August 13 – Monday
I (RCB) checked the weather forecast just after 05:00 and it looked about the same as the favorable one Sunday, so we planned to depart. Water tank topped and power cords in, we battened down everything that could fall or roll and got out our foul weather gear – just in case. Underway at 06:30 we departed the marina through the north end of the breakwater. It is unmarked, but the ferries all use it and I had talked with some local fisherman and they said to just avoid the old pilings that are on the left, but only can be seen at low tide. No worries mate, out we went and headed directly for the point at the north end of Sandy Point Bay. When we got there, there was a large white U.S. Coast Guard Cutter entering the bay so we checked in with them and we would not be in their way so we proceeded with our turn to the south.
We were bound for Atlantic City. The weather behaved all day, just like the forecast said it would, as we proceeded south. We ran a bit closer to shore than we had on the north bound trip – we stayed ¾ to 1 ½ miles off the beach. We could see the volleyball games, but couldn’t be sure who was winning. The day was pretty uneventful but as we approached both Barnegat and Little Egg inlets, we had to abruptly move off shore farther due to the shoaling that these inlets are famous for. At the south side of Barnegat, we could see breaking waves nearly a mile off shore.
Both breakfast (Cheerios & fruit) and lunch (spinach dip and ham with crackers) were served on the bridge as we cruised south. It was to be a long day and the autohelm had not been working properly so we set a timer and did 30 minute watches at the helm. When the timer beeped, no excuses, it was your turn at the helm - so get to the head when you were off watch. At the various inlets we had to contend with groups of boats with fishermen, but nothing like on weekends.
We could faintly see the tall buildings of Atlantic City about 12 miles away and just as the GPS was reporting all day long, we arrived at the entrance of the inlet at 4:08 and by 4:30, were anchored in the same place we stopped on the trip north. After a beer, I (RCB) will set up the BBQ grill and do the fillets we thawed a few days back, but were too tired to have at the end of that day. It should be a nice, cool night and if the forecast holds, we will go to Cape May tomorrow, only about a 5 hour cruise.