Peter, a friend
visiting from Australia, joined us for a Monday afternoon sail
on Raritan Bay. It was a cloudy, windy July day.
We pulled away from the dock without incident and headed down the creek towards the Cheesequake River and the two bascule bridges. We passed through the first bridge, the train bridge, which was already open, and positioned the boat to the wind and current. It wasn't easy to hold Realization in position due to the wind's strength and the current but we managed. I contacted the "Morgan Highway" bridgetender on VHF 13 and requested a 1:00 p.m. opening.
Around 1310 the bridge began to open, then stopped only partially raised. The roadworkers on either side of the bridge yelled to us to go through "come on, you can make it" but we were hesitant. It didn't look like our 45'6" mast plus antennae would make it through. Again they reassured us that there was room and we passed under the bridge hugging its north pier, again no easy feat when contending with lots of wind and a strong ebbing current. I had a funny feeling about it, they were definitely having problems with the bridge and we might not be able to make it back.
We made it safely under the bridge into the inlet and proceeded into the bay. I hoisted the main, set with a single reef, then unrolled the yankee and Realization was on her way.
We spent the rest of the afternoon sailing on the bay. We headed out towards the Narrows, and rounded Old Orchard Shoal lighthouse before heading back towards Morgan. We each took our turn at the helm thoroughly enjoying ourselves.
We approached Cheesequake inlet and radioed the Morgan Highway Bridge for a 6:00 p.m. opening. The bridgetender responded and told as that she'd begin opening the bridge only after we had entered the inlet. We prefer waiting just outside the inlet since it is very narrow leaving not much room to maneuver. But we were the only ones out there, so we entered the inlet and positioned the boat to wait for the bridge. Fifteen minutes passed, then another 15. The opening sequence had begun. The traffic lights had beeen changed to red, the gates had been positioned across the roadway, the alarms were going off, and still the bridge remained closed.
I radioed the highway bridge again. I stated that "It's obvious that there's something wrong. Should we come back at 7:00 p.m. for the next opening?" The bridgetender responded, "yes". I asked if she thought it would open at 7:00 p.m. and she said she wasn't sure. At that point, many drivers had become very impatient. Some left their vehicles, walked up to the bridgetender's house and began pounding on the door and yelling. People were honking their horns. I turned the boat around and headed out of the inlet back into the bay. As we left the inlet we could hear the sirens of approaching police vehicles. The police began to turn the traffic around, away from the disabled bridge. It was stuck in limbo. It couldn't go up and the gates wouldn't move, rendering it useless.
Bruce wanted to wait around until the bridge was repaired. I didn't think that was a good idea. I stated that they would have to get mechanics there and if they needed any new parts, that could take hours or days. So I got on the radio again and this time I contact the Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy and asked if they had any available moorings. They did. I turned the boat around, headed to Perth Amboy and we picked up a mooring.
By the time we
gathered up all of our stuff, called for the water taxi and closed
up the boat it was 8:00 p.m. Bruce, Peter, Cimon and I hopped
into the water taxi for the ride to the yacht club's dock.
Now we had another dilemma. How would we get from Perth Amboy to Morgan with several canvas tote bags, a cooler and a dog! We needed to get back to Lockwood's. That's where we had left our van.
We found a pay telephone nearby but without a phone book. We needed to call for a taxi. Luckily, one of the yacht club members had the number of a local taxi service, and Bruce called for the taxi. When the taxi showed up, the driver was reluctant to take us because of the dog. He said they weren't allowed to take dogs in the cabs. But I think he took pity on us and told us that he'd take us as long as one of us held the dog tightly.
We all climbed into the cab, I held the dog, and we proceeded down Rtes. 9 and 35 towards Morgan. As we approached Lockwood's, the traffic was still backed up due to the disabled bridge, and there were police everywhere. They were turning everyone around. We explained that we needed to get to Lockwood's, which was on this side of the bridge, and they let us pass.
When we finally got to our car at Lockwood Boat Works, it was 10:00 p.m. We hadn't had anything to eat. We were hungry and tired. We then returned Peter to his hotel and headed home. Needless to say, we didn't get home until 11:00 p.m.
Tuesday I contacted the state road department and they gave me the phone number so that I could inquire about the status of the bridge. It was still out of service.
Wednesday morning I called them and the bridge was functional. We each contacted our managers and informed them that we would be coming in to work late, drove down to Perth Amboy, sailed Realization back to Morgan, and placed her in her slip.
Finally, Realization was home.
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Last modified: 2 March 2000