Our Final Day on the Ocean - June 24

Sunrise as we head into the ocean from Atlantic City




Working the winch to keep the jib tight.





A Sandy Hook Beer at the end of a long day!







After watching the weather carefully the last few days today looked like a decent day to head off shore again. Up we got at 4 am and headed off with the first glimmer of sunrise. The winds were quite calm and we noticed a number of other boats ambling out the inlet at the same time. We could feel the rollers coming in but these were not nearly the same magnitude as the other day. Once we were out far enough and turned north it actually felt very comfortable. The light wind, generally on our nose, meant that we motored along with only the mainsail up to help with stabiltiy and to grab any favourable gusts that may come along. Our plan was to try to make it all the way to Sandy Hook, about 80 nautical miles. This would be our longest day yet. It was looking pretty good as we set out doing around six knots. Then we noticed our speed dropping. Hmm. I didn’t know of any opposing currents along the coast here. But down it went to about 4.8 knots and stayed there. Bummer. This was now putting our plan in jeopardy. To continue at this speed would mean arriving after dark which isn’t what we wanted to do. There were two more inlets coming up that were possible exits but neither of them were very appealing for their anchoragability (if that’s a word). As the last one crept up we had to make a decision. Just before this however, our speed started to creep back up, we also had a bit of wind and had unfurled the jib. Now we were back up to 6 knots and the decision to continue was easy. The seas had settled even more and Christopher was able to while away the hours playing on the computer. He also took a turn at assisting on the helm for over two hours. Getting the sails out is also a very active time for him as he helps pull on the jib sheet, uses the winch to harden the jib as well as the main sail when we need it. It is fun to watch him be a keen sailor!
A magical part of the day was the dolphin greeting we received. Along the way we came across about 5 different pods of dolphins some with about 30 dolphins. Most were just swimming along but some were more frisky and did a few full body leaps out of the water. We are really glad they came to say goodbye!
By 6:30 we reached the offshore buoy marking the Sandy Hook channel and by 7:30 we had the anchor down and felt totally relieved. As we came in we saw Rich on his boat Nessie anchoerd as well. Just when you thought you’d never cross paths with someone again, there they are! Great day!!