Monday, May 18, 2009

We were underway shortly after 7 am with cloudy skies, north winds at 5 knots and 50°F. There was a small craft advisory in effect until 2 pm, but because there was no rain in the forecast and the winds were expected to decrease by the time we arrived at Sandy Hook, we decided to set out. Maureen took a motion sickness pill and Lucy took a “doggy downer.” We all passed on breakfast for awhile to see how we felt after being on the ocean. The ride was rough but not nearly as bad as we experienced on Friday. About halfway to Sandy Hook the New York City skyline came into view. As the day wore on and we brought ourselves closer to New York, we were able to see a spectacular vista of the harbor and the skyscrapers. While rounding Sandy Hook we could see that the name of the point described the geography very well. From there it was downwind to Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, and to a beautiful area and marina. All of the land based facilities we were looking for; such as, coin laundry, grocery store and hardware store, were within walking distance, so we decided to stay a few days to enjoy the locality and work on the boat. It was a perfect spot to leave the boat for a few days while we travelled to New London, Connecticut, for Casey’s graduation. The marina provides dinghy service for boats on their mooring buoys. At about 4 pm we requested a “lift in” to do some laundry, take showers, and pick up our car rental. We were back at the boat before 8 pm to put laundry away and grill up a chicken breast.