Atlantic Highlands to Atlantic City??



Cool Shades for the Captain

 Shortly before 7 am we woke to an incredible rocking. It was Labor Day Monday and the ferrys were operating at full capacity. We woke just in time to see our friends heading out of the harbor, boy are they early risers. Not to look like lazy people we quckly dressed and raised the anchor.  Upon leaving Sandy Hook, we  heard our friends hailing us on the radio, verifying calm seas and telling us to get out there.Next we came upon dozens of small fishing boats very 'busy' with their lines. NOAA had predicted calm seas and winds 5-10 knots. This would be a beautiful day for cruising. Our planned destination came rather quickly so consensus between the two boats was to travel further. The weather forecast said two more potential fronts were coming through, so best to get as far as possible down the New Jersey coast. Its an 80 mile trip, and it was a race to get to Atlantic City before sunset at 7:15 pm. Well with 30 minutes to spare we managed to pull into the anchorage and get our hook set before the sun went down, WHEW! We made dinner aboard that night , and settled down to watch some television. Neither one of us remember what we watched,,, perhaps we fell asleep?? 

Atlantic City

Entrance to Brigatine Anchorage,,, a little tricky??

City Island to Atlantic Highlands

Bon Voyage Breakfast with the Leeds

Friday September 3rd, Our "plan" had been to join the Harlem for the Labor Day Weekend Rendezvous in Oyster bay and then take off from there for our journey south. For the past two months the weather had been incredibly hot, humid, dry and uneventful and we expected more of the same. However, mother nature decided it was time to stir things up a bit and indeed she gave it a good effort. Hurricane Danielle had just past by up the coast, although she did fizzle out to sea, the surf in the ocean had been stirred. Not far behind her heels was Hurricane Earl. The Rendezvous had been cancelled and plans had quickly changed. We secured extra lines on the Summer Wind because it looked like Earl could possibly be hitting the Carolinas and then coming directly north. Earl thank goodness, downsized then steered away and  brought only wind and wave. The Summer Wind had been fine and the window of opportunity for travelling was Sunday morning.
After lots of planning we shoved off from City Island on Sunday, September. 5, 2010 and had a enjoyable first day to Atlantic Highlands, NJ. It was breezy but sunny and beautiful in the morning, so we decided to drop the lines and head down the East River.



Going down the East River



 Our timing was perfect because we were always cruising about 9 knots and when we came upon Hellsgate our speed hit 11knots, wow we were zooming! Upon entering the Upper New York harbor from the north, the winds could really be felt and the waves gave us a rocky ride over to the Atlantic Highlands. We filled up the fuel tanks ($2.74/gal) and dropped the anchor for the night.Our friends Tim and Joanne aboard Horizon IV pulled into the anchorage soon after and we crashed for the night.

Celebrations!

Preparing the Name Boards

 Well, It has been a very busy three months since we've last posted on our blog, so we'll quickly catch you up to-date. We did have a few weekends aboard the Summer Wind but mostly spent our time on land.

Our last official weekend aboard the Summer Wind was in May at the Rear Commodore's Rendezvous,where we surprised all our Harlem Yacht Club friends in Manhasset Bay on Long Island Sound and joined a great weekend party before becoming land lubbers.

Mid June and early July, Captain Dick underwent eye surgery and had the cataracts removed from his eyes. To say that he was amazed at the immediate improvement in his sight is an understatement. To this day he stops to behold the colors and he absolutely loves wearing his new cool pair of sunglasses. 

Father's Day weekend our daughter Michelle and her boyfriend Barry joined us aboard the Summer Wind for some great cruising weather. We took a trip to Port Jefferson and had an excellent weekend together.

We know who the "Captain" is here



Michelle and Barry abandoning ship?

Two other events we participated with Harlem were the Full Moon Rendezvous in Spring Cove  where we partied aboard Phat Cat. Then we enjoyed the July 4th rendezvous in Oyster Bay. Our friends Mark & Marcia joined us aboard the Summer Wind and we enjoyed all the festivities including the great BBQ on the beach and fireworks to top off the celebrations.

Early August we joined our friends Mark and Marcia as crew, aboard their new 31' Hunter sailboat named Aye Aye. We helped them bring her safely from Rock Hall, MD to City Island , NY. It was a wonderful 7 day  adventure, and sailing came back to temporarily titled Navigator Dick like riding a bike. In Cape May, NJ we were lucky to catch up with the Turo's on their vacation,, what fun!!  During that time Mark & Marcia celebrated their wedding anniversary!! Happy Anniversary M & M and thanks for a great adventure.



Hey who's steering the boat???

Dinner at the Lobster House

Happy Anniversary M & M

The middle of August we flew to Pine Island Key, FL to attend Tom and Dianes wedding. Congratulatiions to the new Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert. Even though the temperatures were hovering in the mid 90's and the humidity seemed to match it was a grand weekend with grand facilities,good food and, of course, a beautiful bride and groom. Lot's of fun and very romantic.

Cooling off at the Pool

Shoes Optional !!

Congratulations Tom & Diane

The last two weeks of August, we were repairing, provisioning and planning for our adventure.