Day 300
After a stormy night before, on Wednesday morning, 07/07/21, we untied our lines and left our slip at Captain Bill’s Landing on the Manasquan River, around 8 am. We cruised back out into the Atlantic Ocean and headed northward up the east coast toward this day’s final destination of Great Kills Yacht Club, on Staten Island, in Great Kills, NY. We never did purchase a yacht club membership (which automatically ensures you an overnight slip at any yacht club anywhere), but Great Kills Yacht Club has a T-dock at their marina where they often host AGLCA transient boaters for a reasonable nightly rate. Our cruising waters today were relatively calm with only minor swells. It was a better travel day than Monday, the 5th, had been. Never the less, I had taken several different seasickness medications, simultaneously, in an attempt to enjoy my ride.
We passed Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Lake Como, and Avon By The Sea, NJ, all to our west. Next came Asbury Park Boardwalk, Loch Arbour, and Allenhurst, NJ. We were again cruising far off shore, so my picture-taking opportunities were minimal. Eventually, we passed Hawthorne Woods Park, the Highlands, and the Gateway National Recreation Area Sandy Hook, NJ. All along the way, the quintessential Jersey coastline was crowded with side-by-side Cape Cod style beach houses.
The winds stayed relatively low as we passed Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, and Sea Bright, NJ, and we crossed the state line from New Jersey into New York in the Lower Bay of New York Harbor. Had the weather not been so hazy, we would’ve been able to see more than just the faint outline of the Manhattan skyline to our north. Just before the entrance into Great Kills Harbor, we passed Crescent Beach Park and Crooke’s Point, NY.
Great Kills Harbor is on the southern side of Staten Island. Great Kills Yacht Club is located at the far eastern end of Great Kills Harbor, so after traversing the full length of that harbor, we arrived at Great Kills Yacht Club at noon. Per instructions from the harbor-master, Legacy was tied to the T-dock on the very end of GKYC’s long dock finger. Our welcoming committee of older, “salty-looking” gentlemen was both helpful and entertaining. š
All settled in and cleaned up, we walked quite a distance to a restaurant called Cole’s Dockside for a late lunch. The air was humid, the sun very bright, and the temperatures high. By the time we reached our destination, we were both soaked in sweat. We commented on the irony of being so far north, yet dealing with such intense heat! My “perfect weather” had most certainly left the building… š
As we were seated by our hostess, I overheard many strong, northeastern accents coming from tables all around us. No question we were very much in the northeastern US!
Great Kills Yacht Club
Position: N 40Ā° 32.692, W 74Ā° 08.177
Distance traveled: 40 SM
Total distance traveled: 4253 SM
Total marina nights: 276
Total nights at anchor: 23
Locks today: 0
Locks Total: 28