Days Events:

Wx - great! Forecast 72/82, sunny, wds WSW 3, waves SE 2ft.

Travel - a good open ocean cruise; still swells off the stbd stern but tolerable - we now admit we are seawater wimps! Left Hoffmans at 07:55, followed Loop buddies in GarNak at 11 mph about 1-2 mile offshore; there was a fishing tournament with clusters of ?hundred or more boats on the horizon - they had started leaving Manasquan around 5:30, making us rocknroll; we left at slack tide and didn't have to fight the tidal current to get out.

At the Sandy Hook shipping channel, GarNak went on towards NYC and we veered SW towards Raritan Bay; they are going to Half Moon Bay Marina at Croton on the Hudson today [60miles], where we will also be on Tues. They are heading home for Ontario. Lots of boats in Raritan Bay - fishing/running. Did pass a couple of freighters and dredges.

Arrived at Raritan Marina at 12:20; it was a bit tricky - a narrow river mouth channel with only 6 ft depth [even at almost high tide too], under a highway drawbridge [didn't have to lift -- 25ft clearance], into a small 'waiting' area or fork in the water to go under a RR drawbridge or turn left to our marina [1/4 mi.distant] which also has a narrow channel. We reached it without incident but couldn't get the staff on the radio or the phone, but I knew we had a reservation on one of their 'T' docks so we cruised past all 5 docks and there was only 1 'T' open so we stopped and tied up at it; then I called the dockmaster who confirmed our docking, and found the dockhand, who was worked off his feet.

Unfortunately, our power pedestal was not a 50amp service as promised, so they gave us a 30 amp to 50 amp 'Y' connection [two 30 amp 'arms'/plugs hook into the 30 amp outlets on our pedestal and the single line of the 'Y' is the 50 amp plug to our 50 amp]; unfortunately, one of the 30amp plugs had a severely scorched ground plug, I mean blackened with 'hole' burned around the base of the terminal, and the plug did not work [I warned them this was extremely unsafe - risk of shock and whatever]; so we only had only a single 30 amp line which we could use for either the A/C and freezer plug, or for the fridge and battery charger, but not both! What to do??!!

They did not have another 'Y' and of course apologized. Fortunately, I have an adapter 30-50amp, which connects our 50amp cord to the 30 amp service and supplies power to both of our boat lines - we just can't draw more than 30 amps or the C.B. will trip. The admiral and I worked out how to contain how power hunger so we should survive overnight; worst case scenario is we would have to run the generator all night. Done that before.

We do not anticipate choppy water from waking boats here; It will make for a nice restful evening/night.

Photos - Marg took another night skulker one of the bright lights of Manasquan/Hoffman's Marina last night. Couldn't get any shots during the trip today worth looking at - lots of open water with distant buildings/etc. The marina had previous hurricane damage and has rebuilt their docks and the buildings are all still temporary [trailers, etc.] - a big change from the last few ones; but they will have a new facility once completed.

Admirals Desk:

Very thankful for the easy cruise today. On the plus side, there are no shallow spots or narrow channels and wakes to navigate thru on the outside route. See! I can be positive! It was exciting to see the New York skyline as we neared the entry to Rariton Bay. Really looking forward to the next couple of days. We know the river traffic is horrendous but...it's New York. We'll cope and gawk! We haven't been to NYC in years and the view from the river will be totally different.

Finally in a marina where we can use the grill/bbq. Made grilled fish tacos. Good but not great. I often buy frozen mahi and it's usually very good, in fact often better than the "fresh" available at the grocery store, and nice to have on hand. This was a different brand and not as good. Will try again. No night pictures tonight. Nothing interesting near us. I really like the light reflections on the water. (note to Duane - it's dark by 9pm so I just stand on the back of the boat , look for something interesting, and point my phone. Sometimes I get lucky). That's all. Who needs more excitement than we've had in one week/!

Maintenance:

Electrical - will replace the aft head GFCI tomorrow - not critical today, and too tired.

Monitoring - engines/batteries fine. Holding tank #1 is stuck at 62% still!

Travel Plans - we confirmed reservations at marinas through Friday Aug. 21. Have to start seriously reviewing marina options now on the Erie Canal, which will take us a week to complete the eastern section before we turn north up the Oswego to L.Ontario.

That's all for today. Stay safe.

Comments:

Duane - 10 Aug 2020: Maybe it is a good thing that you don,t have a Fleming with all the shallow water in the channels? --

Susie and Jim R. - 11 Aug 2020: You are docking tonight right by our old apartment at Liberty State Park Marina. We lived a couple of blocks from the Marina by the Goldman Sachs tower there. Great neighborhood for walking. Walk over the the Light Horse Tavern for dinner and ask for Ron. Stay safe in the Hudson.