We determined to set off with the high tide and had to top off the water tanks. We moved the boat to Onset Marina and filled them there. John and Juli came with Little John to wish us off from there.

We headed out of the bay, and entered the Hog Island Channel where we were greeted with steep tall swells occasionally breaking right in the main channel because there was a south wind directly against the outgoing tide. This gave us a chance to find out where the boat leaked - happily, the dodger proved to be dry when we took a layer of green water over the bow time and again. The leaky chainplate area of the deck shipped a lot of water into the boat, but otherwise we were fine. The swells slowed us to 4 knots or less when they would hit us but the Lehman kept pushing us ahead.

The wind proved to be right on our nose for the whole 44 hour passage to Atlantic City so we didn't bother with sails until the next leg to Norfolk.

Our Sunday sunrise arrival at Atlantic City was welcomed by the reflection of sunlight from the hotel/casinos and reminded us of Las Vegas. We stormed into Absecon Inlet at over 8 knots over the ground on the flood tide and tied up at Gardner's marina which was closed, and didn't open for the two days we were there...

We later moved to the Golden Nugget marina where it cost $100 per night, not bad - and we were handy to the casino for food and transportion. We waited for a weather window for two nights, and then the high pressure came - so we sailed out on Thursday morning around 0700, a week after Thanksgiving bound for Norfolk.