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Man; nobody has anything to say recently:eek: Are you keeping fishing reports "close to the heart"? Or, have fewer people been going out?

My boat sits outside my home waiting for me to return from my New England sailboat trip:D I leave Monday and will return in about 6 days. We never get an early start the morning of the trip. My 85 year old Pastor always has us running around provisioning the boat, getting ice, getting the dingy down from the shed, and doing other small odd jobs. Because of this, we don't make much ground that first day.
First day usually sees us traveling up the bay and cutting through the C&D Canal. Once through, we anchor up somewhere in the Delaware Bay for the first night. The second day has us running down the Delaware Bay and spending the night in Cape May N.J. They usually have a shark tournament either happening or just ending. It's fun to walk the marina's and look at all the sport fisher boats and the gear hanging off rigging:) We leave Cape May and head out to the ocean. We make a run up the coast, throw a hook out for a couple hours nap at Sandy Hook, and head into N.Y. harbor and up the East River (if the tide is right:D) and finally slip into a marina at Port Jefferson. That's a long leg !!
The rest of the trip is easy. Next port of call is New Haven Ct. By now, you can begin to feel the temperature change. Our next stop would be my destination, if it was my vacation. Block Island is a pleasure to investigate. We usually get in early enough to rent a couple of scooters and tour the island. We return to the boat, get showered/change clothes, and go have a great meal at a restaurant overlooking a harbor. The destination of Martha's Vineyard is the final leg. I have taken a tour buss as well as the "city" bus all over the island. I don't see the attraction. It's a little to touristy in some areas. A little to snobbish in others, and quite frankly, unfriendly over most of the island (my opinion).

On my first trip (this will be my fourth), my Pastor, who is very liberal politically, asked the other crew member and me if their was anything special we wanted to see. I said sure, "I want to see the bridge leading to Chappaquiddick where Ted Kennedy killed that girl (Mary Jo Kopechne):p
Knowing how conservative I am, he thought I was being a smart ass. But I really did want to see it. We didn't get to cross the bridge, but there is a sightseeing area where you can look across from Martha's Vineyard and across to Chappaquiddick. So, I did get to see the bridge from a distance.

We head home the following day by train back to Baltimore. This year, I will be more concerned about the train ride back then the possibility of coastal storms on the way up:eek: I think I'll look for a seat on the last car.

Jason and Mlag, when I get back, I want to hear that the Spot have arrived, and they are easy to catch anywhere from the Bay Bridge south:) I expect Jeff to be pulling red hoses in our summer hole and passing info over to me. Bruce is responsible for checking out the grounds near Heart Miller Island. And Mike will be reporting how his new boat's air conditioning works!!!

You wouldn't have to sit through all this if I had a Facebook page. But with the inactivity on the board, at least you have something new to read;)

5th

Sorry Marty but haven't been fishing much. There's this thing called work that has been keeping me busy!

Soooooo, I'm Home:)

I got back Saturday after a pretty uneventful trip. We did have one hellacious storm off the coast of Atlantic City, but that's all:D

As usual, we didn't get away from the dock until around noon. Then we had to stop in Annapolis for fuel and ice:eek:
We finally hit the bay about 1pm and headed for our first scheduled anchorage outside the C&D Canal in Delaware Bay. When we reached the anchorage, we decide to keep going and head for Cape May N.J..
The run down the Del. Bay was smooth and flat (main reason we made the choice). Del. Bay can be a real bear to navigate. Wind and tides can churn the waters into a challenge. Throw some rain and lightning into the mix and it can be a down right ugly ride.
We pulled into Cape May after sun up and docked at a marina for fuel. We made a "deal" with the office guy to let us stay until noon to catch a few moments of sleep, shower, and have breakfast. Forty bucks under the table accomplished this feat:roll eyes:
Feeling fresh, we motored out of Cape May and started our long trip up the coast. All was going well, when the VHF radio started sounding alerts. We were about 5 miles offshore and could see the dark menacing clouds gathering over Atlantic City. The alert said possible 60 mph winds with heavy rain and lightning:mad: At 6 knots, we weren't about to outrun the storm. Heck, we didn't even have enough time to run in to tie up at a slip. Last thing we needed was to be in the channel or attempting to dock in heavy winds.
We put up the "storm sail" and battened down the hatches. Holy Chit, what a storm. The wind ripped the canvas right off the boat. It UNZIPPED all the zippers!!! Ed was at the wheel and I grabbed all the canvas and held on for dear life. We had all donned the offshore lifejackets with whistles and lights attached. I thought I was going to need mine as I struggled against the wind to stay in the boat while holding the canvas:eek::eek:
I would estimate that the storm lasted only about 5-8 minutes (it was almost like the derecho that tipped over the shuttles in the Bal. Harbor several years ago). The boat most have tipped at least 60*, as I was looking at the water between raindrops that felt like BB's.
The storm passed and we cleaned up below deck. Everything was scattered about, but she rode through it safely.

While counting our blessings, (it's good to have a pastor onboard) we ran up the coast to NY Harbor. With the Pastor at the helm, we entered N.Y.

Once we got through the Harbor (and the traffic), I took the wheel and started up the East River and headed for Long Island sound.
We ran to Port Jefferson and again had showers, dinner, and a good nights sleep. The temperature started to change and it felt good to have heavier clothes on while at the helm.

This is the Preacher.

I had my foul weather gear with me, and it kept my warm (as well as dry).

We thought about heading for Block Island (skipping New London Ct.), but we would have arrived too late to get a slip. So, we ran to New London instead. We had a wonderful meal at a place named Tony D's.

Saw the conning tower of a nuclear sub tied up at a dock. The whole sub was not visible.

From New London, we headed straight for Martha's Vineyard. We got into MV in time to catch a mooring ball, shower, and eat. The next morning we took the ferry home. I took this final photo from the ferry showing the boats moored in MV.

The ferry runs to Woods Hole. From there we take a bus to Boston. We catch the train from Boston to BWI station. Happy to be back!!!

Dropped the boat in my slip yesterday (into muddy water:mad:).

Ready to do some livelinning or trolling some spoons:D

Feels good to sleep in a bed for a change.
5th

Martys facebook page = CBAngler.com


Here are my reports marty = www.facebook.com/ifishmd

Boards are now pulled off the boat. Mostly chunking waiting for better numbers of spot to show.

Sounds like a great trip. What time did you put boat in, I was down until about 1:30? Welcome back to the dirty old Chesapeake

Mike; put her in the slip around 5pm. Didn't want to do it in the heat of the day, so I waited until it was about 90 degrees:D

Yes, the Bay looks a lot different than the green ocean water I saw all week:mad:

Jay was having a Fathers Day cookout and never even offered me a beer; so much for a "welcome home":)
5th

Glad you made it back. Sorry to report that I haven't fished since getting skunked Memorial Day weekend. Did get a couple red hoses rigged on rods and those damn BFG's on a few rods but haven't pulled them. Sounds like things are starting to heat up a bit off RH but still lots of chummers :rolleyes:

In Cleveland til Wednesday,
Thursday have a viewing,
Friday -funeral in the morning and bachelor partying the evening,
Sat - different guy's wedding in bethany beach,
Sun- graduation party to attend.
Monday -head to philly for the week.

Upside- Bach party and grad party are both on the water so at least I will be boating. Maybe July 4th I'll get to fish......:eek:

Glad you and your crew all made it safely home!!