August 21                         Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

We left early from Milton on a sunny, cool day.  Long Island Sound was calm and our cruising was very pleasant as we continued down the Connecticut coastline.  We were excited about once again cruising the fourteen miles of the East River to the Battery at the tip of Manhattan.  Despite its reputed turbulence, we easily cruised through Hell’s Gate, the confluence of the East River, Long Island Sound, and the Harlem River.  No sight is more impressive than that of New York City and it was awesome to once again be going past familiar landmarks.

Hoping to take advantage of the beautiful weather, we bypassed docking at Liberty Landing and proceeded through the harbor, under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, to Sandy Hook and Atlantic Highlands.  We had been cruising for eight hours and we were delighted to dock at the lovely Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor.  Catering to smaller boats, the marina had limited dockage for us.  We were pleased to find accommodations because the next dockage was a considerable distance down the Jersey Shore.  Lovely older homes lined the hillside surrounding the marina.  We walked the short distance into town and then had a light dinner at the dockside restaurant near the marina. 

Atlantic Highlands is a bedroom community for New York City.  Residents have several ferry choices into the city.  It has some lovely downtown restaurants but the shopping area was unimpressive. The marina is a good choice, however, for mariners who want to stop before the long “outside” trip to Cape May, New Jersey and Chesapeake Bay.