Rounding Cape May

[Moody46CC]

Capbillh,

Are you sure about the longitude on CM1? 76W would place one in the Chesapeake Bay. The rest of the longitude figures are 74, and if one substitutes 74W for 76W in CM1, i.e., 74 56 22, your passage would make sense, running NW to the Cape May Channel between Eph Shoal to the north and Prissy Wick Shoal to the south.

[capbillh]

You are right. I misread it. it should be 74.
Here are the coordinates of our actual track.
On one leg we were about 500 ft south of the given track but still plenty of water and clearance from the shoals. The incoming current was significant.

CM1 38* 56.503' 75* 00.752' 6nm
CM2 38* 55.627' 74* 57.699' 2.3NM
CM3 38* 54.651' 74* 56.598' 1.4NM
CM4 38* 54.972' 74* 54.555 3.9NM
CMinlet 38* 55.568' 74* 51.664'

total distance 13.6 nm @ 6 knots 2 hrs 16 minutes.

[Moody46CC]

Appreciate Capbillh's fast correction. This summer I'll be heading past Cape May in both directions, but probably not until August, and if the weather is good, I'll try the route. Two years ago I was going north from Cape May into Delaware Bay and tired to run the gap between Prissy Wick and Eph Shoals. Got to close to Prissy Wick, I think, as I saw breakers off to port and reversed course immediately. Just went further west around Prissy Wick then north.

A close look at the charts shows one could run north of Eph Shoal, hugging the beach all the way around the Cape. There seems to be plenty of water. I did not measure the distance one needs to be "off" the shore, but looks like a hundred or two hundred yards.

Anyone tried running in close to the shore--north of Eph Shoal?

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Just followed the charts. It was dark.

Just to be clear....using chart 12214....

I followed the "Cape May Channel"

IIRC the least water we saw was about 15'.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Just to be clear....using chart 12214....

I followed the "Cape May Channel"

IIRC the least water we saw was about 15'.

I'll be rounding Cape May tomorrow afternoon and this channel was the route I had in mind. I'm surprised it's not more widely discussed here as it seems like the logical compromise between hugging the shore and going way out in the shipping lanes.

Did you experience 15' of depth crossing Crow Shoal above Cape May? Or was it somewhere farther south where the depths are charted to be in the 20-foot range? If anyone has any other experience with this route it would be greatly appreciated! Looks like it will be blowing 20+ knots from the SSW by the time I get there.

[donradcliffe]

I wouldn't even think of trying any shortcuts unless the wind is under 10k. You are going to have a rough ride up the bay with the wind against the tide.

[OrangeCrush]

Just an update. Delaware Bay was indeed a pain in the butt. We ended up going fully out by the shipping channel in 25-30kts from the South. I don't doubt that the "Cape May Channel" is plenty deep but it was likely to be much rougher water with the current going over the shoals there. Thanks for the advice on that, all.

We were fighting the flood tide near the mouth of the bay as the wind picked up and as a result the waves weren't so bad but our progress was very slow. When we finally got far enough to turn the corner, the tide had turned too and the waves became much steeper and started breaking. The timing was perfect because at that point we could raise sail and fall off and we were out of there in a hurry.

Thanks for the info, everybody. Extremely helpful as always.