Plan “A” was to leave for Cape May yesterday. Plans change. The wind was still blowing out of the southwest, which is the direction we’re trying to travel in. I learned my lesson on the way to AC.

In a car you just point in a direction and hope there is a road in front of you. The problem we have is our boat is small as is our diesel motor . It is a 14hp tractor engine manufactured in Japan. It was then converted to marine use by another company out of Gloucester, UK. It is a very reliable little engine but has difficulty pushing Catalpa against wind and waves. Off the coast of NJ there is a small craft advisory in affect due to large waves (from tropical storm Gabriel) and there is that pesky southwest wind. If we just try to power into wind and waves our pace is reduced down to a 3 knot crawl. The waves slamming into the bow can almost stop the boat. The motion of the boat is difficult. On the other hand, when the wind is working for us, Catalpa can move along at 6 knots and has an easy motion. Patience. ” A sailor with no schedule always has good weather.” An old saying that applies to our situation. Today is stormy and grey with heavy East winds and surf. No-go for us. Tomorrow or Saturday are both possibilities.

So, we languish away the the days on the Golden Nugget pier. We’ve been around AC for a week. We’re ready to go. I made another tour of the casino today. A lot of the games are digital. When I was a kid I spent a lot of time playing Space Invaders on the boardwalk in Seaside and Point Pleasant. The casino games seem the same, probably more expensive than the quarters I was burning through. I also walked through the card and roulette areas. That looked more interesting if I was inclined to gamble. I made sure I glanced at no cards. I’ve seen Casino. They have a back room. Lynne found a place where we could get takeout pastries and bagels (today’s breakfast) and another that has takeout subs (dinner).

One way or the other we’re off this pier tomorrow. We’ll either anchor out or head down to Cape May. The dock rates increase on the weekends and we’ve been told it gets very busy. We met some nice cruisers on other boats. Ollie had a great time with a little dog last night. Doggy pandemonium on the pier.

View off the back porch- about 80′ long, from London. Looks like a real fast boat.