NW winds, following seas and good sized waves carried us to Atlantic City in no time. Arriving by 2 p.m., we had picked up the rpms cruising/surfing at 11-13+ kts. Nina, fuel concerns and no particular schedule argued for staying the night. We anchored in a quiet cove on the north side of the river across from bright lights of the strip, with access to a sand spit where many black skimmers rested. That was until Nina sprinted like a caged animal scattering them to the wind while making friends with local kids in need of a dog fix. She misses her grandkids.
Fuel prices were significantly higher here than in Cape May 30+ miles down the line so we crunched the numbers and decided to open both tanks and make a run the next day. This was hard for Harry who likes to keep the tanks half full but in hindsight it was a good exercise. We hadn’t fueled up since Old Saybrook, CT making the total mileage to Cape May 230+ miles. We carry 180 gal. in 2 tanks that is not all usable to avoid sucking off the bottom and bleeding tanks, but we had been cruising in difficult seas and winds and weren’t quite sure what our “burn rate” was. Sunday provided more favorable seas with NE winds and was an easy run down to Cape May giving us a better idea of burn rate average in variable conditions going forward.
Utsch’s Marina and Cape May is not a one night stand. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow cruisers heading south as well as great dining, beaches, gingerbread houses, shopping, provisioning, showers, laundry, and the best birding on the east coast this time of year. Harry got me a rental bike the following day and not able to find an organized birding event online, I headed off at 6:30 a.m. to the South Cape May Meadows where I had birded before. I thought I would be by myself missing my friend Ellen until I biked into the parking lot and saw several cars and recognized Pete Dunne, the self acclaimed ambassador of NJ Audubon Assoc. and one of the most amazing birders I have met. Timing is everything. Today was my lucky day and his Monday morning bird walk! 26 of us headed off including 6 leaders for an extraordinary morning. Sorry, photos are all about the birds!
