We are half way up the coast of New Jersey, doing our travel 'outside' in the big North Atlantic, rather than inside on the windy, shoaly, NJICW. Since leaving St Michaels MD on Tuesday we've been making good time.
We tucked in behind Reedy Island and pushed south for a few miles to a handy anchorage. Well, sorta handy in that we first dropped the hook near a boat ramp, where it was quite choppy from SE winds coming up the Delaware Bay. We launched the dinghy and took the dogs to shore for draining (our first steps in Delaware), then back to Spray, hoist the dinghy, and cruise a half mile back to the lee of Reedy Island where we re-anchored for a much more comfortable night.
Conditions in the Bay were OK, and we had nice assisting current for about 2/3 of the trip. By 3 pm we were turning into the Cape May Canal and soon pulled into South Jersey Marina, where we had reserved dockage. We had time for a quick walk downtown, past many beautiful homes. Spring was in full bloom. That night it was laundry time and supper at a good Mexican restaurant.
Friday's goal was Atlantic City. We awoke to thick fog, so we delayed leaving a bit, which gave us time for breakfast at the marina's adjacent restaurant. The fog lifted, at least at the marina, so we headed out the Cape May inlet into the big Atlantic and turned NE up the Jersey Coast. Unfortunately it was still very foggy out there, with maybe 500 ft visibility, so even though it was cool and damp we piloted from the flying bridge as that is where Spray's radar display is.
There were east winds and ocean swells on our beam, and we had decided that we would try the outside and if we didn't like it we would pull a u-turn back into the inlet and then feel our way up the NJICW, which would be a much longer route. It was Katie Bopp who made the decision by getting very comfortable in her bed as Spray rocked and rolled. We figured, if its good with her, its good with us, and so it was 6 hours of bouncy travel up the outside for Spray and crew. It was about 4 pm when we turned into the Absecom Inlet and then into the Brigantine Anchorage. It was still foggy enough that we couldn't see the casino towers in A.C.
The dogs like this anchorage as there is a nice beach to visit, which we did after their supper. After dog play we had a nice mini adventure using the dinghy's massive 2.5 HP motor to provide a tow to a nice boating family with outboard problems.
By 12:30 we bounced into the tricky inlet here and are now in a protected anchorage.
So we are a little more than half way up the Jersey coast. Right now Sheila is baking corn bread in our oven to go with some chili. Smells good! Tomorrow the conditions look good to make a long 48 mile run on the outside to the top of Sandy Hook. Once there we will decide whether to cruise 4 more miles south to Atlantic Highlands, or continue 15 miles farther north into NY Harbor to anchor behind Lady Liberty. Stay tuned to find out!
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