Heading South - Part 1

After a wonderful "farewell weekend" in Connecticut in mid-September, we provisioned Endless Summer for the first part of our journey south for the winter. We left on a beautiful day, sunny skies and calm seas as we headed south down Long Island Sound. Our first stop was Port Washington adjacent to New York City. As luck would have it, our friends from Martha's Vineyard were also starting their journey south and stopped at the same marina.

Endless Summer and One Mo Time at Port Washington

Good times with Scott and Kell

The next morning, we departed Port Washington at a very civil 830 am and cruised down the East River past Manhattan on a ebb tide. That not only gave us a little boost in terms of speed, but also made for easy running through Hell Gate, a notoriously turbulent body of water. As we turned into the Hudson River, we could help but take a few extra minutes to sight see and capture a few more pictures on the city skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

New York City Skyline

Our Lady Liberty!

We continued under the Verrazano Bridge and across Sandy Hook Bay toward our destination in Red Bank, New Jersey. It was the first time we had gone up the Navasink River and while beautiful, was very "skinny" water, even through the middle of the channel. Since we use to live in nearby Little Silver, we had a chance to catch up with some old friends, played a little golf and enjoyed being back in the area for a couple of days.

At dock at the head of the Navasink River 

Molly Pitcher Hotel & Marina

Great laughs - mediocre golf!

The time came that we needed to leave and head south to Cape May, which unfortunately involved running offshore some 140 miles. Conditions were not in our favor but the forecast was going to get even worse the longer we waited. So we ventured out in what was forecast to be 3-4 foot following seas and 20 mph winds at our back. Not the best conditions but certainly doable. As often happens, the forecast was wrong -- very wrong. We ended up with 5-7 seas and winds over 30 mph. The boat handled it fine but suffice it to say, we did not enjoy the next 6 hours! After a nice dinner at the Lobster House and a good stiff drink (or two), we settled in for the night.

Some rough seas off the Atlantic City coast

The furniture in the salon got rearranged today!

The next day brought us overcast skies but the wind had subsided and it looked the conditions on the Delaware Bay were going to be good. This time, the forecast was right! We had a good run up the Bay and through the C&D Canal. We then turned into very familiar territory as the Chesapeake Bay welcomed us back. Heading south down the Bay, we arrived at the Bay Bridge Marina on Kent Island early that afternoon. We expect to be based here for a month before continuing down the ICW toward Florida mid-October. We are enjoying this time with good friends and the abundance of Chesapeake Bay seafood!

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge