Shortly after sailing out into the Atlantic from Norfolk VA our freshly welded and repaired alternator bracket snapped again. Right on the weld. So while it did get us out to sea there would be very little motoring happening on our trip to Atlantic Highlands NJ.

Since I hadn’t noticed until it was just about time to turn the engine off anyway we just turned the engine off and turned the boat north. It was a calm, blissful sail that took a bit longer than we’d expected. Honestly, if we had the motor I probably would have motor sailed for some of the passage. It was a good lesson to remind us that the boat is a sailboat and we should sail more.

We did however tack the bracket up the next day and on the third day which was when we were rounding Sandy Hook we turned the engine on and it worked fine. No power from the alternator but our new 450aH lithium bank worked fine to keep everything running.

Anchoring vs Mooring

Normally we like to Anchor in Atlantic Highlands. There is almost always room behind the breakwater in the protected harbor and this time was no different. But with engine troubles, I decided that we should request a mooring. So we did at $40/night we got the Pre-Season rate since the boat launch wasn’t running yet and there were no shoreside services such as showers yet.

It was good to be on the mooring and I certainly slept deeply that first night after two consecutive overnights where I was essentially single handing in preparation for when the boys leave me to “really” single-hand.

Atlantic Highlands NJ

Atlantic Highlands sits inside of the northern part of Jersey and is quite protected. There is Sandy Hook which protects it from the ocean, then a breakwater that protects it from NY Harbor, and then the land itself which is south of the harbor and well.. is quite high and steep as the name “Highlands” implies.

There are several spots to tie up the dinghy and they all have water on the docks that make filling up Jerry cans quite convenient. We took two cans to shore (12 gallons total) each day until we were full).

Then the town is essentially an approximately 1 mile long stretch of road with a large grocery store on the far end, a hardware store, post office, library, and several restaurants line the road between the grocery store and the dock making the town a super convenient stop.

We had our replacement part sent to a UPS access point and picked it up on our 2nd day in town along with other mail we had relayed from our mailing service.

The repair to the engine took all of 20 minutes. We were free to enjoy the city while we waited for good weather.

I like Atlantic Highlands since it’s an excellent staging area for going both north and south. Going north you can wait here until there is a good wind that will take you all the way to Block Island or Newport RI. And going south you can wait here until there is good wind to take you as far as Norfolk VA and the start of the ICW.

Cafes, Pizza, Groceries, and Hardware Stores.

During out stay we go to shore just about every day the wind is gentle enough to allow it (essentially anything under 20 knots) and we usually make the same few stops. First stop is to “1st Cup Coffee” where I order a large Earl Gray and then try to get as much work done as I can. Then there is usually an errand to run, either the grocery store, the hardware store, or we have to make the long walk up the monster hill to West Marine.

Then we’ll usually splurge and stop at Julio’s Pizza. Julio’s has to be the single best Pizzeria I’ve ever been to. And that’s saying quite a lot. It’s so good that I was coming up with excuses to go up to West Marine just so I’d have a walk long enough to counteract eating pizza there diabetes-wise. Yup, I’d go on a six-mile hike just to be able to eat the pizza.

Can’t wait to return.

It’s a mandatory stop. And one of these days I’m going to take advantage of the ferry that runs to Manhattan, grab a mooring, take the launch, then the ferry to the city, and .. well I’ve never actually been in NYC so I’ll have to figure that out at some point.