We have not been to post for several days. Nor have we had access to email or telephone so we've got some catching up to do.

We ended up spending five days at Kills Harbour, Staten Island. It was very pleasant even though I get restless when we are not making tracks. I won't try to reconstruct the days but they vanished quickly. We met a number of very interesting folks; mainly Canadian boaters on their way down to the Bahamas as well.

On Sunday morning, Judy suggested we try to get to church and I scope out a Catholic Church, St Clare's, a short walk from the marina - so off we go. We committed to try to get to church when we can along the way and this was the first real opportunity. Judy was a bit melancholic at the service and for the first time on the trip, I think she was lonesome. She kept thinking about our own parish in Fredericton, Holy Family, where she provided music for some 24 years; it just wasn't the same. Another interesting difference was the length of the service. Our priest at home, Father Dolan, doesn't believe in flourish or fanfare; his masses, complete with Judy's music, rarely exceed 30 minutes. He self-identifies them as "microwave masses". The service at St. Clare's was an hour!

Anyway, we hope to leave tomorrow (Monday) to do the hard trek the New Jersey coast. The forecast is good for a couple of days but there will be left-over slop from the various storms out to sea. All the migrant boating community is restless and folks are preparing for the trip. Many are planning on doing an over-nighter; sailing continuously until they reach Cape May on the south of tip of New Jersey. Judy is not comfortable with this (she needs her sleep) so our plan is to break the journey into two segments; Staten Island to Barnegat and Barnegat to Cape May.

There were and will be several inhospitable pieces in our journey to Bahamas and possibly further; the New Jersey shore is certainly one. It is a 110 mile coast line, with shallow water, usual onshore winds and few places to duck into if the going is tough; once you get going you're committed.

So with our little armada of ships we leave at first light. As we round Sandy Hook to begin the trip, the waves are big, sloppy things but not too bad and we expect they will ease as the day progresses. It was ultimately an easy day and around 3:00 we're off Barnegat and heading into the inlet. Well, this is where the fun began. The confluence of the large swells pounding on shore and the tide falling meant for big breakers in the inlet. And, if that were not enough, there are all kinds of boats coming and going and milling in the breakers fishing. Judy is at the wheel and I'm giving her directions. For what seemed like hours but in reality was probably 10 minutes we pound into big square breakers but soon we are in the inlet and almost magically it is calm. While Barnegat Bay is a very large, complex series of waterways, we anchor just inside the inlet along with a number of other boats doing the same scenario. An early supper and to bed by eight o'clock. Our new friends in the various boats continue their transit and will likely get in very early Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday morning, we weigh anchor and head out that same inlet. The waves have subsided so it's not nearly as thrilling on our way out. It is a pleasant, warm and clear day with no wind. We motor along the shore, usually about two or three miles out, past Atlantic City towards Cape May. A brief aside on Atlantic City. It is former summer colony, now large gaming/gambling resort, an hour and a half from Judy's family's home in South Jersey. I have been here several times and, while I'm not much of a gambler, save the long standing poker group that I'm part of (we play for nickels), the glitz and decadence of the place is impressive. What may be less apparent is that the street/place names used for the popular game Monopoly were taken from the streets in Atlantic City; recall the Marvins Gardens and Ventnor Avenues of our youth?

Anyway, we see the skyline of Atlantic City for hours but eventually, around 5:00 begin our entry to Cape May. It is a very large and complex harbour with a number of large marinas, mostly housing those big sport fishermen pleasure boats. As we enter, we see a fair number of sail boats at anchor, among them our various friends who did the all nighter. I call a couple of them on the radio, but they must be asleep. We take on fuel and proceed back to the anchor field to settle in for the night. We find what seems like a good spot among the boats of various sizes and configurations and after two unsuccessful attempts to "set" the anchor, we get it to dig into the mud. We're quite tired from the long day and I so a bit of chart work trying to figure out the next couple of days' journey. We hit the bunks relieved that the dreaded "Jersey shore" is behind us.