Cruising Anarchy
Lots of other boats out here traveling this lonely blue highway. In the Northeast we are all heading south down the Atlantic coast, Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, and ICW. Lots of warm, blue water to chose from once you make further points south.
Some chose to spend more time offshore than others, but everyone has to make the New Jersey coastoffshore passage which is 120 miles with sketchy inlets and short weather windows this year. First it was hurricanes and tropical storms, now it’s autumn gales.
Sailors of all levels on boats of all different sizes, shapes and pedigree are out here. Folks on a C&C 38 blew past me and are well close to South Carolina by now. A kid on a Catalina 25 towing a hard dinghy is out there right now north of here (Atlantic City). It’s blowing 30 knots. He probably won’t die but must be shitting his pants by now. At least it’s a following wind and sea. Another C&C is continuing on south in a day or so. An old Pearson 30 is still north in Sandy Hook. Lots of French Canadians on Beneteaus. Met one couple on a Brewer 44 and another on a beautiful Baba 35. A Hunter 33 almost dragged into me. There’s a Shannon 28 floating around here somewhere…
I left from Lake Champlain in September onboard my 1968 Pearson Ariel 26, down the Champlain Canal and Hudson River. I was shit out into the ocean at the Verrazano Narrows south of NY Harbor where the Hudson, East River and Atlantic all meet. I solo’ed eighty miles offshore from Sandy Hook, New Jersey to Atlantic City where I’ve been stuck for five days.
A landlubber friend came to visit whom was intending to be my crew for a bit, but left me high and dry at the dock when she saw the size of my boat in comparison to the size of (everyone else’s boats) the ocean. All’s well that ends well, though. It looks like I finally have a weather window to continue south tomorrow. See you out there!
Emily Greenberg
S/V Vanupied
www.dinghydreams.com
Title thanks to Billy Idol.
