This morning we departed Cape May, NJ around 9:00AM with a humble goal of Barnegat Harbor, NJ. We were fortunate to skip over the anchorage at Rum Point near Atlantic City I had laid out as a hideout should the weather turn.
Sunny skies and a light westerly wind throughout the day. We raised the jib briefly but it had little effect on our motoring speed for the effort. The wind never turned southwesterly or picked up to the speeds forecasted—though it’s hard to complain about not having the passing thunderstorms that were also in the forecast.
We just dropped anchor in Barnegat Harbor channel for the night. Maneuvering into the harbor was pretty hairy business between the swift channel current and unpredictable shallow areas. I wouldn’t recommend it at night. A super nice dude on a dock helped us out.
Tomorrow’s route includes two options to suit the morning forecast, with the third option to simply stay put. There is heavy rain and possible thunderstorms overnight, but the winds are reasonable and only expected to be gusty during thunderstorms.
Tomorrow, depending on the speed and track of the storm, our goal is Atlantic Highlands, just inside Sandy Hook, NJ. That’s a safe 50NM for a total of about seven hours. There’s no protected place to duck into between where we will be tonight due to the long, shallow sand bar gingerly sprinkled with condos. The rest of my planned poor-weather anchorages are closer to 30NM apart.
If the forecast is more favorable, we will scoot out around the NY harbor and anchor in Shinnecock Inlet on Long Island, NY. That’s a much longer route of 101NM but keeps us out of daunting NY Harbor cargo ship traffic. That would take from dawn to dusk. The anchorage at Shinnecock Inlet is in front of a USCG base and in a scenic less-populated area of Long Island.
I planted a lawn out front for Chip to do his business. Also, I really miss mowing so I hope it need a trim soon. As you can se, no luck fishing.
