June 20                                   Cape May, New Jersey

We planned an early morning departure from Philadelphia for our nine hour journey to Cape May. Preparations had been made the evening before so we would not be delayed.  David checked all the systems of the boat and I settled all matters with the marina.  We would travel south on the Delaware River to the junction of the C & D canal and Delaware Bay, turn east into the Bay and continue for approximately five hours to Cape May on the Atlantic shore.  Weather predictions were favorable.  Our information had warned it could be extremely unpleasant and possibly dangerous to be in Delaware Bay during rainy or windy weather.  After leaving our marina, there was no other place for us to dock except at Delaware City—and we had found that to be inadequate when we stayed there on our previous journey.  We would make the long trip to Cape May in one day.

Shortly after 5:00 AM, we untied the lines, started the engines, and left the marina.  Two minutes later, David calmly stated, “We’ve lost our steering and we have to go back.”  Using the gear and throttle controls, he managed to turn about, enter the marina, move close to the dock so we could throw a line around a cleat (dockhands were not available at that early time), and secure the boat.

After examining the steering mechanism, checking manuals, etc., David called Carleton, who had taken care of the boat for many years when it was in Fort Myers, Florida.  They conferred and determined there was a steering fluid issue.  Since we had very little steering fluid on board, I was dispatched to a service station four blocks from the marina while David continued to learn about the problem. 

The addition of steering fluid and subsequent “bleeding of the lines” finally was successful.  At 10:00, we agreed to start for Cape May.  We had marina reservations there and they would have dock help until 8:00 PM.  We should reach the marina before it closed and the weather was so perfect, we did not want to risk it changing by the next day.

It was great to be cruising and we again enjoyed the experience of passing the huge ships at the Naval Boat Yard and meeting the massive tankers coming up river.  Unlike our previous journey up the Delaware to Philadelphia, we were not constantly under attack by floating logs, auto wheels, and other debris—the river was clear.

Delaware Bay is huge and at one point, land was only barely visible on either side. Our GPS functioned perfectly and we had no difficulty finding Cape May Canal, the narrow entrance to Cape May Harbor from the Bay.  Reaching our marina only a few minutes past 7:00 PM, we were almost secured to the dock when I began to query a dockhand about the area.  It was about three miles from town, the restaurant was closed, and there was nothing else nearby.  Remembering that the owners of this marina also owned another one, I asked if the other place would have a better location for us.  He immediately stated that it would be much better since the best seafood restaurant in town was located there.  We called, made a reservation, untied and headed across the harbor to the other marina.  Hidden behind a fleet of commercial fishing boats,  South Jersey Marina was not easy to find but it was well worth the effort.  Small, quaint, immaculate, and hosting, to our surprise, several huge yachts, it was minutes from town and the beach.  We finally docked at 7:45 PM.  It had been a long day.  Dinner at The Lobster House, only a few yards from the Marina was a great reward for our efforts.