Brielle, NJ (North end of Barnegat Bay - near Manasquan Inlet)

We left the southern end of Barnegat Bay on Monday morning and headed to Toms River about 15 miles North, still off the bay. Dropped anchor in a nicely protected cove there for one overnight.

We drove this morning further North on the bay to get positioned to get out via the Manasquan Inlet at the crack of dawn Wednesday morning. We are at a marina in Brielle since this end of the bay has no anchoring option. It certainly is not as pretty as the southern portion (around Barnegat Light)and very built up. We know we are getting closer to NYC!

We saw lots of sea creature carcasses on the white sandy beach on the southern end of the bay. Crabs like I had not seen before: delicately spotted, small and elegant. And blue crab claws of course, so very blue it was almost blinding in the sun.This area is known for its scallops fishing industry. There are also zillions of very small mussels. In the 48 hours time we were anchored, the anchor chain was covered with these tenacious little creatures.

The ocean has been rough since we took refuge on the bay last Saturday. Tomorrow morning looks like the best bet. So it will be a very early ride into NYC harbor. We plan on anchoring at the Liberty State Park (on the Jersey side) just South West of the Statue. This should be quite a sight, with the Manhattan skyline. Hope it works out and the winds are not too stiff, as they have been here for the past 3 days; gusts up to 25 knots.

Since we are at a marina, laundry is going full blast, AC is ON, Michael is washing the boat with fresh water (Sirocco has seen only salt water since we left a month ago), and LONG showers are on the schedule this evening.

By the way, I got a promotion...(long overdue if you ask me). Michael maintains his Captain title!

Cheers to all,
Annick & Michael cruising on Sirocco