The Big Smoke
09 October 2014 | Barnegat Light, NJ.
Sunny, cool, wind W@12-18, gusts to 25
Lori's exhibit
Well, things pretty much went as planned... scheduled, that is. Weather was not quite what we planned.
On Saturday, we woke in Oyster Bay to howling southerlies with driving rain. So we just let the day start by itself, and stayed below with a pancakes and sausages breakfast followed by some light boat projects.
But we wanted to move on to be ready to go through New York Harbor on Sunday, meaning we needed to get closer to the mouth of the East River, to be able to catch the morning ebb currents. Bucking the current in the East River is not an option for a sailboat, fighting 4-5 knot currents. So after lunch, we decided it was time to face the weather, and headed out.
In the mist and following winds, we easily ran out into the sound, then had a bouncy close reach up the shore for 15 nm to Port Washington. Our arrival coincided with clearing skies and the winds dropping to a nice gentle breeze, as we motored to the southern end of the bay for protection from the strong westerlies forecast for the night. And the forecast was correct, but we were nicely tucked in and just let the winds blow. The new Rocna anchor seems to be doing its job nicely.
In the morning we were up and off to catch the currents and had another great sail through the East River and New York Harbor. Although we have done it a number of times, it is always exciting with all the traffic and trying to catch the scenery. Safely through, we headed out through the Verrazano Narrows and across Raritan Bay to Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club where we picked up a mooring. This became our base for four nights.
Monday we hopped on the high speed ferry for a trip to NYC, arriving 35 minutes later, with lots of commuters. Ashore we met cousin Laurie and viewed her fantastic art exhibit at a gallery on West 39th St. After lunch, we walked the High Line Park, a park made from an old unused rail line running south from mid to lower Manhattan (the next day President Obama walked it). Then back to Atlantic Highlands and the boat for the night.
Tuesday was another visit to NYC as the weather had us held up. We biked the West Side trail up to 79th Street, shopped at Zabar's for some smoked salmon and cheese, then back to the boat again. But with the President in town, we had a bit of work avoiding street closures and the thousands of police directing traffic (to a halt).
One more day in Atlantic Highlands waiting for weather, and we shopped, did some boat chores and walked. Then time to be off. This morning we had an early start and enjoyed an excellent sail down the coast of New Jersey. Our broad reach went to beam then close hauled in 15-18(22) winds, but with excellent speed in the tiny off-shore seas, we pushed our way in the jetties of Barnegat Light at 1615 hrs, an excellent day.
Dinner, sole stuffed with crab. Delicious. By the way, we found excellent shopping in Atlantic Highlands... groceries, deli, etc. Tomorrow, to Cape May then a day or two waiting for winds to head up the Delaware, through the C&D canal to the Chesapeake.