Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Sumpin Fishy Here



We left Atlantic City before dawn to make Sandy Hook before dark. The plan had one little hang up...severe thunderstorms. We chickened out and ducked in at Manasquan. I did a quick on line check and found dock space; cheap. Shoulda known there;d be a reason it was cheap. We could smell it from a 1/4 mile away. We tied up right next to some sort of fish processing shack. Some sort of loud grinder was wailing away inside the shack. Guys were shovelling 'something' into large vats and the water under the shack was full of foam.

But it was better than the alternative. Weather radar showed plenty of purple over the place we would have been. Likely 40 to 50 mph winds, driving rain and plenty of lightening. We were safely tied up when the front hit us and we only got 35mph winds. Unfortunately, not much rain to give the boat a good rinse. We'll be off very early to continue on to Sandy Hook. Hopefully we'll leave the smell behind!

Posted by Ed aboard S/V Freedom

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

4000



We hit 4000 miles since departing last September! What a trip, and we're just getting started.

We left the Chesapeake by way of the C & D canal into Delaware Bay. Many reports warned of a hostile body of water. But the only issue was the continued heat. We installed a new A/C unit when the first of the 90's hit but our little generator can't handle the load, it's only good dockside. Oh well. As we headed down the bay we finally got some ocean breezes. We finsihed the day at Cape May.

Today was a brisk downwind sail with plans on overnighting all the way to Sandy Hook, near NY harbor. But things got a bit sporty; 20+ winds, 6' seas, no moon, unlit fish traps. So we went into Absecon Inlet Atlantic City for the night. No gamblin for us! Up early for the long 14 hour day to Sandy Hook.

Posted by Ed aboard S/V Freedom