Second Wind on the Great Loop and Beyond

Tuesday and Wednesday, June 5-6 Among the six Looper boats with us in Cape May on Tuesday morning, the decision about whether to go the “inside” (ICW) or the “outside” (Atlantic Ocean) route to Atlantic City was split 50/50. Knowing that there was a small craft advisory out, Second Wind, Seaquel, and Tumbleweed I, (another PDQ) chose the tedious and shallow, but more protected path, and we proceeded cautiously up the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway. Second Wind led the way because our boat has a depth sounder in each hull, so we are often able to scout where the deeper part of the channel is located. One advantage of our decision is that we were able to enjoy the unspoiled salt marshes, as well as the pretty houses that often lined the waterway. The downside is that we had to creep along, with no fewer than 16 bridges to pass under. Of these, we had to stop and wait for bridge openings in five of them. Think about three 35 to 40-foot boats crammed in a narrow waterway, milling around at slow speed for 30-40 minutes in gusty winds and strong currents without hitting one another or bumping into the docks and pilings along the sides. Bottom line: we touched bottom one time, but we were able to get off and we finally made it to Atlantic City by 4 p.m. The boaters who went “outside” were here by noon. But after hearing about their morning of large ocean swells and overturned salon tables, we felt better about our decision to play it safe.

We haven’t seen much of Atlantic City, other than the interesting windmills as we arrived. All six Looper couples are staying at the expensive Frank Farley aka “Trump” Marina, so we all met at the casino restaurant for a light dinner. That in itself was an adventure because the poor waiter got our orders so messed up that it took over an hour to sort out who owed what. I’m not sure we ever got it straight, but we did have lots of laughs. This morning (Wednesday) three boats again left to go the outside route toward New York. Three others chose to stay put because the winds were again not favorable. Tomorrow we plan on leaving early and making a long run up the Atlantic Ocean, all the way to Atlantic Highlands, NJ in the excellent company of Sequel and Sea Life.

# posted by Second Wind @ 3:21 PM