We've had several days of cruising...so lots of pictures (I used 1 for every 50 Deb took)
As we left Greenport, NY, we had to go through a place called Plum Gut . This is the lighthouse marking that spot (Click here to see where this is)
The area is noted for turbulent water when the tides are moving through. You can see in the picture, the difference of how calm the waters are where we are, and the waters ahead.
We followed a sail boat through the gut, and he was struggling with the turbulance
This is a good shot of how the water was "boiling" as we came through "the gut". And if you look out just a little ways...the water is calm again.
This is a shot looking south, as we come off the Long Island Sound, and head into Port Jefferson.
The hills in this area are tall and sandy
This is our first look at the ferrys that run in and out of this harbor almost every hour
There is a neat stature of a young sailor, right next to our marina
On our trip from Port Jefferson to New York City we passed several mega yachts
Here is a picture of the Throgs Neck Bridge...where Long Island Sound ends...and the East River begins. It's about 14 miles (of waterway) from here to the tip of Manhattan.
The East River passes right beside LaGuardia Airport
We had a beautiful day as we traveled down the East River, and Deb spent some of it on the bow
As we got close to Manhattan, you can see the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance, and even further SW, you can see the Statue of Liberty.
There was a lot of activity when we got to the New York Harbor
This is a shot (in the New York Harbor) looking from our stern at The Battery...the southern tip of NYC
At the same time, you look from our bow, at the Veranzono Bridge
This is our slip in the Atlantic Highlands Marina. Notice the low tide, and the fact the boat is about 5 foot below the dock
As we left Sandy Hook, NJ, and headed out to the Atlantic Ocean, you could see a boat that had underestimated just how low the tide was in this area.
After we went out in the Atlantic for about 35 miles, we came inside at Manasquan Inlet, and joined the ICW. Parts of it were VERY narrow...but there also were open Bays we traveled in. Both were very shallow. As big as it looks in this picture...it was less than 7 foot deep.
Here is an example of what waits for you if you get just a few feet out of the channel.
As we got close to Atlantic City, the channel got narrow, with lots of grassy swamps on both sides. And...LOTS...of flies
Actually...this is some of the deepest water we ran in all day. At some places it was 20 feet
Finally...after 12 hours on the water...we arrive at Atlantic City
This is an expensive marina, but beautiful
This is a shot as we leave our marina at first light the next morning
As we came out of the Atlantic City inlet, we passed an interesting looking boat
The good news was...the Atlantic, early in the morning, was in good shape, and we had a good trip to Cape May.
Log 167Day 464
Friday, August 28, 2009
7:30 AM EDT
Location: Utsch’s Marina; Cape May, NJ.
Weather: 77 and very cloudy; 80% chance of rain and 80 today
Hurricane Danny is working it’s way up the east coast this morning. We are in Cape May, NJ(at the very southern tip of NJ) and, although we are right on the coast, Danny will not be any issue to us. The most it will give us is a little wind, and some rain. When we went to lunch yesterday, the locals were talking about hurricane parties this weekend. When you live on a boat...that’s just a crazy idea.
There’s a fair amount to catch up on, since my last log.
We left Greenport, NY about 8 am on Monday morning. It took us about an hour to reach Plum Gut (click here for the Google map)...which is the opening between Plum Island, and the tip of Long Island. This has a reputation for tough water...when the tide is moving fast through this area. And when we went through there the water was “boiling”. You may be able to tell by the pictures, how the water is so different just at the “gut”. It was not dangerous in our boat, but, again, not comfortable. The good news is it only took 5 minutes to get through the bad water. The rest of the 60 mile trip to Port Jefferson was smooth and uneventful. I ran on auto pilot almost 100% of the time, as we cruised west on the south shore of Long Island Sound. At about 2 pm we made it to Port Jefferson. After a complete washing of the boat, Deb and I walked into town to check things out. Among other things, we found a spot that served Stella on tap; they had Corna Light; and fresh popcorn. All for a total cost of $5 per round. (Deb thought maybe we should think about moving to the area) The only other real highlight of Port Jefferson, is the ferries that never stop. I’m not exactly sure where they go when they leave (somewhere across Long Island Sound on the Connecticut side) but they are in and out of the harbor every hour or so. Some may not like them...but I thought it was cool.
On Tuesday we left at about 9 am and continued west on Long Island Sound. We waited until then, in order to catch the rising tide, that flowed toward Throgs Neck Bridge (the western end of Long Island Sound), and then the outward tide on the East River. That same tidal flow took us all the way to Sandy Hook, NJ. (click here for the Google map). The total trip was 104 miles, and we did not get into our slip until about 5 pm. The most interesting part of our marina was the fact that they have 5 to 6 foot tides...and no floating docks. At one point we had to climb a ladder to get off the boat, at another, we had to jump down to the dock.
On Wednesday, we left our slip at first light. We went back north about 2 miles, and around the tip of Sandy Hook, and then turned south on the Atlantic towards Atlantic City. At first the ocean was not bad. We had a 3 foot swell, and light winds out of the west. But, the further south we went, the swells got bigger, and the winds were picking up. At about 10, we were at the Manasquan Inlet, and had another 55 miles to get to Atlantic City, which was the next safe inlet we could get into. At one point, we thought about going in, but decided to keep going. Then, about 15 minutes later, the winds kicked up, and we decided to turn around and head back in the Manasquan Inlet. I knew we should keep going to Atlantic City, because the waves were predicted to build, starting on Thursday. So...we decided to follow the ICW, from Manasquan, south. There are many things written about the ICW in New Jersey, and most of them not good. They talk of very narrow channels; very shallow water; shoals building up that are not marked; and not fun cruising. For the record...they are right. Not that all of the water is bad, it is just that is very stressful most of the way, and not fun. The pictures tell the story. But, the good news was we did not bump at any point, and made it safely to Atlantic City...12 hours after leaving Sandy Point. A long day.
On Thursday I was up about 5, and, after looking at the latest weather, I woke Deb, and told her we would leave the slip about 6, to get an early start out of the Atlantic. The winds were predicted to be out of the north, and build to 10 to 15 later. At the moment they were very light, and I wanted to get a jump on them. When we left the slip it was just getting light out, and by the time we made it to the Atlantic, the sun was just coming up over the horizon. The Atlantic was not bad. There were 3 foot swells, and light winds out of the north (at our stern). It was 44 miles from slip to slip, and not a bad trip, but we were both glad to have the north Atlantic part of our trip behind us. We were in our slip in Cape May by 10 am, and after settling in, we walked to lunch at a nice spot, only a 5 minute walk from the marina.
Today, as I finish this log, there are lots of thunder storms all around us. My weather radar shows several storm cells, and I can hear thunder coming from several directions. But, as of yet, it has not rained at our marina. Other than making sure I put together this log, we have no plans for today. We are talking about staying here for a few days, and at this point do not know when we will be leaving here, and heading to the Chesapeake. What I do know, is that we need winds out of the south, or southwest, to make it a comfortable trip on the Delaware Bay. And, at this point, they are forecasted to be that way on Sunday...and next Friday (which is probably when we will leave). Until then, I’m not exactly sure what we’ll do.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
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