Uncategorized · October 23, 2024 0

A Few Days in Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Smoothies from Pachamana in Atlantic Highlands

One of the nice surprises for me on this trip is how sailors can “make friends” with other sailors while traveling. For example, on Friday, a larger sailboat was behind us and getting closer. Hugh hailed them on the radio just to make sure they saw us and would sail around us to avoid a collision. The name of the other boat, as he could see on his AIS, was Angelfish. “Angelfish, Angelfish, Angelfish,” Hugh said. “This is Sans Souci.” The captain of Angelfish responded, they switched to another radio channel, and confirmed that Angelfish would duck behind us to pass. We both anchored in Port Washington that night and were among the parade of boats making our way toward — and eventually through — Hell Gate (the confluence of two branches of the East River) in NYC. After Angelfish had passed through the confluence miles ahead of us, her captain did us the courtesy of hailing us again to let us know there were some strong currents and we should be ready for a bumpy ride. (It wasn’t too bad.) And it turned out they were headed for Atlantic Highlands, NJ, just as we were, so the captains agreed we would try to connect while there. We had similar experiences with other boats along the way, communicating back and forth and discussing plans. More on those to come.

Sunset at anchorage in Atlantic Highlands

So, on Sunday morning, when we awoke at anchor in Atlantic Highlands Harbor, a quaint, seaside town, nestled in the crook of Sandy Hook, the first thing we did after breakfast was dinghy over to meet the owners of Angelfish, Steve and Karen. We then went to shore and found a laundromat for the first time in almost 2 weeks. We explored the town on foot while clothes were agitating, discovering a lovely little shop with local foods and smoothies.

On Monday, we both had a lot of work to do, so we buckled down, allowing time for a quick dinghy ride to shore for a short walk. On Tuesday, we drove the boat to the fuel dock to fill our 185-gallon water tank and pump out our 100-gallon holding tank (from the toilet), and it was very full! Also on Tuesday, we were able to coordinate with Hugh’s brother, Rob, who lives about 40 minutes away, and he drove over for a visit, helped with provisioning, and joined us for a take-out sushi dinner on the boat before driving back home.

Hugh shuttled his brother Rob back to shore after dinner.

Tomorrow we are taking advantage of a weather window to make passage south along the New Jersey shore to Cape May, NJ. It could take 18+ hours, and I hate the overnight runs, so we plan to leave VERY early in the morning. That way, we can both sleep on Thursday night … in preparation for another catch-up day of work on Friday. 

Sylvia enjoys dinner al fresco