Saturday, 7 June
Atlantic City isn’t just casinos and gambling. People live and work here who have nothing to do with the world famous boardwalk. For instance, several of them crew on the 80-foot steel trawler that just motored out of Gardiner’s Basin to go fish the ocean off south Jersey.
Those aboard Steadfast are grateful that the wake of the slow moving trawler is negligible, unlike those created by the parade of sportfishing, go-fast and party boats that ignore the “No Wake” buoys on a stunningly sunny Saturday afternoon in June.
Steadfast slipped out of Utsch’s this morning at 0545 with Manasquan on the minds of her crew. Making Manasquan would put 80 more nautical miles in her wake and take a big chunk out of the run into Long Island Sound. But first, there was the matter of staying off the shoals in Cape May Harbor. Not to worry. Just follow the fleet of forty or more fishing boats racing to get lures in the water.
Get out of the way ’cause here they come, in an early start to the fishing grounds.
The red “2CM” was rounded at 0611 and Steadfast came left to a heading of 055 magnetic, running abeam of Hereford Inlet an hour later. From that point, the heading changed to 043 degrees for the rest of the morning ‘til she turned again to port to follow the channel to Absecon Inlet at the northern terminus of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. And that, after all, is this city’s focus, a fact abundantly clear as the tallest casinos come into view from as far as 30 miles on a clear day.
The Bally, Taj Mahal and Revel dominate the north end of A-C Boardwalk.
Abandoned Absecon Light remains the tallest in New Jersey and one of the oldest in the US.
But don’t look for the Absecon Lighthouse to guide your arrival. When built in 1857, its first order Fresnel lens helped keep ships off the beach. Its functionality has long since been compromised by the hotels that tower over her.
Steadfast remains focused on making many of the lovely harbors of Long Island Sound and beyond. This leg totaled 38.1 NM at an average speed over ground of 5.5 knots. She’ll be readied now for another early start tomorrow to perhaps get beyond Manasquan and round Sandy Hook, an 80-mile day if she can do it.
Tonight we’ll skip the casinos then play whatever hand may be dealt by wind and tide tomorrow.
Steadfast out.
At Sea with Steadfast 
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