R Island: May 21- 25, 2015 Atlantic City NJ to Stanton Isl. NY

We had relocated R Island to the fuel dock the previous afternoon in order to pointing into the wind and current this morning when we left - a successful strategy! It was a little "bumpy" leaving the inlet and headed into the North Atlantic for our run to Atlantic City. Luckily, the seas laid down and we had a good trip. With about 30 miles to go, we spotted a building on the horizon; turned out the newest casino, The Rebel, which has recently been sold out of bankruptcy. We tied up at the Golden Nugget Casino docks about 1:30 near the boat of the new Rebel owners. A little bigger than our boat. Rained on and off during the trip and the rest of the afternoon after we docked. So we hit the casino, played some slots, lost some money, and had a nice dinner of appetizers and wine before returning to the boat for the evening.

Next day we used the local shuttle service to get to the Boardwalk area and walked most of the 3.4 miles. Took a golf cart ride for a return trip to the end of the Boardwalk where we had started. Nice boardwalk but not a lot of small shops - mostly casino fronts - either open or closed casinos as 5 have closed recently and the Trump Taj Mahal is about to go the same way. Had a nice dinner back at the Golden Nugget at the Chart House restaurant overlooking the Marina.

Next day it was 60 miles to Point Pleasant NJ - and it was not pleasant. As Judie said - "Rough - but we made it!". The morning started of sunny but cold and R Island faced 3 foot waves right on her nose. Life jackets on and lots of spray over the deck. About noon the wind and waves dropped to a pleasant rate and the things got better - until it was time to dock. Our slip was on the end of the dock, very near to the Amtrak railroad bridge. With lots of boat traffic making lots of waves, it turned into a rough evening until dark, when tings settled down. We did leave the boat for a quick dinner at a newly opened restaurant. The docks were fixed and not floating, so Ger was up during the night checking on fenders and adjusting lines as we went thru a 5 foot tide cycle. Left early trying to take advantage of the slack tied - but did not work out too well - a small bump as we left and some stainless trim to repair - no big deal.

Headed for Great Kills Yacht Club on the SW side of Stanton Island. Sunny and warm with a nice following sea made for a pleasant 40 mile and 4.5 hour trip. Fastest average speed of the trip so far! Everyone at GKYC was very friendly with lots of stories about Super Storm Sandy, what they lost, and how quickly this group recovered. Stayed 2 days waiting for the wind to die. Washed boat, went for a bike ride, great pastrami and gyros sandwiches at Andrews Diner for lunch with both of us taking half back to the boat for dinner. Just a time to relax.