Spent three days waiting for a weather window to go up the Atlantic Ocean to New York. We did not relish cruising up the coast in 3-4 foot waves. The wing finally died down and the waves flattened for us to leave Saturday.
We left at 5:00am and watched the sunrise over the Atlantic. We had nice rolling swells and a comfortable ride up the coast. We had a string of seven boats taking advantage of the good weather along with us. The faster boats will leave us behind, so really we had three boat with us after one hour of cruising. We are traveling as a buddy boat with Elliot and Jen on Pivot and will keep their pace, which Jen says “ is slower than slow”.
As we left Atlantic City heading north, we first pass Little Egg Harbor and a long barrier island filled with homes and condos. We counted 10 water towers each marking another town. The island ended at Barnegat Pass and Island Beach barrier island began. The southern third of this island is a public beach with dunes, some up to 15 feet tall. At the end of the beach was a steel pier similar to the one in Atlantic City, with Ferris Wheel, roller coaster and arcade games and booths for food. Yes we counted water towers on this island and they only had six.
We enjoyed many sailboats and motorboats passing us going south taking advantage of the beautiful day. Also we got a few laughs watching the dolphins jump and play. However, none came to visit our boat and swim in our wake! Bill was able to use the auto pilot to steer. This is how hard he worked!
Island Beach ends at Manasquan Inlet and the coast of New Jersey continues to Atlantic Highland and Sandy Hook. By this time we had traveled 52 miles in a little over 7 hours. Remember we are going Pivot speed, slower than slow. As we were about to have lunch, we could tell it was going to rain, so we quickly ate and then packed up and headed to drive from the lower helm. Except we were a bit late- didn’t get too wet. As the rain cleared, our course took us closer to shore. The beach was filled with homes, condos, and cabanas.
We received a radio call by another looper who saw juvenile humpback whales breaching near the beach. Quickly getting the binoculars, I spotted a splash and a whale’s tail. My first whale siting in the wild!
As we neared Atlantic Highland we could begin to see the skyline of Brooklyn and Manhattan rise out of the water. We could also see the larger condos on Long Island. Outside the harbor was busy with 8 tankers/ freighters awaiting there turn into New York’s upper harbor.
Atlantic Highland on the north Jersey shore is a series of hills right off the beach that rise 100-140 feet above sea level. At the top of the eastern most one is a brick structure with two lighthouses - Two Light Historic State Park. These light houses had served the Lower New York Harbor since 1862 and are now a museum.
We next pass the Sandy Hook beaches and dunes and turn into the lower New York Harbor, also called Raritan Bay. As we crossed the bay, we saw the Romer Shoal light which has been in the harbor since 1838 and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge which connects Staten Island with Brooklyn. Now we can really see the skyline, even though it is a bit cloudy.
Here is the chart of upper New Jersey and Lower New York Harbor.
We moored in Great Kills Harbor after 12 hours of cruising. Needless to say we are tired, but glad to be in New York.
