Baltimore after delays and delays

We finally made it through the East River on the 24th . After Hell Gate, Roosevelt Island splits the East River into 2 channels. The West channel goes along Manhattan , the UN, Tudor city and other NY landmarks. The East Channel is crossed by a drawbridge about a mile after Hell Gate. This drawbridge, coming so soon after Hell Gate is the reason we always try for the West Channel of the river. With the West Chanel still closed for security, there weren't other options. The Drawbridge needs 15 minutes notice before opening. We calculated and decided to call just as we passed hell Gate. As it turned out we tore through Hell Gate at about 10 knots and saw the bridge loom up at about the same time as we requested the opening. Tom eased the throttle and turned around to wait but the current was still strong and we were traveling backward at a pretty good clip. The bridge still wasn't open. In 15 minutes ,( seemed longer) we finally got through. It seemed we were barely under way again when we were met by Coast Guard and NYPD boats. The river was closed for an hour near the heliport. Nobody , really nobody could go past. The Staten Island ferry was stopped, commercial tugs and barges were warned to stay out, everyone waited. Eventually the helicopter left and we heard radio announcement that south bound sails on the East river were allowed to pass . New York is an adventure even on water. We sailed off to Sandy Hook and Atlantic Highlands, planning to spend the evening. It was a great sail. We ended up waiting in Sandy Hook for tropical storm Kyle's winds and seas to pass. We were there for a long for 5 days.

After such a long wait, we planned to sail the whole coast of NJ through the night, put fuel on in Cape May then run Delaware Bay and catch a fair tide through the C and D canal . Sailing down the coast of NJ was wonderful . The wind was a little too calm for sail alone but the ocean swells diminished as we motorsailed . The stars twinkled and the lights of Atlantic City showed up almost 20 miles out. It seemed that every boat that waited for weather was out, commercial traffic, fishing boats, other sailors heading south . It was really busy. Every time Tom turned the helm over to me, he would say "stay out of the shipping lanes!! " I think he was nervous but tired enough to close his eyes anyway. The radio was lively most of the night. Several times we heard "south bound sail at ...lat and long, this is the north bound freighter or ATB directly astern of you". Those boats are huge; can you imagine looking up at night to see one directly astern? Staying out of the shipping lanes was good advice! As we got toward Cape May,dawn was beginning and rumors started coming over the radio. The general gist was that the C and D was closed until further notice -- a freighter was aground . There was a lot of discussion but we hoped the mess would be cleared by the time we got there . Delaware Bay is 50 miles long and that takes us a long time. As it turned out, by 1030 am all was cleared up. A freighter had gone aground but was off and hadn't leaked. We caught the current and flew to Chesapeake City and a night asleep in our bed instead of the cockpit. Made Batimore the next day.