Houston - We Had a Problem!

We entered the Atlantic Ocean at 10:52 on July 14.  By 4:30 we were anchoring behind Harrah’s Casino in Atlantic City.  This was a very interesting place to anchore, because we were quite literally sitting between two very different worlds. Off the starboard side of the boat was the Atlantic City strip...full of people, noise, lights and casinos. Off the port side was a beautiful and tranquil wetland as far as the eye could see.

View from starboard (that is the right side of the boat when looking forward)

Didn’t expect this...we will need dark out shades tonight!

We left there on Monday morning with plans to cover 55 nautical miles to anchor in the Manasquan River, but about 25 miles into the trip we noticed a change in the vibrations on deck.  We discussed what might have caused the change, and talked about the currents, wave actions, and other variables the ocean could produce. However, during the next engine check it became very obvious why the vibration changed... two bolts were sheered in the starboard shaft coupler and the shaft was spinning out of alignment.  Luckily we were right at the mouth of the Barnegat Light inlet and made it safely inside to anchore in an awesome and beautiful spot. 

Entering Barnegat Light Inlet

Since we were there for several days we launched the Whaler and went ashore to buy veggies and wonderful fresh seafood! We also found the ice cream shop!

While Keith was working hard to make repairs  (I offered to help) I was thoroughly entertained by survival training for Air Force personnel. 

They launched a life raft and put the eight students inside. The raft was tied to a mooring ball 100 ft from our boat.

Then each student was taken by jet ski from the life raft to the helicopter (about 250ft behind the boat) to practice being hoisted in the basket. They were returned to the water and taken back to the life raft. After all 8 successfully completed the hoist lesson they remained in the life raft for additional survival instruction.  Everyone did a great job, and I appreciated the opportunity to have a front row seat!

Heading to New York today...