New Jersey to Havre de Grace, MD

When it comes to passages, I'm not a huge fan of night sailing. Now before all you salty sailors out there go judging me, hear me out. First, sleep is wonderful. I love sleep and while 3 hour shifts get the job done, I don't think there is a person out there who would say, "Oh I most certainly prefer 3 hours to 8 hours." Second, it is difficult to judge distance. I might sail 15 feet past a buoy during the day but at night I somehow manage to leave triple the space. Finally, when I get to a destination I tend to want to jump off the boat and explore immediately. Night sailing requires day naps which, though I love sleep, I would rather pass on. Now I bet you're wondering what gets me though the night at this point. Quite simply it is the sunrise shift (and a good audio book until then). There is NOTHING better than seeing the faintest hue of light blue on the horizon and knowing that soon you will be front row to a palette of glimmering warm light rising up from the water. The colors, the sound of your boat cutting through the water and you. That's it. Simple. Perfect.

As we made our way from New York to our first stop, Atlantic City, I took the helm for the sunrise shift and could not stop staring. Not a boat in sight. Just Shiloh and I and our dance party (I'm pretty sure I danced the entire shift). Sean woke up just as we were about to pull into the marina in Atlantic City and we docked without incident (which should elicit its own dance party). We stopped in A.C. just for one night to visit one of my friends from way back and to do all the necessary minutia one finds themselves doing at a marina. This quick stop was one of only two New Jersey stops. New Jersey has beautiful beaches and fun seaside towns but the downside is that it is very shallow. There are not many places Shiloh can stop with her draft. So off we went, with Dolphins to guide us, to the second and last stop in NJ, Cape May.

Cape May is a charming town on the very southern tip of New Jersey. It is one of the country's oldest vacation destinations and as a result contains elaborate Victorian houses, a promenade, a beautiful beachfront and a collection of restaurants and shops. Sean and I anchored near the USCG station with many other boats who were also on their journey south. As we waited for a good wind, we ventured into town to see the sights and check out the beach. Now Cape May is also a huge fishing destination. It is home to many a fishing competition where the entry fees are high and the winnings even higher. As we left town on our way back to Shiloh, a boat in the marina saw us climbing into Dingus and asked if we wanted a beer. Before we knew it we were getting the inside scoop on the fishing scene, the boats and the people while jamming out with complete strangers. Though it was hard to tear ourselves from a randomly fun night, we eventually hopped back into Dingus to prepare for our journey the following day.

The plan for the next two days was to get up the Delaware Bay and through the C&D Canal. After that we had no plans. So, we prepped for another night shift that afternoon and set off for our night sail. The wind up the C&D Canal was great so we were lucky to have a smooth trip. Since we did not want to go through the canal at night we anchored at the mouth and continued through at dawn. As we motored through we considered anchoring or stopping in a town we had heard about called Havre de Grace. We decided to anchor but left a message at the marina inquiring about moorings. Just as we were passing by the marina called and said hey had an opening. Change of plans, we're going to Havre de Grace!

Havre de Grace is a small town packed with many things. The main street has restaurants, shops, antiques, and art. This town is full of SO much history, from being a location on the Underground Railroad to its historical horse racing track. My only complaint is that we were there on a Monday instead of a Friday or Saturday so we could have enjoyed some of the places that were closed. Despite this, we had a great time which was topped off with one VERY IMPORTANT stop. Waffle House. For some reason Sean and I are obsessed with Waffle House (Sean got me hooked). They don't have any in New York so every time we are in a state that has one it is a real treat. With a belly full of Waffle House, we were not only good for the next two meals but we were ready to set off further down the Chesapeake.

- Shiloh Crew