Wed., June 28.

We left before 8 am to get an easy passage through the canal and the inlet at Manasquan. It went well, a few waves as we crossed into the ocean, but the good surprise was that the 4' waves expected were more like 3' and rolling.

We got a very nice surprise also by seeing a humpback whale flipping its tail and then doing several pectoral fin slappings.

Our first task when going around Sandy hook was a trip to refuel in Highlands, then went back up to anchor at Horseshoe Cove. We took our dinghy out, and from there we took a trail down to Fisherman beach, where we walked and returned by the dune trail. We saw many cacti in bloom, another unexpected thing today. Sandy Hook is a National Park with a military history, more to come tomorrow.

Thursday, June 29th

We walked up to Fort Hancock in the morning. Sandy Hook is well situated to protect New York harbor. British loyalists fortified and guarded the lighthouse during the revolutionary war. In 1890 a concrete gun battery was built as well as an army compound. Very useful during world War 2, as the fort accomodated up to 18,000 soldiers and staff. From 1950 to 1974, Sandy Hook became the site for Nike Air Defense Missiles.

The Fort was deactivated in 1974, and the National Park Service manages it as a park since. The buildings are not opened to the public but the lighthouse is, except not on Thursday. So we didn't climbed to the top. We bought an ice cream instead and walked to the beach. Very nice to take a dip.

We returned after that to the boat as the haze from the Canadian fires is causing major air quality issues. We turned on the generator and the a/c system. It was time for a rest inside.

Last evening at anchor, hopefully less shaking and rolling.

Tomorrow, we are heading to Brooklyn where we will leave our boat for the weekend as we are returning to celebrate Harvey's father's birthday in Philadelphia.