Hey Dave,

My trip south last winter commenced on New Year's Eve, after waiting for several days for a strong southerly flow to abate, and the water in my bay to rise enough to permit me to sneak out, I left Manasquan just after dark... Beautiful sail down the coast in a light NW breeze, watching fireworks from LBI and Atlantic City as the new year was rung in... Just a perfect night...

There was a strong southerly forecast again for the following day, in advance of a very strong cold front arriving on the night of the first... If I'd stopped in Cape May to wait for it, crossing the Delaware Bay Entrance the next day would have been pretty sporty, so I pressed on to Lewes, sneaking in there just before it started honking out of the south...

I hadn't been in there in probably 20 years... Very nice spot, the town docks were closed for the season, but amazingly the town park had rest rooms with showers that were still open... Nice relaxing afternoon napping and wandering around town, and a nice dinner from one of the dozens of restaurants in town... A great stop...

The ride down the coast to Norfolk was a quick one... The front arrived right on schedule around midnight, and it was a strong one... I saw a solid 30 knots most of the day, often gusting to 40. Departing from Cape May would have been pretty wild, but riding down the beach in comparatively flat water was a real treat, and by the time I reached Chincoteague and lost the protection of the coast, the breeze had moderated just a bit... I really lucked out when it came time to turn the corner at Cape Charles, and head west over into Hampton Roads... That was a pretty brutal bash to weather, but despite being forecast to back again to the west, it stayed just enough NNW that I was able to crack off just enough to make it bearable... But again, my timing was very fortunate, as soon as I made it into Hampton Roads, it really started to blow again more from the W... The conditions at Mile 0 and Portsmouth were as wild as I've ever seen them there...

As was Currituck Sound... I flew along under a staysail alone all the way from Pungo Ferry to Coinjock, where the Manhattans and seafood platter have never tasted better... A great start to another trip south, but the stop in Lewes was really the highlight, a very pleasant surprise... Highly recommended, if you're ever in the neighborhood...

best regards,

Jon