The SecondMost Fun Day of The Trip! ! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

Current Location: 40'06.416N/ 074'03.044W
I don't know if I could have stood another such "fun" day as happened today. I had planned to skoot to Sandy Hook, NJ, so that I would have a good and fairly easy shot through HELL GATE the following day. I supposed that I was just too ambitious for my own good.

The day was beautiful and the boys and girls from NOAA promised, they really did, that there would be wind out of the Southwest of 9 t0 13 knots which would have been perfect. When I left Atlantic City, the wind of course was right on the nose out of the Northeast, but I figured that it wold clock around. Even NOAA could be that wrong two days in a row.

I slogged for a couple of hours in a gently rolling sea until the Atlantic Ocean decided to do its imitation of the Delaware Bay. I got 15 knots of wind on the nose and waves to match. Fortunately it only lasted a couple of hours but that was putting me into Sandy Hook at 7:30pm. The wind slackened but the waves continued and it was clear that I might be making Sandy Hook in the night. Not a pleasant thought considering that it borders one of the busiest waterways in the world.

Still it wasn't a bad day. I even got to see my first(and hopefully only) shark of the trip. It looked to be about 8 feet and I have no idea what kind it was. Still, it did give me a bit of a chill. Aside from that, the trip was rather uneventful until I was about 10 miles south of Manasquan Inlet. That's when the fog drop down like a egg from a tall chicken. It wasn't there and then it was. A real Pea souper! Thick enough to" cut with a knife." This unseen event pretty much negated any chance of getting to Sandy Hook. Even with radar, those prospects took on an air of "No, I Don't Think So!" That left Manasquan and not much else.

I had planned Manasquan as a fall back position but really hadn't given it much thought. Now I had to get in in the fog. Great! The entrance into the Manasquan Inlet is rather narrow compared to most and is line with huge piles of riprap, large rocks that keep the channel straight and fairly free of shoaling. But for some reason, they also really act as a funnel and the first 50 yards of so of water bear a striking resemblance to a washing machine in full operation. It was probably the roughest patch of water I have seen on the trip, and I was negotiating it in the fog. And yes, there were guys in boats floating in the entrance in the fog, FISHING!

I had no real plan once I got in, which I did unscathed. With the fog, there wasn't a real chance to cruise around and find any spot to drop a hook. Plus the current in the river was running at a nasty clip so I pulled into the first marina I found and tied up for the night. I am glad I made it safe and sound and boy, will I sleep well tonight.

Good Night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!