Baltimore 39:17.0N 76:37.0W
Lotus
Sun 10 Oct 2010 13:38
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We have had relatively few periods of rough weather
throughout our journeys and as we came towards the end of our travel the weather
gods had kept a sting in their tail; the forecast for our passage down the New
Jersey coast had been for 15-20knots north easterly, with wind of this strength
behind the beam we had expected a swift and pleasant run down to Cape May,
however within half an hour of leaving the sanctuary of New York harbour the
winds started to build and move round to the south east and the seas became
quite rough with short steep waves coming, seemingly from all directions.
It was a dark night with no moon and as the wind built to a steady 30knots
(gusting to 35) helming became more and more difficult and very tiring; every
minute or two a wave would rear up from the darkness, the only warning being a
roar of water as breaking waves hit the boat sometimes on the stern quarter and
sometimes on the bow. We seemed to be alternatively knocked off course
first one way the other, our only point of reference was the dim glow of the
steering compass. It was exhausting and we could only do an hour each
on the helm at time, we would then retire below to rest our aching neck,
shoulder and body. It seemed like quite a long night but as the first
light of dawn began to break through the clouds, the wind and sea state did
start to decline. At least we had made fast progress for the first part of
this passage.
As we approached the inlet at Cape May we were
looking forward to some respite from a moving deck, a good nights sleep, and
some food, but perhaps unwisely we spoke to a nearby yacht on VHF who had been
shadowing our progress throughout the afternoon. The four man crew of this
boat had decided that as the tide and winds were favourable for a swift passage
up the Delaware Bay to the C& D Canal, that they were going to continue
onwards without stopping. We were shamed into doing the same! Six
hours later we dropped anchor in a not too sheltered bay just outside the
entrance to the C& D Canal.
After a good nights rest we made our way to the
head of the Chesapeake Bay and over the next couple of days motored and sailed
down to Baltimore where we were able to tie alongside a wall in the very heart
of downtown. Our neighbours, were a really nice couple from the North of
England who had literally flown over to the States bought a brand new 45ft Hunter and with very little previous
sailing experience had spent the last two years sailing around the East coast of
America. Over the next few evenings we spent a very amusing few hours with
them having drinks both on their boat and in local bars as there was a
music/craft festival on in the town. As the alcohol worked it's magic they
became more and more flirtatious with the local population both kissing and
grouping unsuspecting Americans of both sexes; a couple of women had asked to
use the toilet on their boat, after which they joined us for a few drink, when
they got up to leave one of the women was snogged and grouped in a lesbian
embrace, with a look of mild shock on her face, she turned to me and said 'I'm
not a lesbian, but she did let me use her toilet', one of the funniest things I
have heard on the entire trip. Later we
went into town and upon our return to the boat, our Northern hostess kidnapped a
young black man and brought him aboard for more drink. When she started
lifting his shirt and licking his nipples, John and I decided it was time to
take our leave. The next morning, just in case we were the next
victims, we made a swift exit from the harbour and in fresh conditions sailed
down to Annapolis.
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