New Jersey – Stark Adventures

Day 76-New New Jersey friends

June 3, 2021June 4, 2021karenstark

Wednesday June 2, 2021.
Temp: 69/58, Humidity: 87/100%, Top Wind: S8mph, Precip-Rain & Thunder, Miles Traveled: some by car

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I love it when y’all leave comments on the blog so that I know you’re out there. I’ve had people tell me intersting things about areas that they know well, relating to someplace I write about. One of those places is Atlantic Highlands. Capt Walt has been a faithful reader, and he keeps me on my toes if I fall behind and keep him in suspense too long before posting another episode. Somewhere along the line, he told me that he lived in the Atlantic Highlands area of New Jersey. That stayed tucked in the back of my mind, and I recently e-mailed him for marina suggestions in this area. Since we like to stay in new places when possible, I thought this could be fun. He gave me a couple of ideas, and so when I had reservations set, I let him know where we’d be and that we’d like to meet him if possible.

Day 75-A speedy133 miles by noon!

June 2, 2021June 4, 2021karenstark

Tuesday June 1, 2021.
Temp: 70/58, Humidity: 63/86%, Top Wind: SE13mph, Precip-none, Miles Traveled: 133!!

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Today was the day. The day to go out in the ocean and beat feet up the coast. It’s not my favorite place to travel, but since we need to do it, today was the best forecast, still saying seas less than 2 feet, with a South-southwest wind of 5-10, increasing in the afternoon at the northern end of our trip. It doesn’t get any better than that! So we were up at 4:30 to get out of Cape May. First light was at 5:00, sunrise at 5:30. I took this picture from our backdoor at 4:45 and it was so dark that I though it wouldn’t turn out or be blurry. But look at that! It looks surreal. The water was as still as could be and the colors are magnificent!

Day 74- A nice day to Cape May

June 1, 2021June 4, 2021karenstark

Tuesday June 1, 2021.
Temp: 70/55, Humidity: 68/99%, Top Wind: S14mph, Precip-none, Miles Traveled: 74

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We slept great last night. No rocking and rolling, but just an occasional bump against the wall. We did see a big tow-barge go by after dark, but it really didn’t create much wake. This morning we weren’t in a ‘ before sunrise’ kind of getaway rush. The current was running pretty hard on our nose. The problem is that we can’t get a favorable current all the way through this canal (15 miles) AND all the way down the Delaware Bay (55 miles). We’ll be running over 7 hours, and the tide will switch in that time. So we figured we’d take some current on our nose here, then ride it down the bay as long as we could. By the time we got to the widest part of the bay, it might not be quite as strong when it switched against us again. So, we left our wall at about 6:30am and headed out.

Day 77: A SWELL day on the Atlantic Ocean

May 28, 2018November 5, 2019karenstark

5/28/18 Memorial Day: We have 45 miles to ride the ocean today. It will take us about 5 hours to go from Cape May to Atlantic City. Some other boats planned to leave really early. We looked at the weather, and after the wind, rain, and thunderstorms of last night, it looked like it was going to lay down a little bit after noon. So we planned to wait and leave around 11:00. It was windy this morning, so I’m glad this was our plan. Ron on Kara Mia saw one of the boats leave early, and the wind just about had that boat kissing both of our sterns as it idled out of the marina. 😳 Read more →

Day 76: A humid day in Cape May

May 27, 2018November 5, 2019karenstark

5/27/18 Sunday: Yay for a sleep-in day! Even though I woke up at 5:00, I did not get up. Roll over and snooze some more. We had a little bit of rain over night, but not much. The morning was nice – overcast and upper 60’s, but really humid. I thought about opening the doors and windows, but no – the air conditioner is more comfortable. Relax, have some coffee, and figure out what to do today. It is supposed to rain later. Hey – I know! Let’s get the bikes down and ride to town. DeeDee (Rejoice) said it was a good 45 minute walk to town, so our bikes sound like a better idea. Captain rolled upstairs, had some coffee, and perused the little cartoon map of the area.

Day 75: A quick trip down Delaware Bay

May 26, 2018November 5, 2019karenstark

5/26/18: Holy sunshine, I need to quit waking up at 5:00 already! Ahh, its just as well today. We decided to get with it while the weather was good, and make the 62 mile trek down Delaware Bay to Cape May, New Jersey. It wasn’t looking like there would be a perfect time the have both the wind and the current be in our favor. So let’s just go. By the way, Island Girl’s engines are starting up just fine now. I think the mechanic got the air out of the fuel lines or something, because all seems to be functioning appropriately. That makes the crew down in the engine room happy. 😉 The sun was out and the wind wasn’t bad. Good bye Delaware City.