Day 261-263
Well, for most of this trip since we left Gloucester we have been waiting for favorable weather for two days for every one day we travel. This is not a great way to make rapid progress. Hopefully, that will change soon since we need to be in Brewerton in upstate New York on the 17th.
While getting ready to leave our marina in Cape May the damage is not structural but there is fiberglass damage that will have to be repaired. That guy needs some boat handling lessons.
Our original plan was to leave Cape May and make an ocean transit to Staten Island, NY, but the wind and waves were higher for the next few days than we wanted to experience. We decided to take the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway instead, even though most people chose not to. The reason is that the waterway is shallow, has many twists and turns, and is not very well maintained. In addition New Jersey pleasure boaters and not very courteous to other boats and constantly whiz by without slowing down, causing uncomfortable wakes. We decided that making some progress north was worth the trouble, so we went. Along the way, we passed through many "Jersey Shore" beach towns like Wildwood and Ocean City.
This bridge going into Ocean City looks like a skateboard ramp or a ski jump.
We had to pass through many low drawbridges, but they opened promptly on request and we didn't have to wait very long at any of them.
Jake and Kimi keeping a lookout for other dogs, large birds, and any other threats.
Finally, we saw the Atlantic City skyline come into view, but it was still more than an hour before we reached our marina due to the twists and turns and drawbridges along the way.
We arrived late to our marina so didn't do much but clean the boat, eat supper, and go to bed. The next day we decided to wait for a weather window to go offshore instead of going up the ICW any further. The facilities at the other end of the ICW did not look very attractive and they are expensive. Even if we completed the New Jersey ICW we would still have to make a 20-mile ocean passage to get to New York harbor since there is no ICW for the last 20 miles, so we decided to wait for better conditions and try to go up in one day.
The next day while we were waiting for good weather we decided to walk to the Atlantic City Boardwalk. We saw the old Abscomb lighthouse and rebuilt keeper's house along the way. It is no longer in service but was built 160 years ago to mark the Abscomb Inlet which is where Atlantic City is located.
This is a view of the famous Steel Pier. None of the rides were operating for some reason.
We watched the Beach Patrol lifeguards getting some training on the lifeboats for a while. It caught our attention since two of our three boys had been Beach Patrol lifeguards (called Surf Rescue Technicians) in Ocean City, MD. They did not have these boats in Ocean City so it was interesting to watch. I didn't realize before this that when they approach the beach they turn the bow toward the surf and row backward. There is a video below showing the process.
We decided to take one of the trolleys to see the rest of the 7-mile long Boardwalk. I just took a few pictures along the way.
These are the famous "Rolling Chairs" first introduced to the Boardwalk in 1887. I don't think I would like sitting in one of these while somebody pushed it around like a stroller. I'd rather take the trolley.
After our Boardwalk tour, we decided to eat dinner at Harry's Oyster Bar at Bally's where we ran into two other boating couples that we had met in Cape May. Small world!
We were somewhat surprised at the number of closed businesses and casinos along the Boardwalk. We went into Bally's to get dinner and were also surprised at how run down the elevators and hallways were. Times must be tough in Atlantic City.
We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather forecast holds for Friday and Saturday and we are able to head up to New York harbor on Friday and then on up the Hudson on Saturday.
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