Just Keep Going: Sassafras River, MD to Mattapoisett, Massachusetts

Through the canal, past the nuclear power plant, across the wide open Delaware Bay, and around the corner to Cape May, NJ.  We've done this a few times now (4?) and it's not our favorite piece of coastal real estate. We followed a retired coast guard captain on "Southern Yankee" around the point inside the large shoals at Cape May. The current reduced our boat speed from 6.5 knots to 1.5 knots and tossed the boat around a bit. It was around 5:30 PM and we set a course northeast toward Massachusetts.  The seas were very rolly (leftover hurricane), and the wind was light, so we had a rough couple of hours.  Things got better as the night went on. We left New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island to port as went directly past Block Island and up Buzzard's Bay for Massachusetts.

Around midnight, we encountered a bunch of smaller sailboats that were racing.  It was a solo race and these guys (10-12?) were flying. One crossed us suddenly out of nowhere and gave Chris and I a good scare.  Coastal waters can be tricky due to all the traffic.

50 hours total at sea.

We cut our teeth on this one. Our boys survived well without cell service, no one leaped off the boat in frustration and the dog did her business...although she wasn't happy about it. We all took our shifts in stride and survived.  Longer passages get easier after you've done a few of them.