Delivery

[Phil Shedd]

The past ten days I have been a crewmember doing the delivery of a Morgan 38 from Middle River MD to Saint John NB. This was the first time for me to see the mid east coast. I would like to say the weather was great but as most you know the North East winds of last week did not help us.

We went up the Chesapeake to the Chesapeake/Delaware canal and down the Delaware to the Atlantic. Went up the New Jersey coast. All the beaches and sand along the coast surprised me. Got to see Atlantic City from five miles out. The light show was something.

From there we went to New York. New York was wonderful. The traffic on the river is some thing else but you got use to it after a while. Just kept a sharp look put. We proceeded up the Hudson to the Statue of Liberty then went up the East river to Long Island Sound. We were doing 8 to 9 knots going up the river. Hells Gate was interesting.

When we got into Long Island Sound the east wind started. We had been doing four-hour shifts 24 hours a day. Around 1 am the winds hit 20 knots by 3 it was 30 so we went into New Haven and found the first cove that gave shelter. From there we worked up the coast during the day only. The winds were constant 20 to 30. First stop was Niantic Bay then on to Point Judith. By the time we made Pt Judith the winds were almost 40 knots. No fun. We were motoring all the way. We finally got to Onset and the start of the Cape Cod Canal.

We went through the canal first thing on last Thursday and we were through by 8 am. We started shifts again and went straight towards Grand Manan Island. The wind was now out of the south west but cool. When we came on at 4am I had four layers of clothing and a rain suit. Even though it was light you needed all those layers. On Friday night as we neared Maine the fog set in. We caught the up tide for the Grand Manan channel. We were doing going 8-9 knots with the tide, wind and fog and of course it was night. We got into Saint John at 1 pm and into the Saint John River by 2pm.

Although the weather was poor it was a great trip. We had to motor most of the way but had some great sailing. Saw a number of Cape Dory’s in various marines. There was a 36 ahead of us in New York but could not catch it.

I would do it again in a heart beat .

Phil

PS I did not get sick but had one afternoon where I felt poorly

[Lee Kaufman]

What a trip. I made one similar about 23 years ago.

We left from the Maryland side of the Bay and made the first night in Annapolis. Second night in Cheaspeake City. From there it was on through the CD canal and down to Cape May. Rather than follow the coast, we made a crossing (my first) from Cape May to Cuttyhunk. We were out three days and two nights. Got there in a dense fog (my first) and eased in on loran coordinates (that was before GPS) supplied by a local. Then it was very much like your trip with stops each night. We stayed in Onset and made an early morning trip through the canal. On to Provincetown (saw the whales), then along the coast to Casco Bay in Main. An unforgettable trip of a lifetime. I, too, would do it again in a heartbeat.