Annapolis to Cape May, NJ

[velero]

What are the conditions on the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean at this time of the year??

V49

[AnchorageGuy]

You really need to monitor the weather reports. The conditions can be mill pond smooth to gale force. Its a pretty broad question. Chuck

[steve_hendry]

We were there a few weeks ago. We've been lucky, all our trips up and down DE bay have been during calms, so major issue was hitting the currents right. I say lucky in that DE bay's reputation is bad.

Remember that the railroad bridge on the C&D canal has only 45 ft clearance when down. I assume from the size of your boat you can't get through the canal into Cape May harbor, so you'll have to plot a course around the cape (this year was our first trip where we had to go around; of course squalls caught us).

Don't know of any issues specific to this time of year, but the daily forcast is important.

[Auspicious]

Look up the currents (currents, not tides) at Tidal Current Tables . Running with the current makes a huge difference in time (hours). Look for the current at the western end and hit the entrance of the canal an hour or so before peak favorable current. That will put you in favorable current all the way down the Delaware Bay.

If you can't clear the bridge in the Cape May canal you will probably have draft issues as well - there is a lot of shoaling in there. I skip Cape May completely and stop at Cape Henlopen behind the inner breakwater (if I need to stop at all).