We had a nice morning as we headed off for the Big Apple. We had a favorable wind and current
as we headed down the Hudson and were able to see the skyscrapers of NYC from a long way
off. In fact we were looking straight down the river and saw the Statue of Liberty from 20 miles
away with the binoculars. River traffic was light and we decided to pass by Lady Liberty before
heading into our marina. Near the Statue their was a tremendous amount of boat traffic, from
huge tour boats to a bunch of kayaks paddling around - major bedlam. Seeing the statue gave us
goose bumps, quite touching.
We headed back to our marina, a wonderful facility a mile from the Statue of Liberty and right
across the river from lower Manhatten and the Trade Center area. We had no idea the new tower
construction had progressed as far as it has. The new buildings are already way taller than any surrounding buildings and are lit up at night. We took the ferry to visit Ellis Island and really
enjoyed our visit there. It was more touching than either of us had expected.
Watching the sunset reflected in the skyscrapers of the city was awesome. I kept taking
more pictures as the view progressed, with the lights of the city at night being amazing too.
It was well worth the price of the Liberty Landing Marina to experience the place. The facility
itself was beautiful and people everywhere were friendly and not at all "big cityish." We
felt very safe.
38 miles
Monday, Sept. 24
We left later than normal, about 9:00 because we were going to sail all throught the night
and wanted to reach Cape May closer to daylight. NYC harbor was full of huge ships
anchored out waiting to get to the shipping docks on Staten Island so we wound our way through them and others heading in the busy shipping channel as we headed out. The weather was nice
and we had good winds, sailing and motorsailing as we rounded northern New Jersey. It felt a
little intimidating to be out in the Atlantic Ocean. The swells were different from Lake Erie.
Things went well until after dark when the wind swung around on our nose and was quite a
bit stronger than forcast. We started out with two hour watches after dark but at midnight
we switched to one hour watches because of the tiring conditions. It was impossible to
see the oncoming waves which beat us up and we needed to slow up to time our arrival at
Cape May. Atlantic City was very brightly lit as we passed and we were able to see it for
several hours as we went by. The wind was 18 -22 knots on the nose for most of the time at
night and wasn't much fun. We got into Cape May at 7:30 in the morning and tied up at our
dock at Utsch's Marina at 9:00 after 24 long hours. We were exhausted and after getting
breakfast at the restaurant across the street we crashed in our bunk for a few hours.
Utsch's Marina is a very welcoming place with nice facilities and friendly helpful staff.
Wayne, the owner welcomed us with a bag of goodies ( a bottle of wine, biscotti, and
handmade soap). He was a big help docking and is a wealth of information.
We bought a Honda 1000 watt portable generator for backup power and charging of
the batteries when anchored. They had a great price here and the guys took care of the
warranty registration and filled the unit with oil and fuel and trained us in its use. What
service!
After resting we walked into town and through the streets with many unique houses, most
of them lovingly restored, some very colorful. Cape May is on the National Registry for
its restoration efforts. We enjoyed the walk and time off the boat, walking about four miles.
140 miles
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