The Jersey Coast

Atlantic Highlands just south of Sandy Hook was our first Jersey shore stop. We arrived mid afternoon Thursday September 14 after an uneventful trip down the East River and through New York harbour from Long Island Sound. We all took the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club launch from our moorings to the dock and walked around town, poking our noses into galleries and antique shops.

Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club 

Walking around town Bob and I were checking weather and tide times so that we could time our arrival at Manasquan Inlet at high slack water. Since it looked like there might be a little wind we decided to leave at 9 am so we would only need to average around 4 knots to arrive at 1630, between high tide and slack current and maybe even get a chance to sail. 

After lights out Thursday evening my phone starting chirping with text messages and after the fifth I figured I should probably check them. Turned out they were from my brother Kevin cautioning us that the European weather model had Jose tracking up the U.S. Coast during the next week and that instead of heading south we should retreat up the Hudson River. Hmmmm ... So beginning around 2330 I began checking all the weather apps, and NOAA Hurricane Center and marine forecasts. Yes we were going to be in for a blow on Tuesday, and if we had to we could skip Atlantic City or Cape May and get up into the Delaware.

Friday morning after a long talk with Bob and Sheila we decided to stick with our plan and head to Manasquan and reassess at the end of the day.

We left Atlantic Highlands around 1030 and soon after rounded Sandy Hook into the Atlantic Ocean! There was a 2 - 3 foot swell out of the SE with little wavelets on top and 5 - 10 knots of breeze nearly on the nose. We raised the main hoping for a little push and began our motorsail south. Half way down the coast to Manasquan the shore bends to the SW a bit and it turned out to be just enough that we could pull out the jib, turn off the motor and sail for a while!  We arrived on schedule at 1630 and motored in to the gas dock. There was still some current running but the dockmaster gave great instructions on how to sidle up to the gas dock and then our berth for the night. 

Once docked we had another skippers meeting with Bob and Sheila. We checked all the available info on Jose which seemed consistent with, if not a little better than, the morning and booked a marina in Atlantic City. We agreed to a slack current departure at 0600!

I expect Point Pleasant Beach to the south of the inlet with its boardwalk, food stalls, and arcades is very pleasant, but after a late dinner we were ready for bed.

Saturday we were off the dock at 0600 as planned with a weak ebb current pushing us off. Out in the ocean there was no wind and long lazy swells.  Beach houses line the ocean all the way down the coast. We passed the amusement park at Seaside Park whose roller coaster ended up in the ocean following Hurricane Sandy. Near Barnegat Inlet we ran into some fog where GPS and AIS proved their worth although it did make me question our decision to pass on radar! Karen knitted and I began this post!

Karen "my hair's a mess" knitting underway

We arrived early in the afternoon to the sound of a nearby powerboat blasting out his favorite songs at rock concert volume. Welcome to Atlantic City! Bob and I rinsed the salt off our boats while the girls checked out the Golden Nugget Casino. We had a beer on the deck of the casino that had a great band playing and headed for the boardwalk.

Atlantic City 

I think that if I were to describe Atlantic City in one word it would be "tired". We had dinner at Gordon Ramsey's pub in Ceasar's casino and, predictably, paid a ridiculous price for mediocre pub grub. Karen and I had run out of steam by the end of dinner and headed back to the boat but Sheila did Atlantic City right, hitting the slots for a while.

Since Cape May was a relatively short hop from Atlantic City we decided on a mid morning departure which happened to coincide with maximum ebb tide opposing the ocean swells. Five to six foot waves greeted us at the end of the inlet!  That was exciting. As soon as we cleared the inlet we turned southwest and the waves settled into long ocean swells.  The wind blew lightly out of the northeast, right on the stern. Another motor ... trawler anyone?  The day was certainly not a loss though as a whale surfaced right beside us and we saw dolphins jumping out of the water and rotating on to their backs before splashing back into the water! Based on some Google research humpback whales are the species most frequently sighted near Cape May, so we'll say it was a humpback!

Our entrance to Cape May was a little exciting as there was a strong current running across the inlet meaning that I had to steer at times 20 to 30 degrees off the course that we wanted to hold into the channel. Once inside I had to avoid a dredge that I realized was backing up after I had decided to go behind. My brother Adrian suggested that I should have called the dredge on the VHF radio to coordinate our movements. Lesson learned!

Paul at the Canyon Club Resort Marina had offered us slips deep in the marina close to four story buildings to the north to provide better protection from Jose should he show up. That was great except that it took me two tries to make the turn into our slip without banging the dinghy off the sport fishing boats across the channel. 

We really enjoyed Cape May. We rented a car and took a drive around Cape May discovering the lighthouse and a WWII bunker designed to defend the Delaware on the beach.

Cape May lighthouse

We also saw the "rips", large breaking waves that form over the many shallow shoals off the cape. In town we walked the pedestrian mall and had an ice cream before dinner.  Always eat dessert first!  The Lobster House was recommended by many and did not disappoint for dinner.  Afterwards we met the owner of a scallop boat that had come in to the harbour to avoid Jose. He said that he used to go out but after injuries and a bypass he's ashore now!  He told us that they have quotas based on either a five or seven person crew.  Apparently once the quota is filled they change the gear on the boat and fish.  We also learned that they shell the scallops on board and toss the shells back in the ocean.

Scallop boats docked in Cape May 

Wednesday evening Karen and I went into town and walked the mall again then out to the boardwalk and to Harry's, a popular haunt for Happy Hour. Afterwards we walked back to yb restaurant and had an amazing dinner sharing a beet salad, swordfish tacos, crab cakes and a peanut butter and chocolate bomb! We walked dinner off passing the historic "painted ladies" houses on the way back to the mall where we got a cab back to the marina. 

Boardwalk and painted ladies

O-five hundred came too quickly but we had to leave at first light to round Cape May and carry the current from the incoming tide up Delaware Bay. Away from the dock we cleared the inlet around 0700 and took off with the flood tide at over 8 knots towards the Cape.  Bob and I had picked all the locals' brains to determine if we could go inside the shoals and rips and the consensus was to trust our charts and stay close to the beach. By 0730 we had cleared the cape and headed up the bay into a 13 knot northerly that was kicking up a two foot chop against the flood tide. As Sheila said we're lake sailors ... two foot chop is normal!  Later in the day the wind died and we had a calm run up the rest of the bay. We arrived at Delaware City just before 1600 and Tim the dockmaster talked us in to his docks.  When he asked if we had a bow thruster I said no, but that the stern kicks to starboard in reverse.  He put $10 on my being wrong and when we got close to our designated spot on the dock he offered another $10 discount if I could back the boat against the current to line our aft cleat up with the cleat on the dock.  I'm pleased to report we got a $20 discount on our dockage! Once docked we headed to the old Delaware City hotel and had a beer on the deck to celebrate having cleared Delaware Bay.  

We're keeping an eye on Maria hoping that she stays offshore of the Delmarva peninsula as Jose did.

Next stop the C and D canal and Chesapeake Bay!