Atlantic City, New Jersey
Well, my time aboard Christa is coming to a close. She is a stout vessel and Christian was smart to choose her for his travels. My trip began at Point Judith, Rhode Island, where, coincidentally, was where I met Christian. I was stationed at PJ from 1989 to 1993 and Chris and I were often on the same duty schedule, making him my immediate supervisor. Like so many, I'm a big fan of his. So, from Point Judith Pond we left for Long Island. We did a fair bit of motoring for the first days of the trip. As you've probably read here, we were held up in LI waiting for weather and a bit of engine/ battery reworking. Leaving Long Island was great as the weather seemed to be on our side for a good portion of the following 27 hour leg. Our trip through the East River was surreal. I've been to NYC many, many times, but this trip felt like we were sailing into Hong Kong or some far off destination. Then, passing the Statue of Liberty we were continued to be helped along by a favorable current and Capt. Chris' planning. We scooted by Lady Liberty and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge at a significant clip. Next thing I knew, we were sailing under an incredible star filled sky. No moon, just billions of stars. Chris had put up Big Bob (his custom made spinnaker rig that he couldn't stop ogling) and we were making impressive use of the light winds. One of the highlights of the night sail (as Chris likely mentioned) was a small pod of dolphins that were illuminated under water by the phosphorescence. Glowing dolphins is a sight to see. They were playing in the bow wave and as always, disappeared the second I broke out the video camera. For the last 10 to 12 hours of the 27 hour leg, we saw lots of the USCG. Two Dolphin helo's, a C-130 and a 47 foot small boat. We happened to sail right through the middle of a search for a poor fellow that had dumped his kayak and apparently hadn't returned to the beach. As we sailed into Atlantic City the search appeared to be winding down. We kept a vigilant lookout, but to no avail. We finished the trip with a walk along the boardwalk in AC (not for the faint of heart). After a nice peaceful sail, there is nothing like walking through a casino full of ringing slot machines and cigarette smoke. Well, my feelings for Atlantic City aside, this was an incredible journey. The last time I sailed with Christian, we were caught in a nasty gale that lasted well over 36 hours (between Catalina and Santa Cruz Island aboard my father's sloop, Iris, with my father and two college friends - we can talk about that another day). Needless to say, this trip was a joy and Chris is maintaining the vessel as though she were his flesh and blood. I yearn for the next opportunity to join the two of them. I'm thinking warm water, big fish and Spanish speaking locals... or frankly whenever he'll allow me back aboard. Many thanks to Christian and the S/V Christa for taking such good care of me and for letting me share a small piece of Chris' (soon to be fulfilled) dream of sailing the world's oceans. Fair winds and following seas, John Gamble
Well, my time aboard Christa is coming to a close. She is a stout vessel and Christian was smart to choose her for his travels. My trip began at Point Judith, Rhode Island, where, coincidentally, was where I met Christian. I was stationed at PJ from 1989 to 1993 and Chris and I were often on the same duty schedule, making him my immediate supervisor. Like so many, I'm a big fan of his. So, from Point Judith Pond we left for Long Island. We did a fair bit of motoring for the first days of the trip. As you've probably read here, we were held up in LI waiting for weather and a bit of engine/ battery reworking. Leaving Long Island was great as the weather seemed to be on our side for a good portion of the following 27 hour leg. Our trip through the East River was surreal. I've been to NYC many, many times, but this trip felt like we were sailing into Hong Kong or some far off destination. Then, passing the Statue of Liberty we were continued to be helped along by a favorable current and Capt. Chris' planning. We scooted by Lady Liberty and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge at a significant clip. Next thing I knew, we were sailing under an incredible star filled sky. No moon, just billions of stars. Chris had put up Big Bob (his custom made spinnaker rig that he couldn't stop ogling) and we were making impressive use of the light winds. One of the highlights of the night sail (as Chris likely mentioned) was a small pod of dolphins that were illuminated under water by the phosphorescence. Glowing dolphins is a sight to see. They were playing in the bow wave and as always, disappeared the second I broke out the video camera. For the last 10 to 12 hours of the 27 hour leg, we saw lots of the USCG. Two Dolphin helo's, a C-130 and a 47 foot small boat. We happened to sail right through the middle of a search for a poor fellow that had dumped his kayak and apparently hadn't returned to the beach. As we sailed into Atlantic City the search appeared to be winding down. We kept a vigilant lookout, but to no avail. We finished the trip with a walk along the boardwalk in AC (not for the faint of heart). After a nice peaceful sail, there is nothing like walking through a casino full of ringing slot machines and cigarette smoke. Well, my feelings for Atlantic City aside, this was an incredible journey. The last time I sailed with Christian, we were caught in a nasty gale that lasted well over 36 hours (between Catalina and Santa Cruz Island aboard my father's sloop, Iris, with my father and two college friends - we can talk about that another day). Needless to say, this trip was a joy and Chris is maintaining the vessel as though she were his flesh and blood. I yearn for the next opportunity to join the two of them. I'm thinking warm water, big fish and Spanish speaking locals... or frankly whenever he'll allow me back aboard. Many thanks to Christian and the S/V Christa for taking such good care of me and for letting me share a small piece of Chris' (soon to be fulfilled) dream of sailing the world's oceans. Fair winds and following seas, John Gamble
