The New Jersey Coast

After talking to other sailors (Shannon and Kristine) on the dock at Sandy Hook, we decided we could day hop the New Jersey Coast, making three stops - Barnagat Inlet, Atlantic City and finally Cape May. Since Sally does not like overnight sails this was an exciting discovery! So on September 23 we left Sandy Hook and sailed to Barnagat Inlet which was 56 miles. We had to motor most of the way as the winds were not as forecast, much to Lynn's frustration. However, it was a beautiful, sunny day so Sally really enjoyed being in the sun. We arrived safely at 7:00 and did not go aground thanks to Lynn's seamanship. We had been warned the depths in some places were extremely shallow and shifting and that is why many sailboats do not venture there.

However, Barnagat Inlet was a lovely place to anchor and we had our first outings in the kayak, as well as finding a good fish market, but on Sept 25 we decided to try and leave. However, several " minor " disasters occurred. First as Sally tried to raise the anchor, it came up too fast and came off the bow roller and smashed the bow running light. The true sailor, Lynn, came to the rescue and, while Sally took the wheel, he went to the bow and, while trying to put the anchor back on the bow roller leaned on the life lines. But the anchor had hit a pin that secured the top, portside life line and it gave way and almost put Lynn in the water, but his exercise routine of pull ups saved him and he was able to pull himself back on the boat. Sally and Lynn have, as a result of this incident changed jobs regarding anchoring. Now Sally drives the boat and Lynn goes forward to drop or raise the anchor. We then tried again to leave but the winds were not favorable so we returned to our anchorage. The next day we were able to leave. It was a cloudy day with good, northeasterly winds. We put 2 reefs in and sailed with the mainsail only. Sally was seasick so this was not a pleasant sail for her but Lynn loved the adventure!! Again we arrived safely in Atlantic City where we stayed for 2 days due to a weather forecast of "heavy thunderstorms and very windy". We then then motor-sailed to Cape May. At the dock in Cape May we were lucky to meet our neighbors Josette and Yvan from Canada. They invited us over for drinks and then, after we had wowed them with our unique blend of Southern charm and New York pizazz, they asked us to stay for dinner. We had a delicious home-cooked meal and enjoyed great company. As we were there on the Cape May dock together for several days we also had a chance to invite them for dinner the night before we both left. We served cajun catfish we had gotten from the Lobster House (it was a southern meal but not home cooked). We continued to share our sailing and other stories until we had to hit the sack, as we were setting out early the next morning to sail up Delaware Bay. If Sally was worried she would not meet people on this cruise, boy was she wrong! And so ends our journey down the New Jersey Coast.