June 22, Thursday, Day 63, From Brick New Jersey to NYC

At the recommendation of our experienced looper neighbors in the marina, we left early (7am) so we could catch the slack tide as we entered the ocean, eliminating currents pushing us off course on the way out of the Manesquan River Inlet.  But first we needed to cross from Barnegat Bay to the river via the Point Pleasant Canal. Most canals are pleasant – not this one – it’s choppy. Waters from two different sources (Chesapeake and Delaware) were fighting for superiority the entire way and it was hard to keep our heading. We heard it’s a nightmare on weekends with all manner of boat wakes added to it.

We neared the ocean, seeing additional marinas and boatyards, and then we were watching the Jersey coast go by including Sandy Hook.

As you can see, the ocean was not rough – maybe 2′ swells, but there was some uncomfortable back and forth rocking. Since I had taken Bonine I let myself drift off to dreamland and avoid the discomfort. Dirk was fine. As we approached the city the view was different than expected, with Coney Island facing us and Manhattan behind that. Getting closer we could see the city as Coney Island faded to the right.

Amidst a large number of barges and boat in NYC harbor traffic we headed for Lady Liberty and finally arrived.

The park was very busy as you may be able to see with lines of visitors around the edges. We cruised entirely around the Lady and then headed for an anchorage and a rest.

Later we moved to an anchorage along Liberty Park rather than staying in the bay behind the Statue of Liberty where we first anchored. There was just too much rocking and rolling from all the boats in the NYC harbor. We could still see our lady, and the water was finally calm.