October 8

Columbus never got so far north as New York, but we left the city on the day we celebrate his achievements. The morning was probably not as busy in the harbor as a non-holiday Monday, but the Staten Island Ferry was still running and big ships ran by us in the Ambrose Channnel in the lower bay. We turned south for our run along the Jersey coast, hoping that the wind and waves would not be beyond our comfort levels. It was a long slog, close hauled into a southwest wind that while at reasonable levels was a bit gusty. While we did sail for two hours, most of the time we motorsailed as the waves were slowing us considerably and Barnegat Inlet is a good haul. There are only a few good inlets along this coast, so one must pick a good day for traveling. It was great to see the Barnegat Light after 70+miles.
One nice surprise was the availability of mooring balls that make life so much easier than having to set an anchor. Here Eagle's Wings comes forward to pick up the line attached to the float of the mooring. A helpful sailor on another boat had indicated that the moorings were provided for free for transients like us. We got the last two. I spent the time before supper retuning the rig which the sail had demonstrated was obviously too loose.
One reward of Barnegat is the nice sunsets that can be seen here. This one was of the fireball sort going down right above the catamaran sail on the beach behind us. While it should have promised good weather (Red sun at night, ...), we had reason to believe otherwise.