NYC-Atlantic City-Annapolis-Washington DC Trip

Jaybeaux

Well-Known Member
Jan 3, 2016
2,024
Upper Potomac River
Boat Info
2006 Sea Ray 48
Naught On Call
Engines
Cummins QSC-540s with V-Drives
11 KW Onan Genset
I may have posted before, in the old world, pre-Corona Virus, about friends who are buying a new boat up in Connecticut and then plan to bring her home to DC on her own bottom. The trip is starting in Norwalk, CT; travel through NYC, and outside the Jersey Shore to Atlantic City for our first stop for the night. The second day is AC to Cape May, up the Delaware Bay/River to the C&D Canal and into the Chesapeake Bay with the next planned stop in Annapolis. The last day is the run from Annapolis to home.

We were supposed to leave today for the drive to CT and set sail tomorrow, but Mother Nature has changed those plans. High seas off of the Jersey coast have forced us to look for another weather window. Which brings me to my question(s) for you Northeast, ocean guys...

Does the Wed-Thur of next week look like a good weather opportunity to basically transit from NYC to Annapolis over 2 days? Offshore, I'm looking at seas less than 3.0 ft on a 7+ second period, with winds generally less than 10 kts from a southerly direction. I have been told that traveling south, into the wind, is less that ideal, but the seas are less that 2.5 ft on Wednesday! I'm using the Windy App on my iPad. The app that has the "blue" icon, not the one with the "red" icon.

Any tips, advice, words of wisdon you care to share are much appreciated.

Jaybeaux
 
South winds are common on Jersey shore, west winds are best but those conditions if accurate are as good as it gets.
 
I would take that forecast with a grain of salt. The weather here, just like anywhere can change several times between now and then. You didn't mention what kind of boat they bought. Certainly any boat over 40 ft is going to be fine in 3ft seas. One thing, if you need fuel here in AC, Farley Marina still as of today, has not opened their fuel dock. You can come into the marina but there are no services. Electric and water are on. You can fuel across the way at Kammerman's marina.
 
For Wednesday/Thursday next week it looks pretty good to me. The big swell will be out of the East but winds are south or southeast. Afternoons will see increased wind and some chop on the nose. Also, ebb starts on the Delaware at 2:18 and 3:12 on those days. Ebb tide against a strong afternoon southerly will teach you why they nicknamed it the “Hellaware” Bay.

We are 20 miles East of Norwalk, and would make Cape May our first stop. Much nicer than AC and better fuel options.
 
@ENstig8or , it is a Meridian 391, which I think is like 42 feet or there abouts. Twin Cummins Diesels.
 
@Sea Gull , how long does that run take you to Cape May? Also, do you stop for fuel along the way?
 
It’s about 178nm from where I am in Stratford. Time will depend mostly on your cruise speed and a bit on current through the East River and NY Harbor. On Wednesday the current will turn against you at about 8 am, so I would plan an early start.

We cruise at 23 knots and would plan on it taking 8 hours. Last week coming the other way we did Ocean City, MD to home in 9.5 hours, but OC is at least 1.5 hours further.

In terms of fuel, you can’t compare us to a Sea Ray or Meridian. We carry 1500 gallons and have a range just shy of 500nm at cruise. You could stop in Manasquan, Barnegat, or AC for fuel if need be.
 
I'll let you know how this weekend worked out, I'm planning on leaving Long Island tomorrow and being in Middle River tomorrow evening. I've been watching the weather on an app my son uses for offshore fishing and I can tell you from checking it daily, what they say today changes by tomorrow.
 
I'll let you know how this weekend worked out, I'm planning on leaving Long Island tomorrow and being in Middle River tomorrow evening. I've been watching the weather on an app my son uses for offshore fishing and I can tell you from checking it daily, what they say today changes by tomorrow.

So, how did it work out?
 
Left Fire Island inlet at 11:00, tied up in my slip in Middle River 8:00. Ocean wasn’t bad ran 34 knots most of way, had to slow up bit in the Delaware due to fog. Some rain around AC but not to bad. All in all Great Trip
 
New boat, lost the 46 in a shrink wrapping mishap, by the marina, new is an 05, 40’ Cabo express, common rail 800 Mans, It runs great, so far real happy with it
 
So, we made it to Atlantic City!

Drove to CT on Monday afternoon with the intention of leaving the dock at 5:00 AM with our destination being Atlantic City, NJ. We planned a refuel at Liberty Landing. At 4:00 AM, the fog was so thick you could barely see the boats across the fairway! Our first delay. Around 9:00 AM, some local boats started leaving the dock, so we made our preparations and began our way to Long Island Sound at 9:45 AM. The closer we got to NYC, the better the conditions were. The scenery is breathtaking. All of the places you've heard about your entire life are right in front of you. After the refuel, we made our way out into the Atlantic Ocean for the 4 hour run to AC. The further south of the Verrazano Narrows we went, the worse the fog became again. We had three people at the helm on constant vigil. The seas were very comfortable, with a 3-4 foot swell from the east/northeast. Really, the only problem was we couldn't see anything! When we found the Red #2 buoy which marked the entrance to Absecon Inlet, we were literally feeling our way into the inlet. Thankfully, the sea state was in our favor. When we made the turn to Port to head to Kammerman's Marina, the fog went away. It was like a curtain. Damnedest thing I've ever seen.

Wednesday, we got up with the intention of heading to Annapolis, MD, but again, the fog set us back. After much debate, we made the decision to leave the boat in AC and then secured a car for the drive home. So, our trip is not done yet. We are hoping to continue the trip next week. I learned so much from my first lengthy trip in the ocean. Someone said that it will make me a better captain. I completely agree.

Here are some photos...... 20200526_110948.jpg 20200526_112653.jpg 20200526_115110.jpg 20200526_115610.jpg 20200526_120144.jpg 20200526_121356.jpg 20200526_121515.jpg 20200526_122356.jpg 20200526_132219.jpg 20200526_134014.jpg
 
It was like a curtain. Damnedest thing I've ever seen.

Welcome to boating in New England in the spring! Extremely rare to get two days in a row that don't have patchy fog, with patches super thick that come on/go away that quick. Normally its fine in the harbors, but patchy out in bays.

If you like it you can go to ME, they have it all summer until September!
 
Continuation and completion of our trip! We left DC for AC on Monday. Arrived a 1 PM and decided to make the 40 +/- mile trek to Cape May and stay the night. We figured that getting the "first thing in the morning" jump on the Delaware Bay was the better way to go.

The weather for Monday afternoon was 5-10 Kts wind with gusts to 15 kts, seas 1-2 feet on 8 sec interval. We threw lines and headed for the inlet. After rounding the corner, we could see that the inlet and the ocean seemed a bit "friskier" that the marine weather forecast led us to believe. After clearing the jetties, we began taking spray over the top of a bridge boat! The looks on our faces must have been priceless. We throttled back to about 15 mph and continued our push to Cape May. What was going to be just under a 2 hour trip, turned into a 3+ hour trip mighty fast! But it was worth it. Cape May was really cool looking. We stayed at Canyon Cove which was really first class. I want to go back.

The next morning, per Captain's orders, we were off the dock at 5:00 AM, heading east on the canal looking forward to a placid Delaware Bay. All was in our favor, except the inaccurate forecast! We had a fairly "nice" chop all the way up to Ship John Shoal. The nice thing was there was no large marine vessel traffic. So I guess there are tradeoffs. After rounding the jetties at the eastern entrance to the C&D Canal, we were thankful for 14 (?) miles of placid water. Chesapeake City seemed like a cool place. We did not stop but would like to return.

The upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay were draped in a steel-grey overcast cloudy day. There was a bit of ocean going barge/tug traffic, but nothig complicated. The Bay Bridge looms on the horizon for quite a while, teasing you to reach out and touch it. The further south we traveled, the smoother the Bay became. By the time we turned up the Pax River, conditions were glass like. A truly spectacular end to a spectacular day. Spring Cove Marina at Solomon's Island is a gem not to be missed.

Today, the Captain let us sleep in a bit and we threw lines at 6:00 AM. We didn't even bother to check the weather or the tides as we were headed for home! Well, we may have peeked at the weather but we were going home! The sea state at Point Lookout was just moderately choppy. We perhaps cut the corner a wee bit too close as we then had to pick our way through crab pot and fish trap markers for about 30 minutes. Oh well...... Being on our home turf, the final leg of this great adventure was without incident. It is comforting, after a long, multiple day trip, to be back in waters where you can relax, not rely so much on your navigation systems, and just sit back and drive your boat. It is a real sense of accomplishment.

I want to give a shout out to @brewster16 for his local knowledge, advice, and being at the ready to respond to text messages sent day or night! It is reassuring to have a backup Captain in your corner.

Jaybeaux20200601_141856.jpg 20200601_152559.jpg 20200601_170412.jpg 20200601_175207.jpg 20200601_175500.jpg 20200602_052439.jpg 20200602_082153.jpg 20200602_083256.jpg 20200602_112833.jpg 20200602_135522.jpg
 
What a great trip. Never been to NYC and have no real desire to go on land but I always thought seeing the statue of liberty, from the water on your own boat, would be an experience hard to equal.
 
Great trip report! It sounds like the boat ran well and handled the conditions just fine? I almost bought a boat in MD and was really looking forward to the trip back to CT. Instead we bought one off the Hudson in Haverstraw back in Sept. That trip around NYC is tough to rival. Such a great view from the water, especially at the sourthern terminus where you have lady Liberty to your stbd and the WTC to your port (we were heading northeast). I am often in the city so was great to get a different perspective.
You are right, being in the open ocean definitely keeps you on your toes. I always enjoy our trip from Marthas Vineyard to Block Island. At times you see no land. It's just you, the fish and the open ocean...
 

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