Outside passage in the Atlantic

August 22 - 23: Sandy Hook, NJ to Atlantic City, NJ

We left New York and made our way about 14 miles to Sandy Hook, NJ. It's a popular anchorage area for those waiting to do the "outside passage" in the Atlantic. We had a quiet evening and got up early the next morning at 5 am to do the passage. We had some wind the first couple of hours but then it died down so we ended up motoring the whole way. 13 HOURS to Atlantic City! And even though there wasn't enough wind to sail, there were waves. Picture yourself on the teeter totter from hell, rolling side to side for 13 hours as the motor drones on. Kinda makes a couple lose their charm, if you know what I mean. Only highlight of the trip was that Bill saw a dolphin as we headed into the Atlantic City port. I couldn't believe it! I'd sat out in the cockpit for 13 hours, because going below made me nauseous. Then when I went below to pee, he see's our first dolphin. Oh well, I was more than happy to have that part of the trip done!

The sun rises as we (gulp) head out to the Atlantic. Turns out it was more of a rolling manatee than a sea lion.

We anchored out in Atlantic City right in front of the Harraghs casino. There were lots of bright lights on all the casinos, but we were in no mood to gamble and too worn out to party. We hit the sack early to get up the next day and continue our journey.

Dayt Two on the Atlantic was MUCH, MUCH better!!! We had 10-12 knot winds, seas were 4 - 6 foot high with a wave period (time between waves) of 10 seconds. In laymen's terms, a very pleasant, QUIET sail! In fact, it was so great that we purposely headed out about 7 miles to extend the 30 mile journey. One of the only times we've been able to sail since we left Lake Erie, August 17. Fantastic day! Bill was on the bow of the boat "having a moment" and called all his friends, but unfortunately, no one answered. So he just had to enjoy the moment alone...well, and with me.

We pulled into Cape May, NJ which is a beautiful beach resort town and training ground for the Coast Guard. More on Cape May in the next entry....