Northport LI, NY to Cape May NJ

October 13&14 Wednesday & Thursday:
After a nice layover in Northport (thanks Pat and Linda) we got underway at 8:30 and were able to fuel up at Seymore's Marina. No ice or pumpout, but we were able to make do, cool enough the blocks of ice we started with over a week ago are only half gone. Winds north at 10 so we are motor sailing with all plain sail on a sunny and warmish day. Wind went South east so we furled the jib. We had nice views of the planes taking off from Laguardia and hit Hells Gate at slack ebb as planned. Lots of traffic in the East River and lower bay. Passed a tall ship that was motoring up river, with masts just clearing the bridges. Skyline of Manhattan was very nice with a minimum of smog. Wind went south as we exited the Verazanno Narrows toward Sandy Hook so we furled the foresail and main. Saw a clear sunset over Sandy Hook and settled into the watch rotation. We started with 2 hour watches until 1 pm then went to 3 to enable a little more undisturbed rest. Just as I came off watch at 7 pm I noticed a little water on the cabin sole. The forward bilge does not drain into the main bilge anymore (long story) so I check it and saw it was more full than I had every seen it. Checked the main bilge and it was also near overflowing into the cabin. The automatic bilge pump I recently installed was no longer pumping and the stern gland leaks a fair amount under power. With thoughts of having to turn around and head back to Sandy Hook I started to scope out the problem. I later found the oil absorbing cloth log that I had put in the bilge caught up in the bilge pump and turned it on its' side. So the float was no longer functioning. In the meantime I rigged up the old manual bilge pump and ran a hose out the comanionway and over the side. With this in place I was able to drain the main bilge and assure myself that we were not taking on water. Then came the nasty task of lowering the water int the forward bilge. This I normally have to hand pump about twice a year. I was using the hand pump into a bucket and it was quite frustrating as the hose did not want to stay either in the pump or in the bucket. I got soaked in the process and emptied about 30 buckets this way, which got things under control. After changing clothes and unwinding a bit Jason whipped up some hot dogs, sauerkraut and backed beans under way with seas around 2-3 feet. Without the sails up we were rolling pretty good even in these modest seas because they were on the beam.
I was a very clear night with quite a few tugs heading up and down the coast, stars were spectacular (Jupiter and Orion were the best) after moon set at midnight. Wind slowly backed into the east and we were able to start sailing again at 7 am when I came on watch. Atlantic City is light up so much we could see it from 2AM until we finally got by at 9AM. Reached Cape May at noon and docked at South Jersey Marina. The forecast was for heavy NW winds for the next couple of days so we felt better at the dock vs. anchoring. Last fall we met a couple that dragged the anchor in much less winds and had to be hauled off the mud. Once the engine was shut down I could access the bilge pump and straighten out the problem. Fortunately it worked just fine once reset and the oil log removed.
October 15, Friday (my BD)
Lay day in Cape May with winds gusting to 50 out in the Delaware Bay. Fixed the electric transfer pump I bought to help pump the forward bilge and finished emptying it the easy way. We got a ride from the dock master up to the Aviation Museum nearby. It used to be a Naval Air Station with a bunch of training going on during WWII. Very nice and worth the trip, they have everything from Stearman biplanes to a F14 swing wing Tomcat fighter and an actual V2 rocket. Lots of helicopters for Jason to drool over(remember he just got his commercial helicopter license).
The sailors around us organized going together to the Lobster House which is only a block away. We had 12 of us. We wound up seated next to Vincent and Cecile from France. They just retired from owing and operating a ski lodge in the French Alps. Jason let it slip that is my BD so they had a nice big piece of chocolate oblivion cake brought out with a candle. They sang the BD song in French since the majority of the folks were French or French Canadian (merci, mon ami). Had a nightcap at the Lucky Bones on the way home and watched some of game 1 of the Yankees Rangers pennant series.
October 16 Saturday.
Another lay day in Cap May. Winds even stronger today lots of 45 knot gusts in Delaware Bay according to the buoy data I just checked out. Doing minor repairs and laundry. We considered taking the bus to Atlantic City from here, but it's 50 miles and a two hour ride with all the stops, so we canned the idea and are taking it easy tonight. Eat on board, a couple of pops at Lucky Bones to watch game 2 and early to bed, as we plan on slogging it up the Bay tomorrow against 15 to 20 knot winds which will be pretty much on the bow most of the trip until we get to the Chesapeake and can turn south again some 12 hours later.