History: A Sunset and Fireworks Cruise

By the end of June, 2013 we definitely had a case of "sailing on the brain".  We had already booked an ASA "Sailing 101" course, and for July 4th, we booked another cruise on the Kathleen D.  This one was a "sunset and fireworks" cruise, also on the Raritan Bay.  Robert, my brother, and my son, John, joined us this time.

This time we had Captain Tracey who along with 1st Mate Kirsten provided a wonderful evening.

I had seen large ships on the bay - I think they're oil tankers - but we had our first encounter with one coming down out of NY Harbor and then turning towards the west.  Captain Tracey hailed him on the radio and once we knew their route, we shifted to sail along side for a while.

I also captured my best sunset photo to date...

As the sun finally dropped below the horizon, another tanker appeared in the distance.

Shortly after sunset, we started to notice all the firework displays going off around the communities (you can see one on the far left on the photo below).  Other boats were out to enjoy the show.  It was unusually silent.  You could see the fireworks, but the sounds had dissipated by the time they reached us.  There were probably twenty displays going off around the bay... several on the NJ bayshore, a number on Staten Island, some on Coney Island, and you could even see the fireworks going off on the Hudson next to the freedom tower.

Coming back from this cruise, we were READY for Sailing 101!