A Father's Day Cruise to Great Beds Lighthouse

Yesterday was Father's Day... it was also our first time casting off the mooring lines here in Raritan Bay.  The one remaining goal from last year's sailing was itching at me... can we sail upwind to the Great Beds Lighthouse?  John came over in the early afternoon and we headed next door to the KYC dock and caught the launch.

 

Father's Day must be a popular time to go sailing as the launches were full.

(Looking back to the KYC dock... our condos are on the left.) 

Once sailing, it was basically a series of tacks back and forth to get over this light (which is just southeast of Perth Amboy)  A year ago when we tried this, the series of tacks became "just sailing back and forth over the same water" (we were unable to point into the wind enough to overcome the current).  I used the time to show John some of the systems on the boat and he and Vicky handled the lines.

The wind was just right... around 10 knots with occasional puffs up into the high teens (just enough to keep it interesting).  I had to try and figure out what was not working correctly on the autopilot and (while I'm still not 100% sure of it) we were able to engage it a couple of times with some success.

This time we were successful in our lighthouse quest!  We actually sailed to within 200 yards or so of the lighthouse.  Traffic around the light was heavier and there were a number of shoals nearby (hence the need for the light) so we dropped sails, motored around the light and headed back to Keyport.

Vicky took time on the return trip to polish some of the bright work (I don't have a photo, sorry).  I tried to get a couple of photos of boats in the sunlight.

After we tied up, we prettied up Seas The Day a little, and then called for the launch, where we discovered that they have dogie life preservers!  Evidently dogs are frequent launch customers.

Back at KYC, John and I hit the waterfront bar while Vicky went home to "freshen up". (How come guys never need to "freshen up"?)  Then we wen to Drew's Bashore Bistro for some "Pork du jour" (this time it was braised pork shanks... "fall off the bone" tender and incredible).

A fabulous day... and enough celebrating. Today the diet (and exercise) starts up again.