All last week there were forecasts for possible thunderstorms. Finally, on Friday night while still at anchor in Atlantic City, we heard thunder and saw flashes of lightning - not close - but definitely part of a storm somewhere. After that there was no more threat of storms. By the next day the fog had lifted and the seas were calmer than all the week before. It was time to make our last run up the Jersey shore. Some people do the trip between Sandy Hook, NY and Cape May, NJ in 3 jumps stopping at Manasquan and Atlantic City; some cruise through the night and go all the way. We were repeating the 2 jump trip we had done on the way down, but this time instead of stopping at Barnegat Bay, we had stopped at Atlantic City.
From Atlantic City we had a long long way to go for the second jump. To make it before dark, we were up at 4:45 and out the Absecon Inlet by 5:30. 82 nautical miles and 14 hours later, we were anchored behind the breakwater at Atlantic Highlands marina just off the lower Hudson. It was a long day but not difficult - sunny skies, some wind and OK seas. The worst part was the last hour when we rounded Sandy Hook into an opposing current and Friday night boat traffic. The water was churned up by boats going every which way - big and small sport fishing boats, a freighter here and there, sailboats like us. That night, we were most relieved to say goodbye to the open Atlantic and settle in for a quiet night.
From here on in, it's full steam ahead toward home. At Barb and Ken's suggestion, we dispensed with our stay at New York City's 79th Street Marina. Instead, we fueled up at Atlantic Highlands and left at 7:30 a.m. to catch the tide up the Hudson as far as it would take us. After traveling some 60 nautical miles, the strong northwest winds made the planned for anchorage at Haverstraw Bay a bad bet so we continued on to anchor where a jog in the river created protection beneath Dunderburg Mountain. The anchorage was described as across from a nuclear plant and beside a railroad track. It sounded most unappealing but it was lovely with trees covering the mountainous shoreline. Trains passing nearby didn't bother us - we were too tired to take notice.
Manhattan ahead: we passed through New York City harbour and kept going.
I had forgotten - the Hudson has some spectacular scenery. As you move north bluffs line the river and then gradually rise into hills and mountains - all green with trees. When we continued up the river on Monday, we had a crisply cool but bright sunny day and lots of lovely scenery to look at. Again we left early to catch the tide arriving here at Riverview Marina, Catskills, NY in the late afternoon. This is the place where our masts come down so that we can take our boats through the locks ahead.
Scenes from the Hudson:
United States Military Academy at West Point
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