Monthly Archives: September 2014

Monday, 8 September

There must be many reasons to visit Atlantic City.  There’s the lure of a quick buck at blackjack or hitting the jackpot at the slots.  (Several casinos have gone bankrupt but enough remain open to fill the declining demand.)  Some enjoy the beach and the Boardwalk.  Many will come this weekend for the Miss America Pageant.  Or, if you’re cruising on a small boat, maybe you just need a safe harbor for the night.

The latter is the lone appeal for Steadfast, “A-C” being one of the two inlets on the Jersey Shore manageable without up-to-date local knowledge (Manasquan the other).  Sometimes there’s room at a reasonable rate on a tee-head at Gardiner’s Basin, the municipal marina.  If not, a couple of anchorages offer varying degrees of shelter.  Either way, it breaks up the seemingly endless run down the shore and gets the boat off the ocean.

Madonna leads the way out Manasquan Inlet with a full fishing party aboard.

The two-year-old $2-billion monolithic Revel is one of several casinos to close since Labor Day.

So Steadfast was off the pier at Hoffman’s as the current slacked at 0745, turned to starboard out the inlet and motor-sailing under double-reefed main.  Winds were 10-15 out of the north-nor’east so—subtracting the 6-plus-knots that Steadfast was making southward—there was just enough apparent wind to fill the double-reefed main but not nearly enough to fill the genny. Little Red worked the whole 53 nautical miles. The only damage done this day was to our appetites, a three-to-five foot quartering sea creating a motion remarkably similar to one of the rides at Seaside Heights or Wildwood. Steadfast made great time, though, and her timing was great, slipping between the A-C breakwaters by 1600 and just as the tide turned to flood.  That stretch done left just what’s considered a more manageable 38 nautical miles to Cape May.

Monday’s forecast was similar to Sunday’s but with winds building some and clocking more to the east. It wasn’t all that bad coming out of the Basin, through the inlet and into the ocean, probably ENE 12-15.

The surfing Monday was better than any ride at Seaside Heights.

A big German-flagged Jeanneau sloop left just ahead of us, a classic 40-foot cutter came out just astern, likewise headed south. Before long, both were barely visible on the horizon. And that’s pretty much it for the day; no other vessel traffic at all.

A thick overcast put a gloom to the morning, made more dismal by a sprinkle every now and then. As forecast, the wind did build with more east in it so by 1100, it was work to hold to our heading of 230 magnetic. But the little ship handled it all well, as always far better than those aboard. She made excellent time, too, surfing down the back sides of the seas at speeds that topped out in double-digits! Red kept humming easily along, adding a bit of thrust to help with the helm and Cape May inlet was made just before slack water. Red bore into the remaining ebb with no problem.

The harbor anchorage was full despite the strong wind.

On the way across the harbor, the German boat and the cutter both were seen at anchor by the Coast Guard station but by then, there was deemed to be a bit more wind than would allow for a quiet night. Steadfast instead returned to Utsch’s Marina where she’s stayed several nights coming-and-going in the past.

The next big step will be the run up Delaware Bay.  The Jersey Shore now is astern. No “Snookie” sightings to report. Perhaps she stayed in, afraid the wind would mess up her hair.

There’s no complaint here. After all that surfing, it feels like we hit the jackpot just to be still for a couple of days.

Steadfast out.

One day, one boat, one marina and more tuna still to had!

Friday, 5 September

A well-practiced surgeon at the fish table.

“On the Hudson,” he said.

Wow! They catch fish like this one the Hudson River?

“No, no, no.” John responds with an amused smile and a shake of the head. “Hudson Canyon, out about 70 miles east-so’east o’ here.”

John is a laywer by profession and skipper of Seaquester, the big baby blue sportfisherman tied up a few slips down the pier from Steadfast this evening. The day’s catch—modest, says he—fills a wheelbarrow with 60-to-90 pound yellowfin and long fin tuna with which he busies now cleaning and slicing.

“Naw, I don’t freeze anything. I either eat it or give it away. Want some?”

There’s a lot going on here on a Friday afternoon. Horns blast, big boats backing out of slips; bells ring, gates closing as bridges open, upstream and downstream; sirens scream, bridges closing again; whistles blow, the NJ Transit rumbling through and, of course, boats go back and forth, up and down the Manasquan River. Oh, yes, and the current runs all the time (okay, there is a brief slack twice a day), at three-plus knots usually, ebb and flood, with a tidal range of five feet.

Commuters ride the NJ Transit train across the Manasquan River.

The latter makes it, ahem, interesting to tie-off at the tee-head at “Hoffman’s Sportfishing Marina.” At idle, the boat goes four knots with the current; turn bow into it, she’s doing three but moving astern.

The evening’s entertainment, once secured to the pier, is to watch each skipper coming home at the end of a day deftly guide a 60-or-70’ flybridge sportfisherman–a $2-3-million yacht–into a slip that’s not much wider than the boat.   And this night, at least, in a nifty cross-wind to boot. It’s an art, for sure, and one not for the faint of heart.  But these guys do it all the time without so much as a scratch on the gelcoat.

Larry explains the million-dollar dredging done in ’11.

With a brisk southerly blowing, Saturday becomes a lay day leaving time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with the locals at “Eloise’s,” where the portions are ample and prices reasonable.  This is as recommended by Larry at Hoffman’s.  Larry and his son bought the marina three years ago, added another next door, and have turned these nine acres into a first class boaters’ haven in every way.  As in the name, it caters to sport fishermen not sailboats but Hoffman’s is one of the highlights of the trip.  It also turns out this is Brielle Day with arts, craft, games and all sorts of goings on in the center of this little town on the north shore of the Manasquan, just around the corner from “Eloise’s” and a few blocks from the marina.

Coast Guardsmen snagged “Magic” to safety as squall approached Manasquan.

But wait, there’s more!  Shortly before lights out Saturday night, the pier is roused by the roar of a Coast Guard 47 backing down as she approaches the fuel dock.  On her hip is a disabled 24′ sailboat taken in tow somewhere off shore near Mantoloking.  The boat has New York numbers, her port of call is in Massachusetts.  The skipper speaks only Russian but the Guardsmen somehow determine that he’s enroute to Florida and ran out of gas for his outboard.  They were still sorting it all out at 2200 when the smaller RIB moved her to another pier ’til she could take on fuel in the morning.

All this excitement is in stark contrast to the 30-miles round Sandy Hook and down the north Jersey Shore to Manasquan Inlet. Standing off a mile or two to avoid the shoals, there’s nothing but ocean to port and, to starboard, what seems to be one uninterrupted strand of beach. Little Red did her thing all day, punching into a building southerly that stirred up a two-or-three-foot chop by days end.  Somewhat tedious, for sure, but other than that not a bad trip.

This inlet’s one of the few easy ones along the Jersey Shore, deep and wide, so getting in is straightforward when timed to ride a flood current. Just swing past the breakwater and make a run for it.

And if you’re so inclined, there may be fresh tuna to be had on the pier.

Steadfast out.

Thursday, 4 September

The light at Stepping Stones can’t compete with the morning sun.

At 0648, there’s not much moving on Manhasset Bay. Mostly the flotsam bobbing on the surface; bottles, cans and cups pulled into the Bay by the receding tide. But incredibly, the only other vessel under way in these waters is a wake boat pulling a young (it is assumed) man on a board. The early hour was chosen (it is assumed) for the very reason that few if any boats would be visible in the background while a videographer captured the action in the early morning light.

Aboard Steadfast, the focus is on the action to come. The ebb began a little over an hour ago and she’s underway early, not for the light, but to catch a ride down the East River through “The City.” This marks her fourth such trip. She and Little Red have handled it well each time but each time is a thrill for those aboard.

Waters boil where the Harlem dumps into the East River.

As before, speeds pick up a bit around College Point. The big jump comes around Rikers Island (yes, that one, the NYC prison) where—while boat speed stays in the 4s, speed over the bottom bumps up to the 7s. Top speeds come as expected as she bends to port over Hell Gate, where the East is joined by the Harlem River and the surface swirls and eddies and boils all through the day. Forget holding a straight course. Manning the helm is more like shooting-the-curl than steering a boat, the current taking the stern first one way, then the other.

The Roosevelt Island tram runs alongside the 59th Street Bridge. Feeling Groovy?

Without able crew, there’d be no time for photos. The wheel demands full attention the rest of the way from here, past Roosevelt Island, past the copter and ferry docks near The Battery and across the harbor to Governor’s Island where a sense of normalcy returns to the excursion.

The Chrysler Building is framed by the glass monolith of the United Nations.

The pulse continues to beat a bit faster than usual, though, even through The Narrows until the cargo ships and tugs are astern and only the occasional runabout or center console crosses the bow. The Seastreak high speed ferry comes across Sandy Hook Bay but by then, Steadfast is nearly home. A little over six hours after casting off in Port Washington, she clears the breakwater at Atlantic Highlands.

Look to the west under the Brooklyn Bridge for a view of the Freedom Tower.

The Staten and Governor’s Island ferries keep the harbor waters stirred up around The Battery.

Ships pass at The Narrows, in and out of one of the busiest ports in the world.

Heading south, West Bank Light signals a return to a more normal pace.

Breathing gradually returns to normal. For the day, nautical miles total 36.9.

The memories, however, are immeasurable.

Steadfast out.

The light in Cockenoe Harbor could barely be seen through the morning haze.

Tuesday, 2 September

Haze. Summer haze, hanging on Long Island Sound like a cheap drop cloth on the porch furniture. Hangs ‘cause there’s not a lick of wind, the Sound surface an oil slick calm.

In the immortal words of poet-philosopher Jed Clampett, “We-e-e-e daw-gies!” It is hot here on Long Island Sound. Yesterday, the last day of the summer season, summer finally arrived in the northeast. The crack team of meteorologists at Accu-guess put the “Real Feel” temperature at 101. They don’t expect much less today.

As Steadfast motored away from Cedar Point at 0900, her five knots or so westward created a cooling breeze through the cockpit, as long as one stayed in the shade of the bimini. (How does anyone sail in summer without one?)

While the season stopped on Labor Day, this day marks the start of the push back to the Chesapeake. For the next week, maybe more, the focus will be to make miles southward to Cape May. That’s a good place to wait for wind, weather and tide to team for the run up Delaware Bay.

The first leg of this stretch is just under 30 nautical across Long Island Sound to Port Washington. There are other places one could stop for a night before making the run through Hell Gate and New York City but “Port Wash” offers something the others don’t: the town has more than a dozen moorings available at no charge, first come, first served. That’s a big plus.   And besides the main pier downtown, there’s Port North Pier, a municipal pier just across the street from a mall anchored by one supermarket and a couple of blocks from a second that includes grocery, package store, hardware and Worst West Marine.

Local legend has it that Execution Rocks are named for the British practice during the Revolutionary War of chaining rebels to the rocks to drown in the rising tide.  Fact or no, it is true that the skyline of New Rochelle has changed somewhat since then.

Steadfast passes the foreboding Execution Rocks, rounds Barker Point and steams in the harbor just after 1400 for an average speed of 5.3 knots. Not bad considering the current was ebbing northeastward most of the day. Then, as a special greeting, the wind went from non-existent to a steady 15, gusting to 20-plus.

No complaints were heard aboard Steadfast. She rocked some and swung side-to-side but that breeze broke the heat.

Real Feel? Most refreshing. And free!

Steadfast out