2019: Rough travels Sandy Hook to Atlantic City

5 October 2019
Depart:  Rumson NJ 12:00
Arrive: Brielle Yacht Club 4:45

Looking at the upcoming marine forecast, Clark decided that our best option for travel would be to leave as quickly as possible. We made our decision around 4 o'clock Friday afternoon and put ourselves instantly into travel- prep mode.  Other than sleeping through the night, we worked non-stop getting ready to drop our lines and get underway.  Provisioning the boat and shutting down the house are time- consuming activities.   We targeted an 11 o'clock departure and managed to leave by noon.  For this trip, we have a buddy boat, so we headed to Atlantic Highlands to meet up with our travel partners - Franklin and Cathy on "Home Too".

"Home Too" near Atlantic Highlands, NJ

As we approached Manasquan Inlet, Clark checked times and distances and decided we had to make a stop here for the night. Brielle Yacht Club quoted $3 per foot,  Hoffman's quoted $4, so we opted for BYC. A young teenager came to the dock to help us tie up for the night. Before we could get settled, someone from Hoffman's marina came out and told us to "get off their dock". Huh?

After several phone calls, we found out that there is a new owner of BYC, and the prior owner did not make it clear to the new owner that this particular section of dock where they told us to tie up is leased to Hoffman's. After much scurrying around by the young dockhand, he managed to find us two new slip assignments.

I thought after the embarrassing "land dispute" fiasco that we might get offered a discount for our troubles. Instead, when Clark went to check in, they told him the rate was misquoted because it had just gone up to $4 per foot. So, I guess, in a way, we got a discount because Clark convinced them to give us the quoted rate.

But wait ... the fun wasn't over yet! Apparently, several slips have not been used since Superstorm Sandy. After Clark and I got settled in,  the woman on a neighboring boat said,  "You better leave at 6:00 in the morning or you won't get out of that slip until noon! " She wasn't joking!

We docked at mid-tide on a 4-foot tide change and saw we had .9 feet of water under the boat.  

Two hours later, the boat was sitting on the bottom! On the bright side, the slip was so narrow compared to the width of our boat, we couldn't tip over. The boat rested tight on a pole on one side and only allowed room for a somewhat squished fender on the other to keep us off the finger dock.

Pictures taken approaching or at Brielle Yacht Club ...

At the railroad bridge, Manasquan Inlet

Sunset at Brielle Yacht Club

"You know you are in NJ when you see a Pork Roll banner!"
Picture taken near Marina Office

6 October 2019
Depart: Brielle Yacht Club 6:15
Arrive: Brigantine Anchorage, Atlantic City, NJ 3:30

Worried about being stuck in the slip until noon, I woke every two hours during the night to check the time. At 5:45 I was up and dressed and heading for the lines to start departure preparations. Note, sunrise came at 7:00, so we were up well before the sun. We had twilight, so we could see our way out. On departure, Clark checked the depth finders and could not get a reading on either one. We made it out of the slip without issue and were we glad to be out of there! I enjoyed watching the sun rise as I stowed our lines and fenders.

The marine forecast appeared reasonable for an outside trip to Atlantic City and maybe even Cape May, NJ. Since we were underway before 7 a.m., the 84 nm to Cape May was not out of the question. However, reality in the ocean did not match the prediction, and we found ourselves with a very uncomfortable ride. By 10:00 a.m., as we approached Barnegat Inlet, it felt to me like I had been out all day on the ocean! Clark said, "We need to bale out here", and in we went to travel on the inside.

With winds and waves forming a following sea, we were pushed this way and then that into Barnegat Inlet. Steering can be and was challenging to say the least in those types of waters. Finally, we got to the Barnegat lighthouse, things settled down, and we could enjoy the sights.

Windsurfer finishing up for the day.

We had a choice when we reached Atlantic City - anchor or marina. Clark and I decided to anchor in the Brigantine anchorage where we had stayed once before. "Home Too" had difficulty getting their anchor to hold, so they chose to stay at a marina instead. Just before we got to the turn off for the anchorage, Clark and I heard a nasty noise come from one of the propellers. We hit something but saw nothing before or after to give us a clue as to what we had encountered. 

With our schedule all out of whack, we were hungry early and decided to have an early dinner. Immediately afterwards I laid down on the couch and went into a deep sleep. I woke up long enough to make my way to my bed and then passed out again. 

7 October 2019

Depart: Atlantic City, NJ 11:20

Arrive: Cape May, NJ 4:45

Worried about the props and the marine forecast, Clark got up early and immediately started making phone calls and doing research on places to haul out the boat. In between those phone calls, he spent time doing research and making calls to find out about conditions for a boat like ours with a 4' draft traveling "on the inside" from Atlantic City to Cape May. He talked to a boat towing company about the route and the man he spoke to told him to forget it - too many shallow places and hazards! He did not find any places in the AC area capable of hauling a boat our size, so we needed to move on.

Since we are traveling with a buddy boat, we need to make joint decisions on go / no-go and when to go. After serious consideration, Clark thought that it would be worthwhile to get to Cape May today. The marine predictions indicate we will be waiting several days for a travel day. Clark and I both thought it would be much nicer to be stuck in Cape May than in Atlantic City. Clark offered to go out in the ocean and check out the conditions then report back to Franklin to make the final call.

On our way past the Absecon Lighthouse
hidden among the tall buildings

Still worried about the props and not having found any place that could haul a boat our size, Clark decided to dive under the boat to take a peek. He informed me, as we headed out into the rough ocean seas, that he planned to dive under the boat out in the ocean while he waited for Franklin to catch up. Clark does some things that I think are crazy dangerous and this idea has to be up there at the top of the list. Who free dives, i.e. no air tanks, under a boat in the Atlantic Ocean with 5'+ seas? The answer is ... Clark!!! 

At first he said we could just drift out there while he dove, but then he decided, thankfully, to drop an anchor. It was only 25' deep, so we let out about 150' of rode, turned off the engines (so he wouldn't die from carbon monoxide poisoning), and in he went. The water temperature was reported to be 68 so he wore a "shorty" wet suit for some protection. The good news is ... I still have a captain as he did not wash away or get a concussion from the boat coming down on his head. The other good news is that he could find no visible damage, i.e. bent prop blades or an object wrapped around a prop. 

I was very relieved, to say the least, when he was safely back on board the boat. Timing worked out well. By the time he was back on board, rinsed off, and dressed (around 12:30), our friends were just coming out of Absecon Inlet, and we could start heading towards Cape May together. We had some rocking and rolling, but nothing like the day before. The fact that the waves hit our forward quarter helped break their impact.

As we neared Cape May, the "Cape May Whale Watch" vessel haled us on the radio and told us that a humpback whale was up ahead of us on our course line. Clark thanked him for the call and said we planned to divert our course, so it should not be an issue.

Cape May Whale Watcher vessel

We could not see the whale from where we sat, but we could see the water spewing in the air from the spout. Earlier in the day, near Atlantic City, however, we did spot a whale. We saw the spray of water go up into the air as a big black body dove into the water. Cool!

A fishing trawler, "Elise G", entered the Cape May inlet just ahead of us. As we followed him in, we saw him raise his outriggers. Later, when we saw he had to go through a bridge, we understood why he pulled them in.

Outriggers up or it's a no go through the bridge!

With all the excitement and long hours on unfriendly seas, I told Clark I wanted dinner out tonight. Since the Lobster House is very near Utsch's marina, we opted to go there for a relaxing meal and conversation. 

It looks like we might be in Cape May for a full week waiting for the next weather opportunity to allow us to continue on our way south. There are certainly a lot worse places to have to spend a week! I told Clark to think of it as a "vacation".