Our Great Loop Adventure

On Sunday, May 18th, we left Utsch's Marina and proceeded out the Cape May Inlet into the Atlantic. Meandering was in the lead. We cruised northward about one mile off the coast. There were many signs of Hurricane Sandy's destruction as we moved along. After a very comfortable ride we docked in Atlantic City with Kathy and Ken next to us. Island Time pulled in, but decided to go to another marina because Gina could not get of the boat. The four of us, Tony, Sharon Ken and Kathy walked Atlantic City's famous boardwalk. We stopped for beverages and appetizers. Kathy and Ken decided to go into the Showboat to play the penny slots, such big gamblers. When Kathy and Ken came back from the casino, we planned tomorrow's trip. The weather was iffy, seas were supposed to be 3 to 5 feet with a fetch of 15 seconds. We chose to do the AICW even though we knew there would be some places the the water levels would be less than 6 feet.We had a late start on Monday because we needed to wait for high tide to give us some cushion in the areas that had serious shoaling. Island Time lead us through the inter-coastal waterway. It was a very tense day due to many shoaling areas. As we traveled in one particularly shallow area we saw Towboat US getting a motor yacht off a sandbar. We all took our time and made it safely to Barnegat Bay. Summer Recess and Island Time anchored out and Meandering went to the marina. Tuesday, we travelled with Island Time. We lead through the ICW. Again, we faced areas with shallow waters. We passed by areas on the ocean side that were breached by Sandy. There is a lot of rebuilding still going on. Again by moving at a slow pace, we made it safely to Manasquan. We docked at Hoffman's Marina with Island Time. Meandering was at the next marina. We were at a fixed dock and Sharon was really challenged in getting on and off the boat. We had docktails with Island Time. Steve, Gina and Tony sat on the dock and Sharon sat on the back deck of Summer Recess. Wednesday, May 21st, would be our last day on the Atlantic. The three boats left after the the railroad bridge went up at 7:15am. Meandering went first, followed by Island Time and Summer Recess was to bringing up the rear. We pulled away from the dock with no issues, but when we backed up and made the turn into the narrow passage of the railway bridge, we were caught by the current. It took three tries before we successfully cleared the bridge. Our travel on the Atlantic was fairly smooth. The skies were threatening, but not a drop of rain fell. At about 11:00am, we said good bye to the Atlantic and after we went under the Verrazano Bridge, we were officially in New York Harbor. It was Fleet Week in New York Harbor with both Naval and Coast Guard Vessels parading along the Battery. They closed the harbor to traffic for approximately one hour. As a result, all the commercial traffic was racing to make up for the lost time. The Harbor was a very busy place with tows, large ships, and coast guard vessels going in many directions. The result was a lot of turbulence in the water. However, seeing the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Manhattan Skyline made it all worth it. We pulled into our marina with heavy hearts because we said good bye to our dear friends, Kathy and Ken, on Meandering. They were not stopping in New York, but going farther up the Hudson. With luck we may run into them in the Erie Canal. We have a spectacular view of Manhattan from our boat as well as Lady Liberty. We took a wonderful walk through Liberty Park. Tonight, we are ordering New York Style Pizza. We will spend the next four days exploring New York.