I do not know how it came to be, but my vision of the New Jersey coast has always been such that it should be avoided. I was very pleasantly surprised by reality. We left Cape May and motored out the inlet into the Atlantic Ocean for our first leg up the coast. About 2 miles east of the jetty, we hoisted sails and turned north. The water became very clear with the deep blue color of the ocean. To our starboard side, we witnessed a pod of whales swimming south while dolphins played to our port and under the boat.
The wind remained from the southwest and pushed us northward as we stayed close enough to shore to enjoy the scenery provided by beach houses and beachgoers. As we neared Atlantic City, the architecture morphed into larger than life structures, housing condos and casinos. I contacted John with Sea Tow Atlantic City for some local recommendations and he arranged for us to stay at the Farley State Marina which is part of the Golden Nugget Casino complex.
We planned to travel in the ocean the entire distance of the New Jersey coast, but the weather turned (thanks to Tropical Storm Chris) with the wind from the east and prevented us from going back out. Rather than sit for 3 days in Atlantic City (and go broke at a casino), we opted to do what all the guidebooks say not to do and traveled the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway. Once again, we found the negative information very misleading. Yes, there were shallow spots and yes, there were inconsiderate boaters that seemed to take pride in trying to swamp you with their wake, but the waterway and its surroundings were beautiful. We are very happy to have not missed the experience!
Our final day on the Jersey shore found us traveling out of Manasquan Inlet. It was the roughest water we have encountered on our trip. The current was flowing out at about 4 knots and it seemed that every fishing boat in New Jersey was headed out that morning….and each one had to be the first one out of the inlet! Very exciting!!
We traveled north along the shoreline then turned into the lower New York Harbor around Sandy Hook. Our first stop in New York: Great Kills Yacht Club on Staten Island