Engine type – Single John Deere Diesel
Cruising speed – Average 8 knots
Starting location – Bethany, DE
Destination – Greenport, Long Island, New York
This boat was on the market for just one day! The new owner lives on Long Island and wanted the boat delivered to his marina on the eastern end of the island. We met the seller aboard the boat in Bethany, DE to review the onboard systems and local knowledge of the channel to the Atlantic Ocean. Great to have a smooth handoff.
We cast off with the new owner aboard for an On-The-Job Training session in the ocean. We cruised north in average ocean swells on the starboard beam using the active fin stabilizers to keep the boat from rolling. During our cruise Alyse manned the helm while the owner and I crawled around the boats systems reviewing proper functions and emergency repair procedures. Nice day to be out in the ocean on your new boat.
As we neared Absecon Inlet we turned into Atlantic City NJ for our first night’s stay. The new owner chose this location so he could easily catch a train back to New York. His time was limited and he could only spare two days away from the office. He planned to meet us later in the trip. That evening we were able to visit with Alyse’s parents who live in Long Beach Island, NJ. They actually drove down to Atlantic City on a Friday evening before Labor Day! Ooh, the traffic…
Lucky the owner went home last evening because we woke up to a bad weather forecast. Since we were on a delivery with no passengers we decided to try the ocean. The weather was pretty bad, seas were breaking across the bow, the stabilizers were doing an excellent job but we decided to find a safe harbor to wait out the bad weather. What had started out as 4-6ft quickly popped to 10-12 on our starboard bow. Barnegat Inlet was the next well marked inlet so in we went. Because this was a holiday weekend we were unable to find a marina close to the inlet so we traveled all the way to Forked River before finding a slip for our boat.
Next morning the weather was much improved with 4-6ft predictions so we headed back to sea. Since we were in Forked River it took us a while to get back to the inlet and the ocean. Seeing the much calmer ocean today made us feel more comfortable and relaxed as we cruised up past the Atlantic Highlands and into New York Harbor past Lady Liberty and pulling into Liberty Landing for the evening.
Checking the tides for tomorrow we decided we had to leave the marina around 9AM to take advantage of the slack tide at “The Battery” where the East River and Hudson River intersect near Manhattan. The tidal currents in “Hells Gate” can be rough on a displacement vessel traveling around 8 knots (less in the face current) so it is best to wait to avoid the excitement and other incidental events.
Because we were on a deadline we had to push on to our final destination. We cruised past Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy and telephoned our nephew Christopher (KP’08) to run out to the bulkhead and wave to us. Oh well, he’s on guard duty. Next week we’ll pass again in another Kadey Krogen so we’ll try one more time to wave across the Long Island Sound.
We pass Execution Rocks Lighthouse and continue on Long Island Sound toward Orient Point and Plum Island rendezvous with this new owner. The weather is deteriorating and we are losing light as we pass the point and turn into Gardeners Bay and around the corner to Greenport, NY. The weather is just not cooperating with us this trip.
We were able to take a mooring buoy for the night and move into the small channel the next morning with a higher tide and more water depth. We will coordinate with the new owners to review procedures for a single engine boat with a bow thruster and all the other equipment new to him.