As you can see from the title, we did not move this week. To paraphrase the song sung by Janis Joplin (now that dates me), we could sing "we are sitting out in Sandy Hook, waiting for a weather window". Weather windows this year seem to be short and far between and we wanted a good one for the long ocean passage down the New Jersey coastline and up the infamous Delaware Bay. After getting the boat ready to move, our first window closed and we had three days of rain. We really appreciated being close to the town and being able to meet people at the Atlantic Highlands Club. Everyone was very helpful and we got lots of advice on proceeding South. Then, just as the weather started to get favourable, swells from Hurricane Fabian, which was off Bermuda, arrived and made entry into any of the ports along the New Jersey coast unwise. Fabian produced large swells that started hitting the coast on Thursday and peaked on Saturday. This was great news for surfers, but not for us. The harbour was starting to fill with boats planning to make the same trip and all were waiting for the best window. Sunday looked like it might be a good day, but the weather again turned unfavourable. So, you will have to read about our trip in the next installment. At least we are fulfilling one of our goals in going as slowly as possible.

A couple of musings while sitting at anchor come to mind. Boating in the rain is not fun. It is much like camping in that after three days everything is damp or wet. Also, a laundromat is a bit more problematic to get to. Actually, we were thankful for a "Dry Bag" that we got before leaving as we could stuff our laundry into the bag and have it still dry when we made it back to the boat. This bag is on the recommended list. Note: no matter how you drive them or their design, dinghies are not dry. Expect to get wet, especially if you are carrying something that you want to keep dry. The good thing about rain is you really appreciate the sunshine when it comes and all becomes right with the world.

You meet neat people in laundromats. During our last trip to the laundromat, we met a couple from Montreal, doing the same trip. It was great getting together and comparing cruising plans, equipment and generally having a good time. There are now several boats that we have met, cruised with and exchanged boat cards (another useful item) along the way. You can see a loose knit cruising group forming as you start meeting people doing the same trip at different spots along the way. We are all bound by the same weather laws, so every once in awhile a group will form waiting for weather, as there are weather pinch points along this route, and then split off their separate ways. We all have the common goal of being warm in the winter.

Spiders do not seem to like salt water, at least the Lake Ontario variety of spiders. This summer, the spider population seemed to be most prolific. We sprayed, we batted spiders overboard, we caught them inside and still they came on. When we got to the salt water, the spiders stared to disappear with no particular action on our part. Now we have only a few, mainly on the dinghy motor. Dinghy motor spiders are a particular hardy group and very difficult to catch. I have reached a sort of truce with our dinghy motor spiders in that I leave them alone and they only make webs at night on the motor. So far, this seems to be working.

Walking is great fun. We find we love walking and miss going for walks when we are confined to the boat for a few days. We bought two backpacks (another item for the must have list) and walk to markets with the packs for all our provisioning. We quickly learned to do regular smaller provisioning and be conscious of the weight. This of course means more trips and more walking. We also try to walk around the area we are staying and get a feel for the area. It is amazing what you can find within a short distance from the marinas.