I got up around 5:00 am because I couldn’t sleep. I was just so excited to get the day going. So I jumped out of my aft bed and out on multiple layers finished off by Winter foulies. I was ready to go and just needed to go outside and get my Winter boots. That felt like running outside in the snow barefoot. Temperatures were in the high 30’s.
We got the engine started and hoisted the jib in 10 knot winds at the dock. That was just in time because the winds started to increase every minute. We didn’t have enough time to launch the main or genoa. Anyone that has launched and shaken down a boat knows that things can happen quickly so you have to be on your toes.
We left Norwalk Cove Marina at 6:15 am this morning with the goal of making passage as far South as possible before the winds kicked up. As we pulled away, I got a little excited and throttled down a little too hard and the engine was smoking quite a bit. We backed off and the smoke was much less. We will have to get that looked at in Annapolis.
We set short term goals all day long. First goal was City Island by 9:30 am since High Tide at the Battery was at 8:08 am. We got there by 9:45 am with waves 1-3 ft. Next was 11:00 am to Hell Gate and we nailed it. Finally Verrazano by 12:30 pm and that was easy. We maintained about 9 knots average SOG for the entire trip with the wind on our starboard beam or broad reaching. Going past the bridge we decided to rip out the jib.
It was an easy decision to simply plow through and sail to our final destination without stopping at Atlantic Highlands. Donna told me that she couldn’t put in any moorings due to the significant NW winds for the past few days. So there would have been only anchoring with lee shore behind us there…no good!
Going out the Ambrose Channel the entire way very few ships and other boats were in our vicinity. We expected some rougher conditions, but frankly we found waves 1-3 feet and offshore wind making it champagne sailing. So much that I took an hour nap while sitting — or laying — behind the helm. It felt so good!
We passed Barnegat inlet at around 7:00 pm and caught a beautiful sunset. In the middle of that, Ray cooked up a delicious mesl with salad and mac&cheese with ground hamburger. I did the dishes and then we decided Ray would take the first nap and I had the first watch.
After an hour, the wind died (earlier than expected), and the jib was flogging. As I jumped up in all the excitement of writing this I stepped on my nice glasses. In the dark I heard “crunch” and “crackle” under my right foot. Pffff!!! All of that joyous singing that I was doing somehow woke up Ray, and then he helped me furl in the jib. I had to go up front of course clipped into the jack lines with my lanyard to unstick the jib sheet from the dinghy which is stored on deck. Fun to do in the dark.
We seem to be out here almost all by ourselves as we are picking up very little on 4 mile radar. The view of Atlantic Highlands is spectacular.
The next goal is Cape May by 3-4:00 am. I am going to just keep awake and focusing tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day going up the Delaware Bay.
The Loxodograph 