Manasquan Inlet at the End of New Jersey

The weather forecast for today (wind and waves) said it should be pretty much like it was yesterday, but it wasn't.  Viridian was the lead boat again and the first 10 miles of our 63-mile offshore run from Atlantic City to Manasquan River, NJ was rough.  Second Wave radioed us and said they were turning back and would wait for calmer seas before heading north.  The rest of the fleet decided to go further offshore to deeper water and it seemed to help a bit, but it didn't smooth out much until we had gone north about 15 miles.  From then on we had good seas but cool air, high only 68 deg.

Timing for entering the Manasquan Inlet needed to be as close to slack tide as possible, so we slowed our pace to arrive at 3:00 but had to wait in line to get into our marina slip at Hoffman's Marina.

Once tied up, Viridian was washed down with fresh water to get all the salt spray off until we can wash her properly with soap.  Our slip is a stone’s throw from the Brielle RR Lift Bridge where commuter trains come through every 15 minutes.  The RR bridge has to be lowered for this to happen, and that combined with a strong tide current has caused several boat wrecks over the years.  Boaters did not realize how strong the current was until it was too late and wound up smacking into the bridge as a result.  We will make sure we contact the bridge operator in the morning and make sure the bridge will be open when we are ready to leave.

Tomorrow we will cruise an easy 40 miles into New York Bay and over to Staten Island to the Great Kills Yacht Club Marina and spend the night.

That's the news and here's some views:

We are here

Today's cruise from Atlantic City, NJ to Manasquan River, NJ

Red in the morning?

Manasquan River Inlet

Catching Libe-sta!

Commuter train crossing the Brielle RR lift bridge

Viridian on the T-dock at the end of the pier

A Day of Bad Weather Then Running Off Shore From Cape May, NJ to Atlantic City, NJ

This past Sunday brought with it gale warnings for the area of Cape May and Utsche's Marina.  No boats were moving and ours were tied with extra lines just to make sure they didn't move around in the 30-40 mph wind.  The low-pressure cell that passed over our location could be seen on the weather maps, and it looked like a small hurricane complete with calm air in the eye.  There was more wind than rain or thunderstorms, and it had trees bending and waves crashing all day.

The following Monday had clear skies, but the wind was still keeping our boats tied in their slips until the offshore forecast showed favorable conditions on Tuesday.  Tuesday morning 7 Looper boats were ready to depart Cape May, NJ and head to the Manasquan River 100 miles north up the Jersey coast, but a last-minute review of updated weather forecast suggested that there would be good conditions for running offshore only to Atlantic City before the wind got too strong and crated uncomfortable conditions.

A 0600 departure time saw the Looper boats - Amanda Rene, Viridian, Dash Away, Oar Knot, Bucket List, Second Wave, Band Wagon and rPad- filed out of the Utsch's Marina and followed Alan Lloyd's navigation waypoints 46 miles north to Atlantic City and the Farley State Marina in downtown Atlantic City.  Several boats got to see a 7-foot shark gliding just under the surface, ignoring our boats as it slowly cruised among us.

By the time this flotilla reached Atlantic City, the wind began to pick up and whitecapping started making the ocean a bad place to be.  So we all steered into the Absecon Inlet during flood tide and found slips to tie into.  Viridian made her way across the Absecon River to anchor for the night but found that the rough day back on the Chesapeake Bay had damaged the primary roller on the anchor bench and it was all but about to fall into the sea when we saw what the problem was.  The anchor could not be lowered, so we crossed over to the marina and docked bow-in so the anchor roller could be fixed good enough until proper pins could be found to permanently fix it.

We had our planning meeting in the casino hotel next to the marina, followed by a meal.  It was good to meet new Loopers and hear their stories about the Great Loop Adventure.  Tomorrow we will leave again at 0600 and run 60 miles offshore to the Manasquan River, NJ.

That's the news and here's some views:

We are here

Today's route from Cape May to Atlantic City, NJ

 These three weather radar maps show the cause of the gale force winds. We are at the blue dot at Cape May, NJ

Waiting for the Storm to Pass

Day after the Storm

These little guys live on board Amanda Rene

Early morning departure

The Flotilla Forms for an offshore run to Atlantic City, NJ

Atlantic City, NJ Rolls Up

Walking to the Casino for supper

Lots of lights

Exploring Cape May, NJ Before the Gale Warning Begins

Utsch's Marina has filled up with Loopers due to the gale warnings posted for late Saturday night through Sunday.  Today is the calm before the storm so we took our bikes to ACME Grocery Store and bought as much as we could carry back.  After lunch we got back on our mobile devices and rode down Beach Ave. on the boardwalk to a coffee shop where we had coffee and tea with our jelly doughnut.  Since we purchased something at the bakery, we left our bikes locked to their rack and walked through the historic district of Cape May, NJ.

Viridian secured at Utsch's Marina in Cape May, NJ

The calm before the storm

 First Baptist Church

Dock Tales at 5 at Utsche's Marina