What a ride!

I’ve just dropped the hook up at the top of the Delaware bay, just south of the C&D canal which connects the Delaware and Chesapeake bays.

I’ve slept less than an hour in the past 36, but I must share my thoughts tonight.

I met up with a sailing friend on Monday who pulled into Atlantic Highlands for the night. He also presented me with a gift, a 75lb CQR, I was really looking for a second anchor for this trip and I’m really grateful for the extra security. He had picked some clams for dinner from the beach. They were wonderful, but out of the 4 of us that ate them, I got shellfish poisoning and spent all day Tuesday sick as a dog! I wanted to cry as delays have really gotten me down and I need to get home. When I woke up the following morning I was still weak, but highly motivated.

I had a great time in Atlantic Highlands and made some new friends (Dale & Erica), thanks for the laughs guys :) The Jersey shore really can be a wonderful place and seems a million miles away from the big city even though Manhattan is in sight.

We left Atlantic Highlands NJ Wednesday at about 2pm. It was blowing hard 25-30, gusting to 35 and over. The wind however was from the right direction and we had one small window to sail to the Delaware. The wind was a bit hot for a shakedown; the maiden sail of Eleanor.

When we rounded Sandy hook and got into the Atlantic ocean away from the currents of New York harbor. I got us about a mile off the beach, raised the sails, and cut the engine.

Let me start off by saying the WestSail 42 is the loveliest boat I’ve ever sailed. I’ve sailed all sorts of boats from Swans, to catamarans and trimarans. I like a heavy boat that perform well, yet are still comfortable. With a double reef in my main, and a handkerchief of a jib out, it was not easy to keep Eleanor under 9knots, I was surfing just over 9 with a consistent 8-8.7 knots of speed throughout the night. I didn’t get any sleep but we made the Delaware in record time. I never did get a chance to raise the mizzen or Yankee sails and I need to have a third reef sewn into Eleanor’s mainsail. Man she likes to go, go, GO!

I pulled into Cape may for 3 hours to catch a quick nap and Todd and I motored up the Delaware this afternoon. We will be in the Chesapeake late tomorrow morning heading for Norfolk and the Intracoastal Waterway south.

I LOVE ELEANOR! What a magnificent yacht. If anyone is genuinely interested I know where a very special W42 can be had for about 75k, a more than fair price!

Anyway, I’m off to forge my head to a pillow, wake up in the dark, and continue my journey back to my wife, white sand beaches, and crystal blue water.

Peace, love, and coconuts.

Sail far and live slowly.

– alex