Blessings counted

It has been four days since we left the Annapolis boat show and we are anchored at Barnegat Light Harbor in New Jersey. Sadly, we just listened to SV Evening Light Mayday on Channel 16.  She ran aground at the head of the channel.  They lost the engine and started taking on water.  Thankfully, the coast guard responded quickly and they are being towed to safety as I write this.  We are wishing them a speedy recovery.

To say my learning curve has been steep this week would be a dramatic understatement! Boat vocabulary reminds me of medical terminology. When I was in nursing school, I learned one foreign language, “status epilepticus, pneumothorax, hydronephrosis,” and now I’m learning another, “spreaders, running backstay, dodger, aft, reef, clue.”  Both languages virtually unknown and quite honestly useless to the lay civilian, while invaluable to the active participant. In other words, “Honey can you release that thingy,” doesn’t do it for us anymore.

On day two of our voyage to New York, Delaware Bay to Cape May, I learned about the importance of using radar when boating in the dark, fog or both. The only thing we could see well at 6 am was a nuclear reactor steaming in the distance. About 3 minutes after ‘anchors away,’ we had an incident that went something like this- we’re motoring slowly.

Me: “What if I’m driving and I can’t see what’s in front of me- LIKE THAT! What the F is that?!”

Michael: “THAT”S A BOAT!”

I would like to take this moment to express my deepest apologies to the sailing vessel we almost collided with, unbeknownst to them. The near miss is most certainly a blessing counted.

About an hour later, I learned about the importance of securing Gerty’s anchor really well.

The wind was N NE at 25 knots.

We were on a close hall and then, boom! Bang! Clang!  There was a repetitive and echoing clang reverberating throughout the hull!  I jumped up out of the cockpit and into the galley, to frantically look for loose pots and pans, but Michael knew in an instant the anchor had come loose.  It slammed the bow about ten times before we were able to heave to and get it under control. How frustrating!  We knew our snubber was too small, we knew we needed to buy that bridal at the boat show. But it was $250 and we also needed personal beacons for $250, cushions for $100, charts for $120, a cockpit light for $50 and so on. We got overwhelmed and opted for the necessities in the end- the cushions for our butts and a discounted sample set of charts.

This same day, I learned about sea sickness too. Yes, the hard way.

Unfortunately, when we rounded the tip of Cape May, we were headed dead into the wind with regular gusts to 30+ knots.

This was to be expected as we had checked the weather and figured we would have to motor when headed up wind for the last bit of the day. What was not expected was a 2 knot southbound current off the coast of New Jersey, significantly slowing our speed, waves 5 to 6 feet, and fairly debilitating seasickness for me.  We motored North for two hours, burning with jealously as every other boat we passed moved gracefully south for winter. I sat in the cockpit, green with nausea, and watched Michael at the helm dressed in his new ‘fowly gear,’ as the waves startlingly crashed into his face.

On the upside, as we tethered ourselves to our girl, Gerty, we built trust and confidence in her, two essential feelings that seem to be elusive on sunny days.

It rained again the next day, but the winds were gentler at about 20 knots N NE.  We had a nice sail out to sea, thinking we would tack back to Atlantic City, but when we made the turn, the wind direction changed and we were headed dead into it again.  The only thing I truly remember is the last hour of this leg of the trip. Sure the sky began to clear and we could see dolphins in the distance, but that wasn’t what made it magical.  Michael blasted Bruce Springstein Live on the stereo system.  Everyone should experience the sound of the boss singing, “Thunder Road” mixed with the wind and the waves on the final approach to the Jersey Shore.  Just when the good ‘ol feeling starts to fade “Rosalita jumps a little higher,” to keep the energy up, and an extended instrumental carries us through to but of course, “Everybody’s got a hungry heart,”  and everything feels right in the world.  Not to mention when we arrived, we got a good laugh at the Golden Nugget Marina when we walked by Pair a dice and Real slick docked next to each other.  Say it with a Jursey accent if you can for a giggle.

Marina = water + passengers!

How my mother and father in law arrived from and are planning to return to Potomac, Maryland, I have little idea, but they are joining us from Atlantic City to The Statue of Liberty.  We are off in the dinghy to see what Barnegat Light, New Jersey has to offer with Gerty safely anchored in the shallows.