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Sailing the New Jersey Coast and Delaware Bay! (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 18
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we leave New York Harbour and travel down the New Jersey coast and up Delaware Bay.
We left New York just before 6am. There was already a lot of marine traffic at that hour and the first couple of hours was spent dodging wake from ferries, water taxis, shipping boats and other vessels. We had a beautiful sail down to the Manasquan Inlet - pretty much zero sea state and winds blowing at a beam reach, about 10-15 knots.
Manasquan Inlet was a challenging experience. Firstly, there are dozens of fishing vessels that are blocking the inlet entrance. Secondly, the inlet has between 2-3 knots current and we were heading in at opposing current. We struggled in at 2-3 knots of speed, while fishing vessels with 300 or more horsepower zoomed past us. There was a beautiful little anchorage at Glimmer Glass Bay, but we had to go past the smallest bascule bridge in the world. We were afraid we wouldn’t fit through! Greg did a spectacular job of keeping the boat straight through the channel, against currents and wind that wanted to push us sideways.
The next day there was absolutely no wind, and we motored to Barnegat Bay. We saw dozens of dolphins, a couple of which came right past the boat. Again, a challenging and blocked entrance to the inlet, but a very nice anchorage at the end. We went ashore to try to find ice cream but alas, all the stores were closed for the season.
Another motor from Barnegat to Atlantic City. We specifically picked this weather window because we knew it would be calm, and it was Diana’s first time sailing offshore. However, it was a little too calm, and we missed using our sails! There was a storm forecast, so we hunkered down in Brigatine for a few days and explored Atlantic City.
Atlantic City was an odd place. There were huge casinos that were closed, and other bright and shiny things open with very few people around. It also seemed very tacky. We walked down the boardwalk, bought some salt water taffy, and looked for WiFi to download things and upload our YouTube videos. I swear that half our time on shore is spent looking for places that have fast WiFi!
After a few days in Atlantic City, we started to get restless and decided to head to Cape May. Since we had been motoring so much, we chose a day with stiffer winds and what was forecasted to be a slightly bigger sea state so we could sail. Unfortunately the winds were much higher than predicted - gusting over 30 knots - and had the corresponding bigger sea state. This wasn’t bad when we were heading south, but when we turned back to go inland, we were hitting 7-8 foot swells straight on, not to mention motoring through 30 knot winds. That was ver
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm4xdu6ObTc
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we leave New York Harbour and travel down the New Jersey coast and up Delaware Bay.
We left New York just before 6am. There was already a lot of marine traffic at that hour and the first couple of hours was spent dodging wake from ferries, water taxis, shipping boats and other vessels. We had a beautiful sail down to the Manasquan Inlet - pretty much zero sea state and winds blowing at a beam reach, about 10-15 knots.
Manasquan Inlet was a challenging experience. Firstly, there are dozens of fishing vessels that are blocking the inlet entrance. Secondly, the inlet has between 2-3 knots current and we were heading in at opposing current. We struggled in at 2-3 knots of speed, while fishing vessels with 300 or more horsepower zoomed past us. There was a beautiful little anchorage at Glimmer Glass Bay, but we had to go past the smallest bascule bridge in the world. We were afraid we wouldn’t fit through! Greg did a spectacular job of keeping the boat straight through the channel, against currents and wind that wanted to push us sideways.
The next day there was absolutely no wind, and we motored to Barnegat Bay. We saw dozens of dolphins, a couple of which came right past the boat. Again, a challenging and blocked entrance to the inlet, but a very nice anchorage at the end. We went ashore to try to find ice cream but alas, all the stores were closed for the season.
Another motor from Barnegat to Atlantic City. We specifically picked this weather window because we knew it would be calm, and it was Diana’s first time sailing offshore. However, it was a little too calm, and we missed using our sails! There was a storm forecast, so we hunkered down in Brigatine for a few days and explored Atlantic City.
Atlantic City was an odd place. There were huge casinos that were closed, and other bright and shiny things open with very few people around. It also seemed very tacky. We walked down the boardwalk, bought some salt water taffy, and looked for WiFi to download things and upload our YouTube videos. I swear that half our time on shore is spent looking for places that have fast WiFi!
After a few days in Atlantic City, we started to get restless and decided to head to Cape May. Since we had been motoring so much, we chose a day with stiffer winds and what was forecasted to be a slightly bigger sea state so we could sail. Unfortunately the winds were much higher than predicted - gusting over 30 knots - and had the corresponding bigger sea state. This wasn’t bad when we were heading south, but when we turned back to go inland, we were hitting 7-8 foot swells straight on, not to mention motoring through 30 knot winds. That was ver
...
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sailing-chesapeake-bay!-(sailing-sv
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This episode we leave Chesapeake City and continue heading south.
Our first destination was Annapolis - we had heard many great things about the city that was known as the sailing capital of North America. We had a great motor sail down the Chesapeake with our buddy boat Bandera. We anchored in the Severn River and took the dinghy in to get tokens from the Harbourmaster (we desperately needed to do laundry and have showers). Unfortunately we arrived too late to buy tokens, but a nice lady on a neighboring yacht let us borrow some of hers.
The next day we headed to Fawcett’s Boat Supplies to buy a sail repair kit, as our genoa had sustained damage in our rough sail between Atlantic City and Cape May. We also took the opportunity to provision and check out the many sailing yachts that are kept in Back Creek. We stopped by Helly Hansen to enhance our rain gear (Greg bought a jacket, Diana bought waterproof pants) and wandered around downtown Annapolis. We treated ourselves to an all you can eat seafood and raw buffet - it was delicious!
We left Annapolis and traveled to St. Michaels, on the recommendation of a viewer. It was a short sail over in light winds, and the weather was sunny and beautiful. On the way over, we noticed we were out of propane, so our first priority upon reaching St. Michaels was to fill our tank. Luckily Greg managed to find a place to fill it and we were back in business. St. Michaels is a beautiful little town, with a lot to see and do. We followed the crab walk, read up on some history, shopped and visited the winery. The chocolate zinfandel is amazing!
We left St. Michaels early the next morning and headed towards Solomons. We anchored near our buddy boat Bandera, who had arrived there earlier in the day. We replaced our outhaul in preparation for a longer sail the next day.
From Solomons, we had a great weather window to head south so we decided to try to make as much distance as possible. We left early in the morning, surrounded by about 20 other sailing vessels. Catsaway does her best sailing at a beam reach, broad reach and downwind, so she quickly left the sailing group behind and shot ahead. We managed to do 62 nautical miles, even though we we fighting the current.
From Deltaville, we motored to Norfolk, where we were awed by the amount of aircraft carriers. Our friends in Bandera ended up too close to the navy boats and were chased after by the friendly navy police. We docked at the free docks in Norfolk and went ashore to celebrate our four year anniversary.
We had hoped to get to Elizabeth City the next day, but we were delayed at the lock (45 minutes!) and then again when we had to stop to cl
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EXPLO
exploring-george-town-in-the-exumas
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we explore Georgetown!
Georgetown is located on the island of Great Exuma, and was the largest settlement we had seen within the Exumas. It is also a very popular spot for cruisers; there are often more than 200 boats anchored by Stocking Island.
There are several restaurants, resorts and shops located within Georgetown and we splurged on some food and drink. We also reconnected with our friends from Jennabird, Be As You Are, and Spiraserpula. We explore the historic Crab Cay with them, and saw the ruins of the plantation, as well as the remains of a failed development. It felt a little sad to see how much infrastructure had been built up before the development was shut down.
Chat ‘n Chill is a home base for cruisers; people gather there in the afternoons for volleyball or other activities. Yoga, water aerobics and meetings are held in the morning. Our favourite part of Chat ‘n Chill were the cats! The restaurant takes care of several cats, who are friendly and personable. They even joined us for yoga.
Our friends from Seas Life (for Good - check our their vlog!) and Intrepid helped us make a conch horn with the shell we had saved from our previous episode. It turned out great!!
Special thanks to Harry and Alicia on Jennabird for video footage.
Credits:
“Despacito” cover by Brigit O’Regan https://youtu.be/0SEwUZzJhOc
Youtube: Brigit O'Regan
Instagram: @brigitfiddle
“Despacito” cover by Cats (Varieties of the world) https://youtu.be/vbDNYHG7NKg
“Kick this City” by Kara Keith https://soundcloud.com/userkarakeith/kickthiscity?in=userkarakeith/sets/kkep_2007
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qykEFk16XMY
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BORDE
border-bounce-part-1-(sailing-sv
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we move onto the boat, travel to Oswego and get bounced back to Canada.
The last couple weeks in Ottawa were a whirlwind of activity - getting the solar system installed on the boat, trying to get a renter for the house, finishing up work, packing the house away, saying goodbye to friends and family, cleaning up the house and setting up an AirBnb. Finally the house was clean, thanks to a lot of help from Diana’s parents, Charles and Soph. :) The kitties were distressed the entire time, as we think they suspected change was on the horizon.
It was a cool and rainy day when we drove to the boat. Diana’s parents helped us take a carload of things. The cats took a while to settle down, as there were new smells and a lot of new noises to get used to. The first couple of days on the boat happened to be very windy as well - so they had more than their fair share of halyards slapping and other noises.
After a few days, the cats were accustomed to their new surroundings and relaxed. We decided to start the engine and drive to the gas dock - a short journey for their first time moving the boat. Jazz didn’t like the engine starting (no surprise there!), but Hercie was fine. Jazz came out of her blanket cocoon when we got to the gas dock.
We had been checking the winds for several days to see when would be the best time to go to Oswego. Thursday and Friday seemed like good winds, so we would get good speed. Unfortunately, a storm system that was supposed to pass south of us ended up swinging north and gave us more than we had planned. After motoring through a squall and having engine problems, we decided to duck into Henderson Bay until the system passed.
Henderson Bay was a great place to relax and tune out from the world. Neither of us had any cell reception, so our couple of days there were spent reading, relaxing and cooking. It was wonderful. The kitties even got a chance to explore the outside of the boat (with us keeping a close eye on them!).
A couple of days later, we left Henderson Bay for Oswego. We checked into U.S. Customs on Saturday afternoon and were told that we had to call the Syracuse office for our cruising permit on Monday morning. We got ready to unstep the mast by taking down the sails and boom, and loosening our baby stays. Then we decided to explore Oswego!
Oswego is a beautiful little city, overlooking Lake Ontario. It hosts lovely architecture, parks and a picturesque downtown. Known as the Port City of New York, it has mottos such as, “Where the Water Never Ends” and “Cool by Nature”. We biked around visiting coffee shops, the canal, and Fort Ontario.
We were also lucky enough to meet up w
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CLOSE
close-call-learning-to-dock-(sailing-sv
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week Diana’s parents came to visit us in Kingston, Ontario. We took them on a brief sail (the winds were light and later died), and then later enrolled them to help us remove the old name from the hull. Finding out what worked for our boat was helpfully fueled by the marina community. What seemed to work best was a combination of using a heat gun, a razor scraper, goo gone and some rubbing compound.
Greg spent much of the day re-wiring part of the boat and installing DC cell phone chargers. He was successful in his attempts and now we have several fast charging ports!
The following day, Diana’s parents left and we decided to try to sail on a beam reach with the assistance of our centreboards. Though Catsaway ended up travelling quickly - between 8 to 9 knots - there was a lot of leeway motion. We were actually getting blown backwards from our goal. We knew that catamarans struggle upwind, but we weren’t expecting so much difficulty. One more thing to add to the list - how to efficiently sail upwind!
Coming back into the dock, there was a strong wind, accentuated with windy gusts. Diana started her approach into the slip alright, but as she slipped the boat into neutral, the vessel was immediately blown towards our starboard side. Greg ran around pushing our boat away from others and we successfully backed out. On our second attempt, Diana hugged the port side more and used more throttle to combat the effects of the wind. It also helped a lot that two of our neighbours came out to help us!
Next week’s task: Removing the rest of the name, and figuring out how to sail upwind!
Music Credits:
Invincible by DEAF KEV
Invisible Light by Josh Woodward
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
Need Cat Stuff?
https://SVCatsaway.com
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OUR F
our-first-sail-on-sv-catsaway-(sailing
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we managed to adjust our rigging, set up our sails and finally get Catsaway sailing on the water.
Setting up our jib was a good learning opportunity for us as neither of us had worked with a rolling furler. Diana was the only one who had set up sails (during her course), so we did some troubleshooting. Our mainsail was more straightforward, except that we accidentally confused our spare halyard with the topping lift. Luckily, we’re still in touch with the original owner, so he gave us some guidance.
Our first sail was wonderful. Catsaway sailed easily at 7 knots, and tends to sail about half the speed of the wind. Our tacking was challenging, but we think it was because we were releasing our jib too early.
We also flushed our water tanks clear of the winterizing antifreeze. We didn’t realize that the dock taps were lake water (which we were using for the flushing). Although this negated our guilty feeling about wasting so much water, we realized that we needed to purify the tanks again. We set out to the gas dock to refuel and fill the tanks with potable water, which we then purified again with iodine tablets.
The next day we attempted to fix a leaking hatch, only to be stumped when we couldn’t release the hatch from the hull. As a quick fix ONLY, we decided to clean up the old caulking around the hatch and recaulk the outside. We realize this is *only* a quick fix, and we were need to seal it more thoroughly in time. We have purchased butyl tape for the seal and have also done some more research on how to get that hatch out.
We have been working on having more accurate and concise communication with each other. One of our improvements is to thoroughly discuss what our intentions are before actually putting the boat in action. This has helped clear up miscommunications. :)
A big thank you to all the wonderful folks at Treasure Island Marina. You have all been very helpful in assisting us, lending us tools, giving advice and helping us launch and dock the boat. You have definitely made this process a lot smoother, and it has been wonderful getting to know the community.
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
Need Cat Stuff?
https://SVCatsaway.com
Credits:
“Acoustic Folk Instrumental” by Hyde
"I Know Where You've Been” (Instrumental) by Forget the Whale
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CAT-A
cat-astrophe!-onboard-kitty-emergency
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we leave Long Island and Hercie gets sick.
We sailed from Calabash Bay to Rum Cay. The coral heads at Rum Cay are over 20 feet high; unfortunately most of these reefs are dead. They were ravaged by hurricanes and much of the sea life is gone. The next day, we sailed up to Cat Island.
Hercie had vomited the night we arrived at Rum Cay. We noticed he was listless and so were keeping an eye on him. He quickly deteriorated and stopped eating and drinking. He was straining to urinate and was vomiting bile. We went ashore to try and find an animal clinic for him but learned that there was none on the island.
Diana started writing to clinics in Nassau, and they all confirmed that Hercie's situation was dire and that he needed emergency care right away. After much help from the local community, we managed to book Diana on a flight to Nassau.
Hercie was treated immediately by Dr. Allen and the staff at the Happy Pets Animal Clinic. They inserted a catheter and an IV, and Hercie was resting comfortably by that night.
Diana stayed two nights in Nassau because she couldn't get on a flight back to Cat Island. This meant Greg had to single hand the boat to our new anchorage at Old Bight.
Carl from Rolleez Resorts kindly organized for his wife Yvonne to pick Diana and Hercie up from the airport. Finally we were all together again!
Credits:
Video footage of Catsaway from Harry and Alicia from Jennabird
"On Brevity" by Josh Woodward
"Little Tomcat" by Josh Woodward
"Together on our Own" by Josh Woodward
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TWpclmCl-M
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VIDEO
DOG R
dog-rescue,-provisioning,-miami-before
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
Catsaway rescues a dog!
We arrived in Miami and had a great time exploring South Beach and visiting with friends. After several days anchored by the Venetian Causeway, we moved to a mooring ball
at Dinner Key Marina. We had just moored when we heard a dog barking on a neighbouring boat. Greg looked up just in time to see the dog jump into the water.
We thought it was cute, but then realized that the dog couldn't get back up to the boat by herself, and that no one had seen her go in. She started swimming
towards land, with only her little head above water. The wind was 15-20 knots and there were white caps on the water, which made it difficult to keep an eye on her.
We quickly launched our dinghy and went after her. As soon as she saw us, she switched course and started swimming towards us. Greg hauled her up on the dinghy, and we
turned around to check to see if her owner was on board. After calling several times, we decided it was best to take her to the marina so they could contact her
owner. After several days of not knowing (and us considering adopting her!), it turns out that her owner had unexpectedly ended up in the hospital. The staff
at Dinner Key Marina did a great job of taking care of Honey, giving her fresh water, toys and even air conditioning when it became hot outside. :)
We completed the pet paperwork for the Bahamas.
1) Fill out the form
2) Get an INTERNATIONAL money order from the post office - price per pet ($10) + facsimile return ($5) + VAT (7.5%)
3) Sign up for EFax.com so you can receive incoming faxes for free
4) Mail the form and the international money order to the Department of Agriculture (use the address that's on the website, NOT the one on the form)
5) We sent our application on a Thursday and received the faxed permit on Monday.
Next up on our list was provisioning! Below is a rough list of what we bought:
-Paper products (paper towel, toilet paper)
-Maintenance supplies (oil, filters, coolant)
-Cleaning supplies (dish and laundry soap, dust cloths)
-Canned goods (tomatoes, pasta sauce, soups, vegetables, meats, seafood)
-Dried goods (rice, beans, milk powder, lentils, flour, sugar, salt, popcorn, coffee, tea etc)
-Oils and spices
-Tinfoil, tupperware, plastic wrap
-Long lasting fresh produce (squash, cabbage, citrus, plantains, potatoes, etc)
-Fishing supplies (lures, lines)
-Extra lighters for our stove
-Cat food
-Extra thru hull plugs
-Splash Zone epoxy for emergency repairs (this epoxy cures underwater)
-Self cleaning supplies (shampoo, soap, baby wipes)
-extra fuses, sail slides
-Beer
-Probably more that we can't remember
It was a job in itself getting all this stuff to the marina, then onto the boat. Next
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VIDEO
BOAT
boat-shopping-finding-a-boat-for-us-and
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This is the beginning of our sailing adventure with two people & two cats.
This episode follows our boat shopping journey as we try to find the right sailing vessel for our upcoming trip. Our parameters included:
1) Comfortable cruising
2) Under $100,000 CDN
3) Bluewater ready/almost ready (we won't have that much time to work on the boat)
4) Efficient lay out
5) BONUS: solar panels, radar, plumbed for the ocean, dinghy, close to Canada
Our plan is to sail from Lake Ontario to the Caribbean and then... beyond! We don't have a set plan so we'll be doing much of the preparation while we're underway.
Here is the crew:
Admeowral Diana - Canadian, has never sailed, but is good with logistics and handy work. Also has a much needed sense of humour.
Cat-tain Greg - Australian, sailed a lot down under but never in fresh water. Proficient in IT and kitty cuddling. Has an adventurous spirit.
Chief Petting Officer Jazz - A bulls eye tabby with a lot of spunk and fight in her. She is our hunter and keeps us in line.
Able SeaCat Hercules - An affectionate black kitty who loves unconditionally and is pretty chill about things - as long as his family is with him.
Credits
“Up In My Jam (All Of A Sudden)” by the talented Kubbi is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
“Waves and footprints” from opening scene is from the useful website Videezy.com
Special thanks to Ripple Training for the intro to Final Cut Pro - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Qy-4esLdXmO1F6k5kz0Qg
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0lhlPdo0mw
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SWEPT
swept-away-(almost)-in-eleuthera
Catsaway is for sale - https://SVCatsaway.com/forsale
Live map - https://SVCatsaway.com/map
This week we decided to take advantage of uncooperative winds and played tourist!
We sailed to Hatchet Bay, known as "The safest harbour in the Bahamas". We hitchhiked to Hatchet Bay Caves with some new friends, who shared some local knowledge and introduced us to a tamarind tree. Afterwards, they thought it was too hot for us to walk, so they dropped us back by our boat. What lovely people!
Our friend Emmett (who runs the convenience store near the dinghy dock) kindly offered to take us to the windward side so we could explore the beaches. He was collecting sand for his house project, so we had an hour to explore. We climbed up a giant sand dune, to find a beautiful beach on the other side. It was a great spot for collecting sea glass and we soon had more than we could hold.
The next day, we rented a car with buddy boat Jennabird. We went to the Glass Window Bridge (the narrowest part of Eleuthera), where you see the contrast between the open ocean and the peaceful sound. Afterwards, we continued to Harbour Island and enjoyed the quaint architecture and the gorgeous pink sand. We rented a golf cart and Greg LOVED driving it!
After our adventure, we met some new friends on St. Nicolas de Sauzon and Barefoot Adventures and we all went out for pizza.
Next stop: Spanish Wells!
Credits:
Drone Footage courtesy of Barrett and Robert on St. Nick (the beautiful catamaran in front of us!)
Opening scenes of Catsaway coming through the cut courtesy of Harry and Alicia from Jennabird
"Winds of Spring" by the 126ers
"If I Had a Chicken" by Kevin MacLeod
"Lovable Clown Sit Com" by Sir Cubworth
Social Media:
instagram.com/svcatsaway
facebook.com/svcatsaway
twitter.com/svcatsaway
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WjaNW2XBK8
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