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Cape May, NJ, was a great place to hole up over Memorial Day weekend and stay off the very busy waterways.  We ended up splitting our time between two nice marinas, South Jersey Marina and Utsch’s Marina (pronounced like “Dutch” without the “D”), located next to each other just an easy bicycle ride to the beach and historic district.

Cape May is famous for its wonderful collection of Victorian homes, some of which are bed and breakfast inns.

One street in the historic district has been turned into a walking mall with shops and restaurants.

But if one doesn’t feel like walking, there is always the horse drawn carriage option.

We rode our bikes to the beach, thinking we would take a walk along the water’s edge, but we were greeted with a sign telling us that we would have to pay to even set foot on the beach.

And just in case we didn’t get the message, each entry point was guarded, lest we should try to sneak by.

Oh, well, we decided to head back to the walking mall area and spend our money on lunch and beer instead.  Good choice.

On Tuesday, May 31st, we got up early so we could make an outside run to Atlantic City before the wind picked up.  Although we would have liked to do the inside passage through NJ, we were advised that this portion was too shallow to be a safe choice.  So, at 6:50 a.m. we left the marina behind, headed for the Cape May Inlet.

It was a little foggy when we cleared the inlet and entered the ocean, but that began to burn off as the sun peeked out from the clouds.  We followed the 30 ft. contour line on our chart, but stayed not far behind our friends, Steve and Jean, on their 41 ft. Symbol motor cruiser, “Sun Cat.”  Since this was our first off shore adventure, we were glad to have their support, since they had done this before.

As the wind picked up a bit, light chop developed.  Swells were a little more pronounced near each inlet we passed.  By 9:30 it was sunny, and we could just make out a hazy outline of the highrises of Atlantic City in the distance.

At this point we were cruising about two miles off shore.  Approaching the inlet at Atlantic City, the wind speed increased and the chop became more pronounced, so we were glad to get off the ocean and docked at our marina before it got worse.

When we saw “Old Barney” (Barnegat Lighthouse), we knew the excitement was about to begin.

As we approached the inlet, a whole lot of rocking and rolling was going on, sometimes even surfing the rollers.  Local knowledge is very important when negotiating Barnegat Inlet, and many boats have run aground and come to grief there.  But with the help of Captain Larry Viig, both Sun Cat and Docker’s Inn made it through safely.

Larry had also made arrangements for us to sit out some predicted very windy weather tied up to his friends’ dock in a protected canal off Barnegat Bay in the town of Brick, NJ.

What a treat this was, and what a beautiful setting. Our special thanks go out to Sharon and Larry Jones for their wonderful hospitality in sharing, not only their dock, but their lovely home as well.

Windy weather may not be great for cruising, but it’s just fine for sightseeing.  So we took advantage of it. For Ken and I, this was like old home week, since we had grown up and gotten married in this area, having left NJ back in 1970 to see the world. Now we had a chance to visit some of our favorite places, such as the boardwalk at Point Pleasant Beach.

First we walked down to the northern end of the boardwalk to take a look at Manasquan Inlet where we would be exiting the NJ ICW in a few days.

Then we had lunch at the Tiki Bar at Martell’s, a local institution. Sitting next to Ken is Captain Larry and his wife, Sue.  They cruised the Great Loop in 2007 with Jean and Steve (on the right). Larry and Sue now have a home in the area, and they graciously hosted us, supplying cars, a swimming pool , and great companionship throughout our stay.  Larry even did a little work in our engine room.  You can’t beat that!

Once again, we didn’t walk on the beach, because this is New Jersey, and you have to pay.  But we got to look at it.  That’s the beach I grew up with.  Pretty nice, huh?

After three terrific days, the wind calmed down and we moved on.  This time we were in the lead, first traversing the Point Pleasant Canal, which Ken and I both remember well from our youth as potentially trecherous, with very strong current with the change of tides. 

However, we timed it for slack tide and had no difficulty at all, even going under the two lift bridges, where currents can be especially tricky.

Then we emerged into the Manasquan River and cruised under the Route 35 bridge, heading for the next potentially tricky spot at a train bridge where only one vessel at a time can fit through the narrow opening. Since it was a Saturday, we thought there might be lots of boats possibly waiting for the bridge to open. Not so, no problem.

And then it was on to the Manasquan Inlet, and a smooth passage into the ocean for a run up the coast to Sandy Hook and beyond.

Since we had just spent three unscheduled days “off” so to speak, we decided to bypass Atlantic Highlands and proceed to New York Harbor. Our goal was to pass under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge,

continue on to the Statue of Liberty, with Sun Cat now back in the lead,

and anchor at Liberty Park for the night, and that’s exactly what we did.

Stay tuned for the rest of our New York story.  I can tell you this, it has been super!  But now it’s time for supper.