After exploring Atlantic City for two days it was time for the last leg home. It was good fun to dingy over to the aquarium at Atlantic City and then use the scooters to explore the “town”.
On Saturday the forecast looked reasonable with 10 kts of wind and seas at 2 feet with periods of 6 sec. We expected it to be a little bit wavy but were we wrong!
LEAVING ATLANTIC CITY
We started very early in the morning with a nice sunrise and calm seas. We estimated about 9.5 hrs for the journey. After about 2 hours the wind and waves picked up and smooth sailing was finished for the day. We got hit broadside the entire time. Wind about 20 kts, waves 4-6 feet and all from the starboard side. I had to change the course frequently so we were facing the waves in a better angle. Also every hour I had to go down to the engine compartment to manage the diesel levels (somehow the equalization line between the two tanks got blocked). Without equalizing the diesel levels, one tank might run dry and the engines would stop. Restarting a Diesel engine which has air in the supply lines is a challenge to say the least.
So there we were, trying to keep the boat upright and holding on. Downstairs cabinet doors flipped open and the inside was scattered over the floor. It was a mess, Luna our poor cat right in the middle. A glass bottle fall on our induction stove and broke the top surface, Jolanda’s favorite fondue set was disintegrating. On top it started to rain.
When we passed the Manasquan Inlet, we saw blue skies over Manhattan this gave us strength to continue. Once we got close to the Verrazano Bride, we had our smiles back and we were just worried that it might be too windy to get back into our slip. After 11.5 hours of torture, we approached our marina, people greeted us from far and we also saw a couple of people coming to our dock to help us with the lines. We were concerned how we could dock as we didn’t have any lines set up which we normally do when leaving for a few days. Thanks to the wonderful help from our Dock family returning to our slip was easy. We were happy we made it.
Jolanda continues the story: Our neighbors could tell we were a bit horrified and invited us for a coffee, sherry and some appetizers. We started to defrost outside and inside as this beautiful welcome warmed our hearts. We shared our stories we experienced the last 6 months apart.
I didn’t feel like going back to our boat and face the mess. We spontaneous decided to book a hotel room for the night. What an awesome heavenly idea! A hotel room with unlimited hot water, big clean bed and downstairs a nice bar for dinner. The hotel we stayed is called Canopy, which is in the Arts District in Jersey City and part of the Hilton Group. The staff is super friendly and we felt treaded like royalties. We will definitely be back.
On the way to the hotel – the hotel was in walking distance – we bumped already into friends and neighbors. It felt incredible to see all these beautiful faces. I was first sad to leave the South as I fell in love with. However by today I must say I didn’t realize how much I love where we live! The neighbors, the friends, the sailing club next door, the Jersey City atmosphere with a lot of Restaurants, stores, markets etc.
I also didn’t realize how much I missed sailing with my wonderful boat 10 sailing team at Manhattan Yacht Club. Practice for the race season started this week and we went out twice already and we also joined a running club (Jersey City Runners) and the Calisthenics training with MRCalisthenics at Tompkins Square Park. On Saturday we signed up for our first City Challenge obstacle race in Jersey City.
One thing which suffered a bit when we were away was to do our beloved sports and we feel a bit rusty. We decided not to drink until Memorial Weekend and do a lot of sports. If any around us likes to join to do something sportive, please hit us up!
