It has come time for the Atlantic Ocean run from Atlantic City to Great Kills Harbor. We got up early for our 0530 departure and there was a heavy fog laying over the inlet. There were several boats lining up for departure. Two fishing boats made a speedy run for the inlet so we decided to head out with Dusty and Don on “Gemini”. Bruce on “We Got This” made the run about 30 minutes behind us. While heading out the inlet the visibility was limited with the heavy fog and what we found out later was assisted by a big fire just west of us that was big enough to shut down the Garden State Parkway.
After making it past the last channel marker the fog grew thicker giving us zero visibility. We had “Gemini” on AIS and NEBO so we started our fog horn signals and slowly headed out to sea. The seas were calm with 2 foot rolling waves and trusting our equipment we headed out about 4 miles where there was finally a break and “Gemini” appeared out of the fog. We turned north for our 100 mile run to Staten Island. The rollers were off our starboard bow but very manageable. With only a few fishing boats to avoid the run was uneventful until we hit Sandy Hook where fishing vessels were everywhere. The seas picked up to 3 feet and the wind came out of the north west which made it a choppy Lower NY Harbor crossing. The Coast Guard was busy catching up to all the Canadien boats via radio checking on there entry status. We made our way into Great Kills Harbor situated on the east shore of Staten Island. The harbor is protected from the weather but you need to stay on the western side following the channel markers. There numerous boats on mooring along with 3 other marinas. Our slip for the night was at the Great Kills Yacht Club where we were met by our Harbor Host John Calascibetta. John gave us a lay along slip, set us up with gate codes and direction to a few local eateries. We met up with Diane and Tom from “Beachside” and our friends on “Escape” and walked to Frank and Sal Italian Market for the biggest Italian hero I’ve had in along time. The sandwich took 3 sittings to finish.
After a long day we were met by our Myrtle Beach friends Anthony and BJ who were in the area. We met a bunch of other loopers at the yacht clubs bar for cold drinks and shared stories of our Loop adventures. We said goodnight to our friends and it was off to bed for our anticipated run into NYC and the Hudson River.