Skip to main content

Day 65-66 June 6-7. On to Atlantic City. 38.8nm. Total 1572

 We left Cape May and headed out to the channel that leads to the Atlantic Ocean.  Will traveling the Atlantic til we get to Atlantic City, about 38 miles.




Along the way we passed lots of condos on the Jersey Shore north of Cape May and through the city of Wildwood.  Wildwood has an amusement park right on the beach.  We could see the Ferris Wheel and roller coaster from our boat.




We passed three inlets on the way. The first was Hereford Inlet that separates Seven Mile Beach from the Cape May area.  This island was filled with beach homes and the two towns of Stone Harbor and Avalon As we pass Corson Inlet, the beach home shoreline continues and now we can see the high rises of Atlantic City on the horizon. On the next island is Ocean City, New Jersey, quite a bit smaller than its namesake in Maryland.  The coast line continues til Great Egg Harbor, a small inlet that separates Ocean City from the Greater Atlantic City area.

As we got closer to Atlantic City four Looper boats lined up to follow us in.  Wow!  They must trust us ?!  From the shore Atlantic City has tall high rises and the Steel Pier with its Ferris Wheel.





The Abescon Lighthouse, built in 1857, guards the entrance to the channel at Atlantic City. This lighthouse is the oldest of its kind and is the tallest Lighthouse in New Jersey.



Atlantic City was quite popular in the 1920’s and early 1930’s as a beach resort.  In the 1950’s the town fell into neglect, but was resurrected in the 1970’s when the first gambling casinos were built. Today the town must compete with other gambling destinations.  Through all of these ups and downs, the boardwalk and beaches, salt water fishing from the jetties, Steel Pier, Miss American Pageant, the Monopoly inspired street names, and salt water taffy remain.

We anchored in Rum Harbor with four other Loopers and invited them over for Docktails.  Everyone brings their own drinks and shares a appetizer.  Such great people and such great fun..

June 6

We slept in.  Was great to relax and get caught up with record keeping, emails and filing.   Bill was in the engine room checking and adjusting.   After a  quick lunch, we launched the dinghy to explore Atlantic City.  We landed in Gardners Basin dinghy dock and walked past the older homes( moved here so they could be preserved), restaurants, tour boats and the Aquarium (which has been closed for awhile). We met two people who grew up in Atlantic City and we talked with them about what we should definitely see.  They were quite helpful and gave us directions to find the city jitney service. The ups and downs of Atlantic City was evident as we walked to the jitney stop. There were very few new buildings- the only exception was the Hard Rock Casino.  Tall condo buildings stood next to properties where buildings were razed and now stand vacant.


Older homes typical of 1920 Atlantic City

Dinghy dock at Gardners Basin with newer homes in the background.

We rode the jitney to the Tropicana Casino on the south end of the island.  We entered the casino and were immediately surrounded by electronic slot machines.  Never knew there were so many kinds!  





We roamed around the hotel shops and restaurants - of course buying a cookie!!  Returning to the casino we saw the electronic roulette wheel and watched for awhile.  Leaving the casino, we went down the elevator to the beach level and walked out to the beach and then headed north on the boardwalk.  The boardwalk was built in 1870 was the first of its kind in the US.  It runs 5.5 miles along the Inlet and the beaches. All along were shops, restaurants and of course the casinos.  



Bill wanted to be under the boardwalk like the song.






We walked to Caesars Casino and went in to check it out.  This casino is more old school. They still had an actual roulette wheel, poker tables and craps tables with real dealers.  They also had lots of the electronic slot machines. I liked the old teller windows used to redeem your winnings.








Heading back to the boardwalk we encountered many streets represented on the Monopoly board. And yes there are still shops that make and sell the salt water taffy!





We walked past the Atlantic City Convention Center where the Miss America pageant is held.  Bill decided to get himself crowned Miss America. Then we walked down near the Steel Pier and the amusement park.






As we headed back to the jitney, we found a beautiful old building which used to house the Knights of Columbus Hall and the gorgeous St James Catholic Church.  Also passed by the Abescom lighthouse grounds.  We  chatted with those waiting at the jitney stop and learned more about the current status of Atlantic City. 





Returning to the boat, we relaxed and had dinner and headed for bed. Here are some shots for Atlantic City at night.



Popular posts from this blog

June 4-5. Day 63-64. On to Cape May New Jersey. 53.4nm. Total 1534 miles.

 Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots.  That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along.  Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel.  The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats.  So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long.  There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel.  We went by Ship J...
Read more

Reflections on the Bahamas

Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco,  Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people.  We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage.  Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small.  This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!!  We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...
Read more

Day 64-65. May 25-26. On to Peck Lake, Jupiter, FL and then on to Indiantown/ Okeechobee Waterway. Miles 63.5/ 29.1 Total Miles 1122.1/1142.0

  Day 64 We started early to get ahead of the holiday boat traffic. Weighing anchor at Lake Sylvia in Fort Lauderdale, we traveled on the Intracoastal Waterway past the iconic Pier 66 Tower and Bahia Mar Marina.  We then turned north and passed the older sections of the city - Las Olas( older homes), Galt Ocean Mile (one mile of condominiums on the beach), and the famous miles of beaches on the Atlantic.  I used to live here in the early 70's and the biggest change I see is the older smaller homes on the water are being replaced with larger versions and a few more condo towers have been built. As we go further north towards Commercial Blvd, North Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach and its Lighthouse at the cut, there is less reconstruction. The next town we traveled through was Boca Raton with its Spanish architecture, Camino Real and its  landmark tower. The sand bar at the cut was just beginning to fill up  with Memorial Day revelers as we went by. Next were t...
Read more