Whoever said the best days with a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it was right, or at least it seems that way at the moment. We're in Cape May - it's raining, cool (but not as cold as at home, fortunately), and we have only one engine.
We picked the best day we could for an overnight sail from Raritan Bay to Cape May. Temps started in the high 50s and dipped down to the high 40s before morning, but the winds were perfect (from the west, 10-15 knots) and the seas were calm almost all night. We motor-sailed with one engine and averaged 7.5 knots. I, for one, was very stylishly dressed (see photo) in multiple layers, starting with long johns, ski socks and a fleece hat, covered by ski pants, my warmest North Face fleece and a baseball hat (to keep the fleece hat in place and my jacket hood out of my eyes), and topped with my foul-weather jacket, bright red waterproof (and windproof) boots, and mittens. Quite a picture, but it did the trick. We took turns in 2-hour shifts, and arrived in Cape May just after sunrise (although the sun did not actually make an appearance).
During the journey our starboard engine had a melt-down (a small pipe burst and sprayed oil all over the engine compartment). Needless to say, without oil the engine shut down. With only the port engine our maneuverability is nil, so instead of getting a slip (with power, and therefore heat) we anchored and have been on the hunt for a replacement part ever since. This morning we got lucky and found at least a temporary replacement, so our on-board mechanic (Bill) is putting things back together now, and we're hoping the engine will still run. The permanent part has been ordered and should be here by Friday. Since the weather is lousy and the winds aren't good for a run up the Delaware Bay, we're not going anywhere anyway, and this anchorage is the most peaceful one we've ever experienced, so things could definitely be worse. Meanwhile, we're just glad we brought warm clothes!
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