was using it.” !!!!!!!! Well that was a first! With other fuel spots being hours in the wrong direction we found ourselves a bit stuck. The only other option was the Marina we were at, which had a fuel dock tucked away at the back through shallow waters. Big boats don’t normally fuel up there. Kevin went and told them our situation and they jumped into action. They took Kevin on a skiff through the entire route in and sounded the depths as they went. With the decision made that it was doable, we went for it. The dock hands there went out of their way to help us and made the whole thing far easier than expected.
So off we went again into forecast low seas and lower winds. It was actually the exact same conditions we went around Hatteras in, except a little less wind. At least this time we had a more streamlined keel! Another two nights of beating and we made it around Sandy Hook and dropped anchor to get some much needed rest. Along the way, another Super Maramu passed by, going south in the middle of the night. Kevin was on watch and saw on AIS that it was the same one we buddy boated with in the Bahamas. Coincidentally our other friends on a Super Maramu were also sailing south towards the Delaware, so there were three Super Maramus sailing around offshore in the middle of the night along the north eastern seaboard.
The plan was one night of rest in the anchorage, which was known to be rolly due to the passing ferries, and then move to a quieter anchorage in an explorable area a few hours away the next day but, about an hour before we were due to leave, another Amel pulled in. This time it was an Amel Sharki (a 39’ ketch). Of course we had to stick around an extra night to have them over for drinks to swap Amel adventure stories and hear about their circumnavigation. Exploring the New York Bight could wait another day!
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