The wake up alarm sounded at 0200 allowing just enough time for some coffee and preparation for an 0300 departure to make the 17 hour passage from Cape May, New Jersey to New York City.
The Cape May harbor was engulfed in fog and there was no moonlight. Sandy was stationed on the bow with a searchlight, communicating to Dan at the helm through our “marriage savers” (two-way communication headsets that avoid the need to shout above wind and engine noise).
We slithered out of that ill-fated harbor (good riddance) without anything going bump in the night, and turned north into the open Atlantic Ocean.
There was a nice stiff southeast breeze so we sailed for a while. A few hours out, the wind turned directly behind us and stayed there for the remainder of the journey. Sailboats don’t like to sail directly downwind and need to be at a ~40º angle to the wind direction. That would mean zig-zagging our way up the coast, jibing regularly, which would add hours to an already long day. And we didn’t want to enter New York Harbor after dark, with all the distracting city lights and sea traffic. So we made most of the passage with our trusty “iron jib”, aka Volvo D3-110 turbocharged diesel engine. We kept a sharp eye out for plastic bags because our friends from last year’s cruise, Jon and Cheri, had one wrap around their propeller just off the Jersey Shore. We didn’t see any… only a family of friendly dolphins. We also saw a few whale-watchers, but no whales.
The Jersey Shore is basically one 115 NM long beach from Cape May in the south to Sandy Hook further north, where the coast veers inland toward New York Harbor. We passed Atlantic City, with its impressive skyline of casinos. This city has had dramatic economic ups and downs. The introduction of gambling caused an up, but Covid and online gambling have brought it back down. Dan had flashbacks to younger days when his family would drive to Atlantic City for a day at the beach and on the boardwalk.
We also passed by Long Branch, birthplace of the “Boss” (Bruce Springsteen).
Finally, after 16 hours, we sailed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the gateway to New York Harbor! From there we continued toward the southern tip of Manhattan, dodging tugboats, tour boats, and a variety of ferries, including the famous Staten Island ferry. Although we know New York well, it’s a unique experience to come here by boat. We imagined what our European ancestors must have felt as they entered the harbor toward Ellis Island.
We managed to avoid any close encounters in the harbor and put in at Liberty Landing Marina, in Jersey City, just across the Hudson from lower Manhattan.
We met up with Dan’s sons, Mike and Alex, and daughter-in-law, Lissette, who all live in New York for dinner and a walk.
2 Responses
Je suis intéressé par ton “Marriage saver”, à savoir ton système de communication proue-poste de pilotage en bicannal… Quelle marque ?
Ce sont des Sena SH10. C’est le modèle plus courant qu’on voit chez les marins.