Cape May to Sandy Hook, NJ

We departed Cape May on Friday - early as usual - headed to Atlantic City. This first picture was made on Thursday in Cape May and captures the Victorian style homes in Cape May. The next picture was made from the water as we departed Cape May on Friday morning. Our original plan was to stop in Atlantic City for the night but the weather and waves were favorable so we changed plans to pass Atlantic City for an anchorage north. Although this decision worked out fine, in retrospect we probably should have followed our original plan!! In spite of not stopping, we were able to take a picture of the Looping Monkeys in Atlantic City from the water and they, nor us, lost any $$$$.

For fair balance, we needed to show The Captain taking a well deserved break in the middle of the day while The Admiral was in command of the bridge. Both needed the experience.

By skipping Atlantic City, we could get closer to New York Harbor and the Hudson River so we chose Barnaget Inlet as a favorable anchorage for the evening. However, as we approached the Inlet, the wind speed increased dramatically and the waves were incredible (although we discovered on Saturday what incredible really means - more on that later). In the Waterway Guide, we read, after we were in the Inlet, the US Coast Guard warns boaters to not approach the inlet if waves are breaking over the jetties. Believe me, the waves were breaking over the jetties and we were fortunate to have "the luck of the dumb" and made it into the Bay. We joined John and Sue for dinner on their boat and, after returning to "Still Busy", had a restless night worrying about dragging anchor. However, we were up at 5 AM (this is suppose to be fun - right?) and left the inlet with numerous fishing boats, racing to find the best fishing spot, at dawn. Here is a great picture of the Barnaget Lighthouse which boast the second tallest lighthouse in the US - assume Cape Hatteras lighthouse in the tallest. As we progressed out of the inlet, we made this picture of the sunrise over the Atlantic as the shrimp boats were departing and the fog was arriving. This was truly the best part of the day. From there we experienced dense fog, wind, waves in excess of 5 feet on our beam, and more wind mixed with numerous fishing boats! What a wild ride - the worst in terms of wave height and frequency we have experienced - but we finally arrived in Sandy Hook, NJ around 2PM. We spent most of the afternoon picking up after the turbulent ride - books and dishes all over the salon - and washing the salt off the boat, including the canvas over the bridge which should give you an idea of how high the breaking waves sprayed. All is well that ends well and we have successfully navigated New Jersey and the Atlantic and look forward to traveling to the Statue of Liberty and entering the Hudson River tomorrow or Monday. We plan to stay at a marina on The Hudson and spend a couple of days in NYC - hotel, dinner, theatre (thanks to a gift from Jack's coworkers upon retirement), shopping, long warm showers, and a stationary bed. However, one of the most exciting parts of The Loop will be the NY and Canadian waterways and we are eager to experience this part of the journey.