Weather to go.

    Just thought everyone would appreciate an update of where I am and what's been happening. Days a blurring together, so please forgive me if I don't mention when exactly something happened.
    I managed to get a new, group 31 battery from Bennett Batteries in Atlantic City. The guy was great, gave me a great price, let me pay cash, and delivered the battery to my boat. I recommend anyone in the area look him up if you need a new battery.
     Once I got my battery I still had to wait a few days for a weather window. Impulse took off the day after we'd arrived, someday left the following day, so I was alone to wander around Atlantic City for a few days. I made it down to the Casinos and boardwalk every night, just for something to do. The library had Wifi and I could check up on weather. Spent some time looking for a book exchange, but no luck there. Finally it looked like I'd have the wind I needed, but it was a cold miserable day. I didn't want to go out in it, but it was the only day for a while I'd have the conditions I needed. So I bundled up the best I could, raised main and jib in the channel, and set off for Cape May. The sail was a wet and dreary as I'd expected; every five minutes or so I'd clench my hands to wring the water from my gloves, and suppress the shivering.All went well, and as the winds picked up near the end I tucked in my first reef and at one point Cassie and I were skimming along comfortably at six knots. That was a nine hour sail with only a little respite provided by my autopilot.
    When I reached Cape May I found Impulse and Someday comfortably anchored a little ways in where I joined them.Someday was attempting, unsuccessfully,  to repair their engine, which conked out on them just as they had reached Cape May. That evening there was more excitement. Someday's anchor was rather poorly constructed, so that under sustained load the retainer for the shank bent and wouldn't hold the anchor or the boat in place. The winds picked up overnight to a sustained 20 knots or so. I got a call from Impulse asking me to contact Scotty and let him know Dan didn't need a ride back to the boat that night. When I looked out my hatch for Scotty, however, he wasn't there. Nor was Someday. They both had drifted downwind and were in danger of being blown into the large wall in front of the yacht club. It was tense for a while, but Scotty managed to get a second anchor out to stop the boat, then they jury rigged their companionway stairs as a mount for their dinghy's outboard so they could motor out and re-anchor, not realizing that their 22 pound danforth was now bent and useless. They managed to pinball off my boat at around 2am, and then subsequently ram Impulse. Steering a 4ton boat in 20 knot winds with a 6hp outboard is tricky after all. Givng up, they woke up the crew of Impulse and both decided it best to raft up for the night. The following morning Impulse towed them to Utsch's Marina where they are stuck waiting for, what I believe to be, the part that will fix their engine.Impulse spent a night at Utch's as well, then moved back to anchor with me, and took off the following day as I helped Someday diagnose their engine troubles.
    Cape May is a beautiful place, full of kitschy tourist shops and absolutely picturesque historical buildings, part of me doesn't want to leave, but the rest of me is cold and wants to just get on with it. Today may be the day, but its looking like Wednesday is more likely, and SomeDay should have their engine up and running to join me by then. We'll see and I'll take whatever weather window I can get. Until next time, live living.

Outboard Offense

    The last few days can be summed up in one story about my outboard, Jackson. He is so named because Jackson is a Mercury, and Alan Jackson wrote the Mercury Blues. That's just how my brain works.
    We started out from Great Kills Harbor after three nights of restful anchoring, occasional town runs, and a mussel feast that couldn't be beat. It was supposed to be 10-15 knot winds from the Southwest, but it turned out to be all of that from the south, dead on the nose. I was motorsailing with the others to keep up and try to make Manasquan before dark when I noticed Jackson making a rather unusual sound, kind of a whistling or ringing. I figured I could play it safe, shut him down, and sail the rest of the way. I was wrong. Jackson shut down just fine, but the wind was just too much from straight on the nose. I couldn't sail into it and get in before dark, even though the next inlet was only six or seven miles away. So I tried starting Jackson again. No dice.
    I continued sailing the best I could, but with the wind being what it was and all, there was no way I would make it before dark. Luckily SomeDay was there to answer my call. They tied an anchor line to a bridle on their stern cleats, I tied the other end to my mast, and they towed me those last six miles into Manasquan.
    I dropped anchor as soon as I could, only to find out I was in the middle of the channel. SomeDay went off to anchor in a better spot, and I managed to get Jackson running briefly. A French gentleman from a catamaran anchored nearby dinghied over and helped me up anchor and drop it again just behind him with scarcely a word, and as he left his wife handed me two delicious chicken sandwiches and a cold soda. If not for the kindness of strangers, I think I would have packed it in right then and there, so whoever the kind french couple is, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
    The next morning I got Jackson running once more, pulled up anchor just before noon and watched Jackson propmtly give up. Again. Luckily there was a falling tide, an offshore wind, and I was right next to the mouth of the inlet, so I raised my mainsail and sailed off down the coast to Barneget Inlet where I coaxed Jackson to life with equal portions of prayer, persistence, and brute force. He sputtered to a stop of his own accord just as my anchor touched bottom. The Lord takes care of saints and fools, and I'm no saint.

    As I write this, all three of us are tied up at the Atlantic City Marina for the night. SomeDay will likely be anchoring out in the morning, Impulse thinks they may try the weather and get to Cape May, and I will be staying put until I get Jackson up to snuff, and get a new second deep-cycle installed.

Beginnings

    Today is the 12th of October, and I am writing this post from a small marina in Peekskill, NY. It's a members only marina, but they said we could stay here for the night at no charge. They even have power and water. My batteries have been running very low, as we've been squatting restaurant docks where they let you stay the night if you buy a meal. None had plug ins though.
    Perhaps I should explain who "we" is. Cassandra and I were headed down the NYS Barge Canal, racing the clock to get through lock 13 before they closed it for repairs. The lock closed at midnight on the 6th, and I made it through around noon. The following day I pulled into a lock with two other sailboats, and that night we all spent tied to a free wall together. There's Dan and Scotty on their O'day 27, "SomeDay," and Mike and Allison on their Hunter 27 "Impulse"

Left to right, Impulse, Cassandra, SomeDay

Dan is about my age and decided to buy a boat and set off to find himself. His younger friend Scott is joining him. Their back story isn't quite filled in yet, and their boat is old and rotten. I worry it won't last for very long cruising.
    Then there's Mike and Allison. They're a couple, artists. They used to own a gallery in Kentucky, but Mike couldn't take the monotony, and decided to go for broke. Somehow he was inspired to buy a boat and just start going somewhere. He needed to escape from society for a bit. Amazingly, Allison is all for it. Like me they have no destinaton, just a direction; south.
    Both crews have owned their boats for less than a year, and both have so much to learn. I feel obligated to protect them. Perhaps in part because if anything were to happen to them, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I could have tought them the thing that could have saved them or their boats.
    In any case, in the ten or so days I've been out here I have made it to within 50 miles of Sandy Hook. Supposedly Tuesday will be a good weather day to hop down the Jersey coast, but I've yet to verify that.


    Just to update, we all tied up in a small marina in Hoboken for the night last night and went into downtown to see Times Square and get dollar a slice pizza. It's too expensive here for me though. $2.50 per foot per night to tie up, plus bus fares. I'm looking forward to dropping the hook again and staying free. Checking the weather to see when we can make the hop down the Jersey coast. More updates when I have wi-fi again.