Tue 31 Jul 2012
Docked in Manasquan Inlet, NJ

[photo: sunset at Sandy Hook, NJ behind another boat in the anchorage]

It was surprisingly cool this morning with a nice ENE breeze. We had a leisurely start, with the Olympics coverage on the TV as we did our morning routines. One funny moment came when Diane reached down into the refrigerator and came up with a cold can of what she assumed was her morning diet Coke. She popped the lid and started guzzling, only to find it was the one can of beer that was leftover from Walt and Gretchen's visit a month ago. The look on her face was priceless, of course, but we both laughed after she said, "ahhh, the breakfast of champions!" We shared that for lunch.

Our run in the ocean a few miles off the central NJ coast was exhilarating, but not comfortable. The waves piling in with the easterly breeze were rolling us and the inevitable larger waves that come caused us to hang on with gusto. We left the engine on to generate hot water and keep our speed up, but it was nice to have decent winds from the right direction for a change. The auto-pilot has a hard time with all the yawing of the boat from the wave action, so I disabled it most of the time and hand-steered. At least I could listen to my latest audio book, Steve Jobs, and finally finished it today. I will spare you my thoughts.

We arrived at Manasquan Inlet near 1230 and the ebbing tidal current was still pretty strong. I had thought we would not get here until about an hour later when the current would be less. With the strong current flowing to the E and the wind blowing from the E, it caused the waves to pile up pretty high. Two 100 foot fishing boats came roaring in just before us and I don't know if their wakes added to the wave amplitude, but they were large and steep and not moving in an orderly motion. Let's just say it had my full attention as I watched over my shoulder for breaking waves, the huge rock jetties on both sides, and the speed indicator showing we were only doing 2.5 knots over the ground at one point.

Once inside, there were many fishing boats of all sizes just drifting or anchored while they fished. One larger boat was kind enough to move out of the way as we tried to navigate through the "fleet." The current caused a lot of swirl going through the very narrow railroad bridge and that was tricky, too. Thankfully, the marina was putting us on the T-dock parallel to the current flow so that would make it much easier to arrive and leave.

What was embarrassing, though, was that I had put the transmission into neutral as we exited the bridge so that the current could slow the boat. I was very happy to be using small rudder movements and letting the current work in our favor for maneuvering. When it was time to add some thrust, I kept adding more throttle and saw that I was not gaining any speed at all. It was scary for a moment to think there was not enough thrust to overcome the current, but then I realized 2 seconds later that I needed to put the transmission back into gear. Duh! I guess we are all going to have lapses; we just have to be grateful if they are small, quickly corrected, and no harm comes from it.

With the tide at dead low, it was a very steep climb off the boat, but we got the shore power cable plugged in for the air conditioning. There was a decent breeze if you were above decks, but the orientation of our boat to the wind did not allow that breeze to get below. After relaxing a while, Duane pre-cooked the onions and peppers for dinner tonight. Diane assembled all our gear for showering, shaving, etc. and we walked over to the East Marina, where there is a nice bathroom/shower and a great barbeque grill. Eventually, they will have such amenities over here at the West Marina, but not today.

We stowed the bag with or gear in the under-sink cabinet and then set off for a short walk. All the homes we passed were very different from each other. Some were small cottages and others large homes, but their location probably put them all in the million plus dollar range, even in today's economy. After the walk, we tested that the grill worked, then started our routines. Duane was just barely done with the clippers on his head and beard when Diane knocked and said she was going back for the meat to grill.

By the time I was finished and had the grill heating, Diane was back with the meat, tongs, dish, beverage to sip, and a sailing magazine to read while the meat cooked. What a gal! When the meat was done, I strolled back to Diva Di and got the rest of the meal prepared: fresh broccoli and leftover macaroni and cheese, plus sautéed onions and peppers. It sure was yummy! After supper, we tried to get the TV to work, and got absolutely no channels through the airwaves. There is no cable TV here for some reason.

Diane realized she had lost an earring, so she walked back to the bathrooms to look for it. She was gone quite a while, but she had been conversing with a sailor on the dock who was checking out our boat. We invited Sal aboard and then he called his wife, Joyce, to drive over and join us. He is trying to get her to make a journey such as we are and wanted us to all chat about it. We gave them quite a bit of information about things we found important (cruising guides, ActiveCaptain and Claiborne Young's Cruisers' Net, mail forwarding services, etc.) and will supply more later. It was an enjoyable visit and we will stay in touch.

The evening turned comfortably cool and we sat in the cockpit with some nice music and a beverage. Last time we were here was a weekend and the constant boat traffic made wakes that pushed us into the dock. This time, the traffic is perhaps only 10 percent of that and it is much better, although we still have the commuter trains that run across the railroad bridge 50 yards away.

Tomorrow is a long run to Atlantic City where we hope the anchorage works out for us. It has close access to the beach and Diane is looking forward to that on Thursday. It is hard to believe another month has passed and it is now August.