Delaware City, DE

We left Utsch’s Marina in Cape May at dawn on Tuesday, October 6 to take advantage of the current on the Delaware Bay.

Although it was somewhat chilly, the bay was very calm all day and we had a smooth journey with only sporadic boat traffic.

The only mishap occurred when we snagged a crab pot which made an awful shuddering sound.  Jonny immediately stopped Zendo in the middle of the bay and dropped the anchor. Fortunately, the crab pot somehow disentangled itself and in just a few minutes we were able to resume our journey.  He was greatly relieved not to have to put on his wet suit and dive on it!

We arrived at Delaware City Marina by 2 p.m. Tim, the owner, was there to help us tie up. We really like coming here and do so frequently as it’s a perfect jumping off spot to visit Stephanie in Philadelphia. We negotiated a weekly rate because we were going to spend some time on boat maintenance before heading up to Philly. We were docked in front of a little cat boat, slightly smaller than the one we used to own and a huge catamaran.  The long dock is a welcome set up because we aren’t crowded among a bunch of boats and our scenery on both sides includes lovely grasses and trees.

Jonny spent the next two days deep in the engine room changing the oil in the engine, the generator and the transmission while Lynn did laundry and cleaned Zendo’s interior.  We took a few walks along the coastal walkway into town. This is a historic town whose residents obviously take pride in maintaining.

Late Thursday afternoon Stephanie picked us up to bring us to Philly.  We spent a wonderful weekend with her.  She loves to bring us to new (to us) little restaurants and we walked through her  beautiful neighborhood to one called Ambrosia.  It was a very good choice - BYOB and Italian. Can’t get much better than that! 

On Friday morning, we got up early to drive Stephanie to work at La Salle University so we could use her car to go to Ryan’s house in Conshohocken.  Jonny had asked him to buy some oil and other boat supplies using his Pet Boys discount (he recently started working at their corporate headquarters). This would be our only chance to see Ryan this weekend because as best man for his friend who is getting married, he was hosting a weekend bachelor party for him.  

When we returned to Philly, we met our friends Tracy and Jane for a take-out lunch on Rittenhouse Square, just a block from Stephanie’s apartment. They just moved to Philadelphia from Burlington, VT where we last saw them a couple of years ago on our cruise to Canada. We had a great time catching up on each other’s lives and strolling through that beautiful part of the city.

Afterwards, we picked Stephanie up from work and got ready for another picnic in Rittenhouse Square. This time she prepared a delicious cheese tray and we met her old roommate Sara and her boyfriend Mick and another good friend, Juliana and their dogs for a lively picnic on the green.  People are really taking advantage of the last vestiges of warm weather and the need to be socially distant by picnicking in parks all over the city.

On Saturday morning, we met Vince, another of Stephanie’s friends, for breakfast.  According to Stephanie, Vince always looks forward to seeing us when we come, especially when we bring Zendo to Philly!  But seriously, we love the fact that we can see Stephanie’s friends and they enjoy being with us. It always gives us a good feeling about the life she’s made for herself here.  In the afternoon we drove an hour west to an apple orchard and pumpkin patch in West Chester. We took a tractor out to the orchards and picked a big bag of apples, bought the obligatory pumpkin and had a fun time.

We followed that up with a stop at a local vineyard where we enjoyed some wine tasting in a bucolic outside setting.

When we got back to Philly we walked the few blocks to the fabulous DiBruno Brothers grocery where we bought a steak so Jonny could make steak frites for dinner.  That, along with fresh corn on the cob and haricot verts, made for a perfect dinner.

Sunday morning was a lazy one - our last day with Stephanie. We headed out about 12:30 for a Costco run where we all stocked up on essentials, especially wine!  Stephanie drove us back to Zendo where we unloaded all of our purchases.

We sadly said our goodbye’s for now. We won’t see Stephanie again until she and Ryan come to Miami for Christmas. As always, we had a most wonderful time with our lovely daughter. 

Jonny reinstalled the Stratoglass on the aft deck, a sure sign that cool weather is here to stay.  And as expected, Monday was a rainy and windy day so we hunkered down on Zendo and took it easy and planned to resume our cruise the following day.

Cape May, NJ

It was Thursday, October 1 and we decided to travel on the outside passage on the Atlantic to Cape May.  We left our Brigantine anchorage near Atlantic City at 9:30. We passed an array of windmills as we cruised past Atlantic City.

The seas were better today starting off with three to four foot swells and easing as the day progressed. It was quite a lovely day.  We skipped lunch and arrived at Utsch’s Marina in Cape May at 3:20.  Our plan was to keep Zendo at Utsch’s while we visit our friends Michael and Christina for a few days.  They live in Key Biscayne but are taking a break from Covid and staying at Michael’s parents’ beach house in Bethany Beach, MD.

After we tied up at Utsch’s we walked over to the nearby Lobster House restaurant that also runs a fish market.  There we bought some of their delicious shrimp salad and cole slaw which we enjoyed on our aft deck.  This treat was the main reason that we skipped lunch earlier in the day!

On Friday, we took a Lyft to the ferry that would take us to Lewis, MD.  It was a pleasant ride but cool enough that we spent the 90 minutes indoors.

Michael picked us up and we drove the approximately forty minutes to the beach house. We stayed with Michael and Christina for three nights and had a wonderful time. Each day we would go for long walks on the beach, just a block from their house.  Their dog, Kaiser, was a constant companion.

Watching the sunrise from beautiful Bethany Beach was a real treat!

We also walked into the cute little town of Bethany Beach, a place where Michael spent much of his childhood and teen years, and he regaled us with many stories of his escapades there.

We also took great walks in some of the local and state parks where the undulating landscaped reminded us of the low country and was even, at times, reminiscent of the Everglades.

We ate very well with the Brackens - no surprise! One night we had delicious cioppino (Italian seafood stew) that we got as take-out from a local restaurant.  And the real highlight was the last night we were there when Christina made fabulous crab cakes that rivaled those of Michael’s mother (and, in fact, were her recipe).

We had a great time catching up with each other talking, debating, arguing and solving the world’s problems!

On Monday morning Michael drove us back to the ferry and we returned to Zendo.  We took a walk to the local Wawa to stock up on some essentials and returned to our favorite fish market where we bought crab bisque and some fresh flounder for dinner.

The next day we’ll  head to Delaware City where Jonny will change the oil on Zendo while we wait for Stephanie to pick us up on Thursday night. We’ll spend the next weekend with her,  which we’re really looking forward to!

Brigantine, NJ

The tides were not in our favor as we headed south on the ICW on Tuesday, September 29 so we decided to leave at first light bound for Atlantic City.

It was very cloudy with light rain falling on and off as we cruised the narrow, shallow passage.  We kept the front windshield on the flybridge closed for the entire journey which is very unusual for us.

Cruising down the coast of New Jersey we passed an endless array of the beach houses that line the Jersey shore.

We didn’t even bother to eat lunch until we arrived at our Brigantine anchorage just north of Atlantic City at 1:30.  We have stayed here several times and find it to be a pleasant, sheltered spot and never crowded.

The afternoon was spent with our usual activities of trip planning, boat repairs, blogging, etc.  Although naps were in order because we planned to watch the first presidential debate and leave early the next morning, sleep eluded both of us.

That evening we watched the horror show that passed as a presidential debate.  We cannot wait until we have someone qualified to be president occupying that critically important role.

During the night we each alternately were awakened several times by the wind.  A front moved through with high winds - 30 knots and gusting into the 40s. As it started to rain, we closed all the windows.  It wasn’t until we were both awake at the same time and Jonny agreed that we would not try to travel the next day that Lynn was able to to sleep.

The next day was sunny but the winds were still very brisk - 20 knots and gusting to the 30s.  We were in no rush so we took the day off and did more boat chores, cooked, read, etc.

For dinner we had the excellent squash soup Lynn had prepared the day before from the delicata squash that Debbie and Michael gave us from their garden.  We spent a quiet evening, each of us engrossed in reading our books.  The next day we would be heading to Cape May where we’ll stay at a marina and take the ferry to Lewis to visit our friends Michael and Christina who are staying in Bethany Beach, MD.

Berkeley Island, NJ

First thing on Monday morning,  September 28, Jonny called the marina that our friends had recommended to us to see about getting Zendo fixed. Unfortunately they were totally booked but they gave him another recommendation.  So Jonny called Good Luck Point Marina and they said they could take us anytime.  Good luck for us!  Next, he called Sea Tow who said they could be here in 90 minutes.  In the meantime, Jonny went to work off some of his energy/anxiety by going for a paddle. Of course, Sea Tow arrived when Jonny was out of sight but after a few loud blasts of Zendo’s horn, he returned.

The very competent Sea Tow captain had us tied up in no time and we made the 6 mile journey to Good Luck Point Marina without incident.

We were met by two mechanics who helped us tie up and came aboard to discuss our problem.

Because Jonny had done so much work already to rule out a number of issues, they quickly determined that one of our thru-hulls was probably clogged with debris.  The remedy included a haul-out so they could unclog it.  Of course this coincided with lunch time so we had to wait until they returned from lunch to tackle the issue. That was not a problem and as soon as they returned, Zendo was hauled out.

Sure enough, the engine thru-hull was clogged with cabbage grass.  They pressure blasted it and picked and scraped at it. It was packed in so tightly and that’s why it didn’t budge when Jonny blasted it with the reverse cycle on the wet vac the day before. Happily and before long, Zendo was back in the water, good as new!

By then it was almost 3:00 and we headed out to see how far we could go.  But anchorages with protection from southern winds are are few and far between on New Jersey’s ICW, so we decided to stop at Berkeley Island, a nice calm anchorage near Tom’s River.

Jonny was much relieved that the issue was resolved.  We relaxed for awhile and later in the afternoon Lynn made a new recipe from the New York Times collection of recipes to make during Covid. This one was another “homey” one pot dish with tuna, cannelloni beans, and  cheese flavored with wine, fresh herbs and anchovies. It turned out to be quite savory and delicious.  That, along with a salad, constituted dinner.

We spent another evening with Madame Secretary and went to bed early anticipating an early start and a long journey the next day bound for Atlantic City.

Silver Bay, NJ

On Sunday, September 27, we left our anchorage at 9 a.m. on an overcast day that produced a beautiful mirror image of the homes on the smooth waters of Glimmer Glass. 

We continued cruising on New Jersey’s intracoastal because wind and wave heights on the Atlantic were not appealing.

We had only cruised about 90 minutes when the raw water exhaust alarm went off (it is really loud)!!  As Jonny examined the situation he noticed that white smoke was emerging from the exhaust - not a good sign. He pulled over to a safe spot to see what he could do. The safe spot was actually an intersection in the intracoastal - not great, but certainly adequate in these narrow passages. 

A SeaTow boat was towing another boat and we hailed him thinking that we might need a tow. He said he’d return after he finished his tow.  In the meantime, Jonny kept checking whatever he could and shortly Captain Wayne returned.  He tied up next to us and was very generous in reviewing with Jonny anything that could be done to diagnose the problem.

After checking the strainers, the fluids levels and the impeller, he finally thought to try to blow air through the through holes thinking they might be clogged with debris.  That seemed to work and the water was flowing again.

We took off after this two hour sojourn with Captain Wayne following us through Point Pleasant Canal, a narrow channel lined with homes that we had to go through.

Things seemed OK so he took off and we proceeded.

But it wasn’t long before the alarm went off  and smoke started coming out of the exhaust again.  We were lucky to find a safe anchorage in nearby Silver Bay, just north of Tom’s River. Jonny slowly eased us in there and we anchored for the night.  Now we definitely would need professional help to solve our problem.  After consulting with friends familiar with the area, Jonny learned of a nearby marina with a very good reputation. Of course, it was too late to reach anyone so we had to wait for the next day to call. So we tried to relax for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Fortunately, we don’t have a tight schedule to keep and we’re just hoping that the problem is relatively minor.  We had an easy dinner of angel hair pasta with pesto and a salad and went to bed fairly early. Jonny was exhausted having not slept well the night before and the stress of not knowing how to fix this latest problem.