It looks like the weather is going to change.  What?  Not that “Climate Change” discussion!?!? ugh!  No…weather is going to look good for the next several days.

How do I know this?  The ducks were out of hiding and were beginning to float around in the marina looking for food.  When the animals start returning to normal, it is a good thing!

Ducks are paddling by!

Final pictures of the marina here in Cape May, NJ.  I was very impressed that the marina had different sized stairs at the transient docks to help everyone no matter what size boat they had.  We did actually use their metal stair.  It was sturdy and easy to step off / on boat side.  It looked like many of the transients used this convenience.  We have not seen this before.  Very nice.

Stairs at the transient docks

Remember 10 days ago when we first arrived?  I know, I have almost forgotten it as well.  Sooo, long ago.  At our arrival, we needed to add fuel.  I don’t know if I mentioned how precarious that whole event was.  Maybe because it was so soon after that I wasn’t sure what actually happened.  Amnesia??  Anyway, I finally got a great picture of the dredger.  This dredger front fork is IN the channel!  Do you see the brown thing jutting out into the waterway?  When Wayne was maneuvering the boat into the slip for fuel, he had to back up.  I saw one of the dock hands leaned over and looked backwards.  Oh dear!!  It turns out the dockhand was worried that Wayne would hit it with our props!!  Then why, oh why, wouldn’t they want to move it out of the way??  Luckily, Wayne did see it at the last minute and missed hitting it.  Me?  I am on the bow throwing lines.  I had no clue what was going on at the stern.  Wow!!  Lesson of the day?  When the dock hand leans over with a concern on his face, it means something.  May not know what it is, but something!

weatDredger out into the waterway

Remember those fish I showed you the other day?  Loopers told me that they really don’t have much meat on them.  They are all head.  These fish feed on clams and they have massive jaws to break the clams open.  If these fish are 50lbs each, there is about 10 pounds of meat that you can actually fillet out.  Interesting.

WEATHER DISCUSSION:

We have been sitting here for 11 days waiting.  I am sure that the weather in your part of the globe is much nicer than here.  Winds gusting to over 20 mph.  Here are the 2 buoys we have been monitoring.  Look at the picture on the right and you will see the “wave height”.  5 feet!!  The buoy in New York Harbor is registering over 4.6 ft waves!!

The Barnegat Buoy is half way up the NY coastline and was registering 5.2ft waves.

Naturally, that doesn’t sound all too bad, does it?  NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  They provide forecasts for weather conditions including wave and surface wind speeds.  NOAA was also forecasting 5 ft waves this past week or so all along the NJ coast.

By definition:  when NOAA says 5ft waves are expected, they really mean… if example:
Significant Wave Height = 5 ft   ( meaning at least 1/3 of all waves are at least 5 ft high )
1 in 10 waves will be larger than 6ft
1 in 100 waves will be larger than 8ft
1 in 1000 waves will be larger than 9ft with an “occasional” rogue wave being even higher.

Not that people actually count the waves but statistics indicates these numbers.  If we are out in the water and hit waves taller then me, I don’t think I want to be on the water!!

We heard boaters complain about the waves of water hitting their flybridge as they dared to travel south in the Delaware Bay during high gust days.  That means the water splashed a good 10-15 ft above the water surface.  The boaters where drenched and exhausted by the time they finally made it to the marina.

We wait for our weather window with calmer water and lower winds.  At one point, there were 10 Loopers at the marina waiting.  We gathered a couple of times to discuss weather, Looping, and just “how do you do’s”.  These gatherings are conducted at the docks.  Generally described as “Dock-tails”.  Bring your beverage of choice, a dish to share, and a story to tell.  hahaha  Stories are always, always, the easiest to provide!

Tomorrow, it is confirmed by at least 6 Loopers as the day to GO!!  The sunset to send us on our way north?

Red Sunset – June 9, 2015 – Cape May, NJ

Sunsetting at Cape May, NJ