I've been a Tournament 192 owner for three great seasons now. Finally Mine is docked at Hobby Lobby Marine in Toms River, NJ, on the Barnegat Bay. Last summer in August I took Finally Mine on a 100-plus mile round trip to the Great South Bay of Long Island where I grew up boating—not that unusual except it included a 50-mile ocean run each way. I headed north out of Manasquan Inlet, up the Jersey coast,

“I encourage Grady owners to take that trip you've always wanted...”

across the outer entrance to New York Harbor and then east to Jones Inlet. Although I have handled four-foot seas without a problem, I picked days where the winds and seas were moderate and made sure that my VHF radio was working well and my Sea Tow membership in good standing. I needed assistance from neither but it was nice to have them.

I rented a slip for the week at the Blue Water Yacht Club in Merrick, NY, on the Great South Bay. The staff there was great, especially since I had to dock a few extra days due to one of the many hurricanes that came up the coast last year. While in Long Island waters my wife, Lisa, children Beverly and Evan and I visited Jones Beach, fished in Jones and Fire Island inlets,

Donn Hirschmann caught the biggest fluke of his life on his way back from Long Island.

and took a trip to Sailor's Haven on Fire Island's National Seashore where we met up with extended family. It was beautiful and much as I remembered it as a child. One difference was that the 25-30 mile distance from BWYC seemed like a short trip on the Grady compared with the smaller boat I grew up with.

The trip back to New Jersey was even better than the trip over. I stopped for a couple hours of fishing between Sandy Hook and Long Island in the Ambrose Channel area. I caught five keeper summer flounder including a 26", 7-lb. fish-the biggest fluke I have caught in over 35 years.

Kite boarders are a sight to see along the beaches of Martha's Vineyard. Photo credit: Skyhigh Kiteboards, Martha's Vineyard

On August 23, 2004, at 6:00 A.M., my sister, Ashley, and I left Point O'Woods Beach, CT, in our Adventure 208. It was hazy and the GPS helped us around Watch Hill, RI. At 8:00 A.M. we had refueled with gas and ice cream at Point Judith harbor and cruised off for a smooth ride at about 30 MPH. The fog over the Elizabeth Islands slowed us down and we decided to spend the afternoon in Cuddy Hunk. The fog didn't lift, so we picked a mooring for the night and went ashore in our two-person inflatable kayak. We found an excellent pizza place with outdoor seating, and had nice walks along the bluffs.

Early next morning we had a clear, beautiful ride through Martha's Vineyard sound and it wasn't long before we arrived at Oaks Bluff. The shops, bars, restaurants and movie theaters were dazzling compared to the sleepy town of Cuddy Hunk.

“...you can go anywhere the larger cruisers go for a fraction of the cost...”

We spent three days exploring and enjoying. Checking the Internet and listening to VHF weather we picked the day to start the journey home. We stopped for one night in Newport, RI, and Block Island before returning to Point O'Woods Beach. Each place was filled with good food, fun and adventure.