We have a goal to get to Oriental NC for November so Liam can take his captain’s class, and with hope that we can get a new dodger for the boat.
That goal in mind we didn’t linger in Hadley Harbor, once the weather was “good enough” we left and made our way to Atlantic Highlands NJ. The water was pretty flat but the wind was on the nose. With it being so flat we were able to take wider tacks and go farther out to sea. This made for a less eventful sail although a slow one.
We left the motor on for all of it for the boost and still didn’t get to Atlantic Highlands before Monday at 6 in the evening. What should have taken 48 hours took almost 60.
We anchored in our usual spot behind the breakwater and had pretty good holding. Not as good as Nantucket but pretty good. We had the anchor reset once when the wind shifted 180 degrees and then there was the weather forecast.
At one point, which just happened to be the morning after we dragged about 20-30 feet the forecast was calling for winds gusting up into the 70 MPH range for just five days into the future. SO I did what I needed to do and reserved a mooring ball for us. The single best way to ensure the wind is lighhter is to prepare as much as you can.
The plan was to move onto the ball on Saturday and then back to the anchorage on Tuesday after the storm had passed. And with the plan set we had plenty of time to do what was necessary in town.
Pizza
Julio’s Pizza in Atalantic Highlands NJ is probably my favorite pizza place on the planet. Small and ordinary it’s got amazing pizza and a friendly atmosphere. So we ordered a small buffalo chicken and a large peparoni & sausage. Then it was a 2 mile hike up the moutain to the observation park to try and avoid the diabetic blood sugar spike. IT worked and all was well.
Plus the view from up there was amazing.
We also took the time in town before our move to the mooring ball to get our Flu and Covid shots for the season and I was able to get a hair and beard trim.
Saturday came and we were up realativly early, pulled the anchor and moved ot the fuel dock to fuel up and water up then picked up our mooring. Once on the mooring we made our way to town once again, this time to get “storm snacks” which are things that we stress eat during the storm. Plus cafinated beverages, sometimes going so far as to get 5-hour engergy and MT. Dew Soda if the sotrm is forcast to be overnight.
The storm was luckily uneventful, just a bit windy and a whole lot of rain. I’m convinced this is because we decided to get the mooring ball, well maybe not 100% because of that.
But following the storm we moved right back to where we were anchored before.
