Sandy Hook to Atlantic City...."That Sucked!"

  
                                                                       

                                                      
                                                   Atlantic Highlands Marina


                                                                                 

                                               
                                                 Marina with NYC in the background

                                                                                

                                         
                                          Another beautiful sunset @Atlantic Highlands


                                                                                   

                                               
                                            Blue Moon at Atlantic Highlands Marina
                                                                                

                                                                                

  Our plan seemed good.  Up early. Catch an hour or so of an incoming tide than get a 4 to 6 hour boost in speed with the outgoing tide all the way to Barnegat Inlet some 40 miles south. If the weather and sea conditions were acceptable we would go all the way to Cape May (120 miles). We plotted in two "outs".  One at Manasquan inlet (about 20 Miles) and the other at Atlantic City (about 80 miles).  Ha! We make our plans and the Gods laugh!
     Leaving Sandy Hook we fell into a lazy and comfortable ocean swell as we pushed into the tide at 9 knots. When the tide turned we got a boost in speed to 10.5 knots with an easy undulating ride that allowed us to view the shore passing by, just 3 miles to our east.  Passing Manasquan Inlet Danny and I both grinned with the anticipation that wow, we might be able to knock out a big day since the ride was pleasant.
      Unfortunately, things turned sour 10 miles past our last "out".  The breeze stiffened and the ocean swells.....swelled! Danny and Beth had rested most of the morning so I, feeling a little queasy, took a couch break while they took the helm. I could hear them talking about how "This isn't too bad. If it doesn't get any worse we might be able to go all the way to Cape May."
     Things started to get worse. First, we heard distress calls to the Coast Guard and Tow Boat US.
"We are a 27 foot Catalina. We are going to need a tow!"
"We have a boat on fire....smoke pouring out of the engine room. It may be just a ruptured hose!"
"There's a boat on the rocks with a kid trying to hold it off!" and worst of all........
 "We have a child overboard!"
   It was the weekend and the marked fishing areas were littered with small and larger fishing boats that we had to thread our way through.
     Docs' Holiday began to pound into the head seas and we heard, "South bound boat with the black hull. You are getting close to the shoals. You need to head out!"
Indeed we were in 20 feet of water and thrashing all over the place.  I took over the helm and we headed out. It wasn't a whole lot better but at least we had 30 to 40 feet of water and didn't have to worry about going to ground.
 Danny commented, "Sky. Water. Sky. Water. White caps.  It's rough but the boat isn't in any danger."
 I replied, "Take over the helm a minute while I puke over the side.....and did!!"
     Beth, exasperated and feeling nauseated went to the couch with the dogs and held on. She later told me that when I got sick both dogs got scared and started to shake.  We had to head back into shallow water to get to the Atlantic City Inlet and what we were doing wasn't easing the situation much. Curiously, we passed sailboats and a trawler heading north with the swells and they seemed to be doing fine.   As we turned west into the inlet the swells began hitting us from the port beam and rolling us from side to side.  I heard Beth groan. This was the motion she really didn't like!  Within  what seemed like an eternity but actually was a few minutes, we were safely inside and anchored right in front of the Golden Nugget Casino.  We were feeling unwell, exhausted and ready to sell the boat but, we were safe.

                                                                         

                                                               
                                                          Golden Nugget Casino
                                                                             
                                                                                 

                                                                 
                                                                Taj Mahal

                                                                               

                                                     
                                                   Golden Nugget Night Lights

     What went wrong? The first error occurred in the morning as we were leaving Sandy Hook.  I inadvertently moved (still don't know how I did it!) the entire route track on the  map plotter. I quickly reassembled the upper part of the route and should have checked the destination waypoints. Second, our plan violated one of our previous learned dictum's...."Be off the water by two in the afternoon that's when the storms come up!"  There wasn't a storm but the wind came up and with us pushing against the wind, the tide, the ocean swell and being in the shallow water.....well....you see what happened!
     A lesson relearned and not soon to be forgotten!
     At least we had a very good anchorage.  We could see the pool bar especially well using the binoculars. Good thing we had two. Danny is bigger than me and I might have had a struggle un-gluing those binoculars from his eyes. The music was a little loud.....wait did I say music!  Very little music.....a lot of "Rap Crap!"  Fortunately it quieted down around 10 pm.  The boat remained motionless once the sun went down and we had enough air flow that we didn't have to use the generator to run air conditioners.
     Grilled chicken Caesar's salad and a few cocktails later and even Beth was smiling again.
     Let's see if we can get a better outcome tomorrow.
      It's only 40 miles to Cape May.
     

    
    

     

      
     

Pandimonium.....New York City

     We left at exactly 8:30 and idled out to face the Throgs Neck Bridge which we had timed to pass through at 9:25 so we could hit Hell's Gate at 10:25....and it worked! We passed through Hell's Gate with nary a ripple as we caught it at slack tide.  The last time we came through here I compared the currents to "Old Sow", the whirlpool between Eastport, Maine and Deer Island, New Brunswick which produces the exact boat motion that Beth does not like.  She and Danny relaxed. The air was clear, the sun shining, and the water reasonably smooth for New York Harbor.  Once again, preparing properly paid off.

                                                                         

                                       
                                                              New York City!
                                                                 
                                                                               

                                                          
                                                             Danny in NYC                                                                                                                            
     This was the first time Danny had been to NYC and he was impressed as we passed by things that he had heard about or seen on TV.  Pandemonium was in the air.  Airplanes were taking off just over head as we passed La Guardia. The curled barbed wire fence around the  prison at Riker's Island was gleaming in the sun and we marvelled at the same fencing on top of the barge that held the overflow from Riker's.
                                                                             

                                                                       
                                                              Rikers Overflow
                                                                                  

                                                             Rikers

      Beth and Sophie huddled on the front sun seat as we  glided by hospitals, parks and a gazillion cars creeping along the river roads. Gondolas filled with people passed overhead near one of the bridges and we passed under familiar bridges such as Brooklyn Bridge.  As we passed the ferry terminals we were impressed at the number of people cued up waiting for their turn to embark to other terminals and Staten Island.  Helicopters were buzzing like giant Dragon Flies from a waterside helicopter terminal, three and four in the air at one time. They kept out of the way of the sea planes taking off and landing in the middle of the river. We dodged the ferries, the pleasure boats, the sail boats and cursed the sports fishermen and testosterone laden Sea Ray wackos that waked everyone in their path.

                                                                                   

                                                                                     

                                                                                

                                                                           

Queensboro Bridge- also known as the 59th Street Bridge because its Manhatton end is located between 59th and 60th Streets

                                                                           

                                                                                

                                                                   East River
                                                                               

                                                                                 

  

                         Float plane taking off on the East River from 23rd Street Seaplane Base

                                                                                   

The new One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower). They were just starting above  ground construction when we were there June 2012. It is a 104 story super structure  that is the 4th tallest in the world.



     Slowly we approached the Statue of Liberty and got our pictures of Danny and his first impression of the stately lady. Even the dogs sat up in the chairs on the upper deck and seem to marvel at the grandiosity of the structure.

                                                                             

                                                         Danny and Lady Liberty

      We then pointed Doc's Holiday toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and Sandy Hook.  Our destination, Atlantic Highlands Marina where we would re-supply (think Beer) and prepare for our trip down the outside of New Jersey.
      
     
    

Brewers Pilot Marina..to a Torrential Downpour

                                                                                 

                              Sailing School....small children being towed out to learn to sail
                                                                          

  Very noisy Osprey nest bedside our boat slip. Comical to watch them chase the seagulls with fish.


                                                                              

                                                  Love the pump out boats!

 No doubt about Brewers Pilot Marina in Westport is a first class facility.  Within hours of our landing the problems with the inverter/charger, batteries and the dingy carburetor were being worked on.  Danny removed the carburetor from the Mercury outboard and had it disassemble and in an ultrasound cleaning bath while Don, the Brewer electrician bench tested the Xantrex inverter.
 
                                                                         

Dingy Motor Test. Best the motor has worked in 5 years. (Ask Danny...you see him hanging on to the rope!)
 
       Three young fellows showed up at the boat to unload the old 8d batteries (150 lbs each) and install the 4 new Lifeline AGM batteries (180 lbs each). I smiled as I saw them begin to perspire and their shirts get wet with sweat from the effort of moving 1300 lbs.  Marshall Lucas and I did this ourselves  a couple of years ago, so I knew first hand that it was worth the money to have younger men do the job.

                                                                             

                                                      
                                                           Out with 4 old batteries.
                                                                          
                                                                                 

                                             In with 4 new! (Glad we sold the car!)

        The inverter checked out fine requiring only a tightening of some connectors and replacement of the weak 30 amp breaker that had been plaguing us for weeks.
        Danny and I  washed the boat while Beth started to clean the inside and do laundry. When she looked into the dryer in her usual fastidious mode, she saw a toothpick and some fuzz in the dryer exhaust.  Three hours later Danny and her had dismantled cupboards, taken apart panels, and traced and cleaned a bag of dryer lint from the dryer exhaust lines.  Looking at me with a wet rag in his hand and sweat running down his face Danny said, "That system hasn't been cleaned in years. You could have had a fire."
Beth replied with a sideways look in my direction, "That system hasn't been cleaned......ever!"
     We set off the next morning to make the 66 mile trip to the next Brewer Marina in Port Washington.  The windshield wipers we ordered on line were waiting for us and it would put us in a good staging position for our passage through the notorious Throg's Neck Bridge and Hell's Gate. These areas we knew could have swift difficult currents if one tried to navigate them at the wrong current and tide, and slack tide did not mean slack current !
     The wind had come up over night but the waves were only 2 to 3 feet so we enjoyed the 2 knot push the incoming tide provided most of the way across Long Island Sound. However, as we got closer the tide changed and slowed us down to 7 knots.  I pushed up the throttles to maintain our usual 9 to 10 knot speed knowing that thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon.
     We pulled into Port Washington just as a few raindrops struck the windshield. Grabbing the largest mooring we could see we quickly settled in and turned on the computer radar. Beth saw a small amount of rain coming our way but "we should be in to the marina and back with our new wipers before it hits", said Danny.  NOT...........!  Danny and I just got to the marina when the rain increased and announcing itself with a thick crooked lightning bolt and with a horrendous boom the torrent began. We immediately looked toward Doc's Holiday. Not only could we not see the boat, we couldn't even see the dingy at the dock.  The wind picked up and a wall of water streaming side ways made us run for cover around the corner of the restaurant and under a canopy that was being lifted by the wind. Crack!...Bang!...Rumble! repeated several times with two bolts of lightning striking very close to where we were standing.  In fact we later saw EMS, a fire truck and an ambulance on the dock, so it was probable that someone got hit with lightning.

                                                                             

                                                       Storm coming!!

                                                                                 

                                     38 MPH Winds.....heavy rain, thunder and lightning.


     Beth was with the dogs in the boat having her own turmoil.  She described seeing  a wall of water headed toward the boat.  As she rushed to close all the hatches the wind hit and rocked the boat sideways spinning the boat around on the mooring ball. The windows immediately fogged up with the rapid change in temperature and she struggled to see the other boats around her. Especially worried about a sailboat that was on anchor near her, she fired up the engines so that if the sailboat broke free and drifted her way she could move Doc 's Holiday around out of the way.  Spencer jumped off the couch and headed for his protected spot in the corner near the bed in the bottom of the boat, while Sophie sat on the couch panting with her curled tongue hanging out, obviously wondering what the fuss was all about.
     Thirty minutes later the storm passed and the sun came out.  Danny said, "Damn! That was impressive. Do these storms always come up that fast on the water?  With a grin I shrugged, "Ask Beth."

                                                                                    
                                                                                  

                                                   Guys coming back a bit wet.
 
 The sun came out and we began our usual maintenance, engine checks, plotting tomorrow's intricate course through Hell's gate and New York City to Sandy Hook, and drilled wholes in the new wipers so they would clean our rather expansive windows.
       We finished the day with another delicious meal prepared by Beth.  Grilled tuna steaks with Portobello mushrooms  with Worcestershire sauce, green beans and pasta.  For dessert, Danny and I cleaned up yesterdays home made brownies.                                                                        

                                                                         

                                                               After the storm                                  

     The storm was scary, maybe even terrifying with the dangerous lightning but we were safe because we stuck to what we had learned on the trip up from Galveston. It wasn't in the cruising or guide books. The advise came from an older couple that we met in Cape May just after we had passed through a terrible storm coming down Delaware Bay.  As we jabbered out our fear during the storm, the elderly women calmly responded. "Oh no dear. We always make sure we are off the water, tied up or anchored securely by two in the afternoon at this time of year. That's when the storms come up!"  Good advise!
       
     


     
    

Judith Point to Menunketesuck River (Brewer Pilots Point Marina)

                                                                                   

                                                            More" FOG"!

  Once again we left our safe anchorage in less than ideal weather conditions. Why? First, all of us were up most of the night because of being awakened by the mooring ball that banged up under the swim platform most of the night. Leary to do anything until I could see clearly in the daylight, I waited to pull the the boat ahead with the anchor winch, then once clear of the mooring ball, fired up the motors and we pulled out into............the fog! Second, we had to pass through "The Race", which is known to be tumultuous with the wrong winds and tides. (At the narrower passage from Block Island Sound to Long Island sound the water depth goes from 30 feet to 300 feet and produces very rough water when the tide is rushing.) We needed to pass through this area at slack tide and we had it timed.

                                                                             

                                     Lighthouse indicating beginning of "The Race"


     I complained about the fog and multitudinous lobster pots in Maine , however the one thing it did for us was give us the experience and confidence with our navigation system, radar and boating skills to maneuver through obstructions in fast currents. (the tides in Passamaquoddy Bay run 24 feet!). This was a cake walk compared to Maine. I'm not sure I believe it but I have been told; if you can boat in Maine: you can boat anywhere.  We could see the water starting to boil up as we passed through the race, but Doc's Holiday handled it easily at slack tide.
     Fast ferries running to the islands quickly came up through the fog but put out surprisingly little wake considering their speed and size. We easily picked  them up on the radar. It was the smaller fishing boats without radar that I worried about, so we turned on our fog horn which bleated out a warning signal every couple of minutes to let them know we were coming.
                                                                                 

                                                            Block Island Ferry

     Once we passed into Long Island sound the water became as smooth as glass, and the ocean swell disappeared.  As the sun came out some of us took the time to grab a nap in between engine room checks.

                                                                           

     Danny continued to spot occasional lobster pots long before I did which made our cruise almost stress free.
     The only issue we were having was the inverter/charger kept kicking off the reset button forcing us to reset it multiple times.  Enough! 
                                                                           

                                  Danny making numerous trips to the engine room.

"Beth, look up Xantrex inverters and find where the nearest service center is located," I asked.
"There's one right on the way near Westbrook, Connecticut. I just called and they said they could take care of us today. Let's get it fixed. It's a long way to Florida." she replied.
     When I complained that we could just run the generator and fix this when we got home she reminded me again about selling her car.....no problem! The inverter was getting to be a pain in the butt anyway. I plotted a course to take us to take us to Brewer Pilots Point Marina on the Menunketesuck River. (try spelling that after a couple of cocktails!)
     We pulled in by noon. Walked the dogs, than went to the onsite waterside restaurant
"Boon", to have lunch while waiting for service.

                                                                               

                                                     Brewer Pilots Point Marina


     Chick,  the service manager and Don, the electrician, tested the batteries than explained that likely because the batteries had sat unused for 18 months and probably had not been consistently charged, they were shot.  New batteries would solve the problem and they would bench test the Xantrex to make sure all was well.
     We settled in for a stay.  A walkabout was in order. Danny needed to stretch those long legs. (He is used to traipsing through the woods!)  We  all needed to get our bodies moving "so off we went to experience the flavor of this tiny waterfront town.
      Eventually, we found our way to a public beach that had a small canteena appropriately named "Hog Wild Smoking Cue".  Beth ordered a burger.  Danny went for the hand rubbed smoked rack of ribs and I got the brisket. A few minutes after starting I glanced over at Danny and noticed his face was flushed.
"Whew!" he blurted. "Those babies got a burn to them!...there good and those baked beans should keep u hopping tomorrow!"
     We strolled back to the boat and marveled at the size of this marina.  It holds over 800 boats and according to the manager is 92% occupied for the year. Walking the dock here is a major walkabout but should keep our attention while the inverter issues are being worked out.
    
     


     
    

Cape Cod Canal to Judith Point

                                                                             

                                 Sunset at Sandwich Marina, East End of Cape Cod Canal 

   I knew we were in for some weather when I saw Spencer jump up in Danny's lap.
Danny said, "He's shaking."
Immediately, we knew there must be thunder so faint we couldn't hear it, but Spencer did.
Sure enough a few minutes later we started to see the sky and boat light up with distant lightning as we saw the first rain drops start to hit the windows. The weather report called for intermittent thunderstorms,  south-west  winds increasing in the afternoon with 20 knot gusts and rain.  On top of that we knew that  Buzzards Bay could get very rough if the current was west, the way we had to travel.
                                                                               

                                                   Cape Cod Canal RailRoad Bridge

                                                                               

                    Large Container ship that was escorted through the canal the evening before.

     Captain Eric from Gloucester, MA put it this way, "Under the right conditions, the channel all the way out to Wings Neck and beyond can present truly violent sea conditions, with short period, steep faced, 6-8' waves. It will be the pounding of a lifetime for many boaters. What are the conditions? Outgoing tide and a SW wind (which is the prevailing wind). All the water flows in the channel because it's so much deeper than the surrounding waters, and the winds funnel up the bay. It's Hell on water."
     We needed to get out at slack tide, so we left as soon as the thunderstorm passed us by.  It was a smooth ride out but we could see where the current was starting to kick up. Beth, now focused on the weather, spotted another area on the computer radar indicating that another storm was headed right for us.
    Agitated she pointed at the computer, "See this yellow and red color doesn't bother me its the purple that we have to watch out for! We need to find shelter before this gets to us."

                                                                         

                                                            Storms a brewing!

     Quickly, we plotted a course for a protected bay, Mattapoisett. What a pretty well sheltered bay. We set anchor in 10 feet of water a respectable distance from another sail boat who was obviously doing the same thing.  We watched as the multicolored storm moved toward us at 26 mph.
      Beth, glued to the computer blurted, "Look it turned! It's going around us!" We watched as the storm went out into Buzzard's Bay. We again heard distant thunder as the rain washed the salt off the boat. Waiting patiently for the last of the storm to pass, we saw the sailboat starting to leave, quickly pulled in our anchor and followed it out of the harbor.
     As the incoming ocean swells gently lifted the bow we had only 1 to 2 foot seas all the way to Point Judith.  The swells became more noticeable as we turned and caught them on our beam but the stabilizers acted to dull the roll.  We continued on through a fog bank which cleared within a couple of miles and enjoyed sunshine the rest of the way to the harbor of refuge known as Point Judith.
    A narrow entrance with lots of current, Point Judith opened up to a substantial bay with a sandy beach.  A rock jetty protected us from large ocean swells, which broke down to smaller swells rounding through the entrance.  There were a number of small boats on moorings and a group of kids were playing in kayak's right where we preferred to anchor so we circled until we found a 14 foot depth than dropped and backed down on the anchor. We got a good set, which, I felt would hold us through the predicted increased winds and potential turning tide in the middle of the night.

                                                                               

                                                         Point Judith Anchorage


   Danny, was especially helpful in picking out the intermittent lobster pots. His hunting skills, I think helped.  How so?  He seems to have especially good eye site for anything that moves. He could see pots  3 or 4 minutes before me because they would  "pop up".  Also, he is tall and has a better range down channel.
      He also noticed that the windshield wipers were starting to separate. In no time we located an exact replacement, ordered them and had them shipped to Brewer Marina in Port Washington on Long Island Sound.  We should be there in 2 days to pick them up.
                                                                             

                                                                                 

                                               Another beautiful evening!

      Three in the morning and something was banging up against our swim platform. Everybody is up. Apparently the wind came up and with increasing pressure on the boat caused our chain to stretch out placing the rear of the boat over top of a mooring ball.  We worried that the tether to the ball would get wrapped up in our prop but we eventually floated right over it.  It will no doubt be a long day today and I think I see a nap in the lazy boy in my future.
    

    

Boston to Cape Cod Canal

                                                                           

                                   Lots of different boats and Yachts in Boston Harbour                                                                                

                                                               

     The weather report, tide condition of the boat, and need to get somewhere are the basis for the go-no go decision to travel in the boat.  Since the thunderstorms, increased wind and the possibility of hail were predicted for the afternoon, and since the prediction for the rest of the week was similar. We decided to leave early with a favorable outgoing tide.  We would push the boat to the limit to stay ahead of the incoming storm.
     Ta Da!  It worked! 2200 rpm and the bow rose into the air and pushed through the swells at 13 to 15 knots.  We cruised the 53 miles to Cape Cod Canal and Sandwich Marina  in 4 hours....but at what cost? It is not so much the fuel cost as it is the anxiety cost of constantly looking for and dodging the ever present lobster pots, along with the other gremlin boat problems: ie the computerized mapping  system announcing that there was only 14 % power left, the inverter shutting down, the battery charger shutting down, and the port motor spraying oil around the engine room.
     We outran the storm but we spent the rest of the day troubleshooting problems and cleaning not only the engine room but the entire outside of the boat which was covered in diesel soot. The air filter on the port motor had vibrated off and the turbo charger flung oil over the motor and fuel manifold. Correcting the problem was easy.  We secured the air filter back in place.
     The problem with the inverter/charger was not apparent. When we are charging the batteries with the generator the reset button on the inverter pops out and shuts the charger off.  Resetting it multiple times, the batteries will eventually take a full charge. At the dock plugged into the 220 dock power the inverter and charger work fine...no shut down.  There is a back up battery charger but it is also not functioning.  We may have to find a marine technician to solve this problem. Danny and I both read the manual, changed what we thought was wrong and will watch this over the next couple of days. There is a Xantrex inverter/charger distribution center in Connecticut, so we can get help if needed.
     Danny and I tackled the engine room while Beth washed clothes and started on cleaning the outside of the boat. Beth than walked 3 miles to a local store to get fresh salad, steaks and sundries.  By the time we were done, all we had energy for was a few cocktails, steaks on the barbecue with corn on the cob and baked potatoes with portobello mushrooms.  Dessert was a custard pie covered in kiwi, strawberries and blueberries.  Yes, we eat well when cruising.
I worked on the navigation system and computer mouse problem and everything seems to be in good working order.  We will find out tomorrow, if the predicted electrical storm passes us by.