Jersey Coast, Need crew?

[WanderingStar]

Well, if any of you come to LI, post a note. We'll arrange a get together.

[deniseO30]

WS... which LI? NY? or NJ?

[drobarge]

thanks John... was just what I was fishing for... I just get frustrated sometimes like anyone else!!!

[ottos]

Let me know when you're coming - I'll roll out the welcome mat!
.

[Sabreman]

Denise - mgiguere is correct that you're probably already qualified.... but what's really encouraging is that you're looking to hedge your bet and get some on board experience. That's good because whether you really need the experience or not, it means that you're thinking and planning and that's the whole game.

Keep in mind that even with someone else on board, you simply can not rely upon them for experience. Though they may seem to have great experience, it may be less than yours in practice - we all know people who talk a great game and then fold under pressure. For instance, you don't know what my experience is even though I have lots of posts, a great avatar, and say that I have a 38' boat. Could be a sham. From what I can tell, you're already at a 90% solution by questioning the trip. My suggestion is that if you must take someone else along, make it someone with whom you've ALEADY sailed (sorry, Sailnet-ers).

The trip is pretty easy. Consider it a series of long day sails. As others have indicated, it's pretty easy until you get to the Salem Nuclear power plant. After that, it opens up a bit and is mostly a less scenic version of sailing the Chesapeake, but with more current. Speaking of which, IMO the current is most aggressive near the power plant, then gets better as the bay opens up. There are several bail-out places along the way, marinas, rivers and such. As to the current, stay out of the deep water and you'll be mostly out of the current.

I first did the trip when I was 18 and sailed the family Catalina 30 with my brother-in-law from Ocean City NJ to Annapolis. At the time (1977), we had no GPS, LORAN and an undersized 1 cylinder Yanmar. We also didn't have a chart for the 5 mile stretch between the power plant and the C&D canal (see my posts in the Boneheaded Moves thread for what happened!!). You can do this. Pick July or August for the most tame (but hot) weather.

Good luck and have fun.

[gershel]

Hi Denise, Sabreman is right. Trust YOUR insticts, and don't follow. These instincts will come with YOUR experience.
I've done Deleware Bay more times than I can remember. It's fairly straight forward, but MUST be respected. I only go when wind and current will be favorable for the entire run ( C&D to C.M.). I learned from experience, as you will.
By the way, I winter my boat at Neshaminy State Marina, not too far from you.
Marc

[deniseO30]

Thanks everyone! it's not so much my experiance but more the feeling of wanting to do the coast somewhat just to get the "feel" of the jersey coast and to finally say; "yes" that trip isn't that bad! My boat is 4'11" draft. looks like CM harbor is like most of the jersey shore, all mud! I'd very much like to be on someone's boat or behind it when entering Barnegat too! "shudder"
For now.. there's plenty of work to do on the hard, cetol, motor mounts, find that smell in the port locker, new carpet for the hull inside..

[deniseO30]

marc, I have seen or read very little about actually SAILING Del Bay. does everyone just stay in the shipping channel? do they motor all the way or sail with long tacks like we do on the Chessy? (guess this should be another thread) lol

[Sabreman]

Denise - When I first did the trip (without GPS, etc), we were inexperienced cruisers and not that experienced steering compass courses so we stayed in the shipping channel. 32 years later and with a few more miles under my keel, I've learned to trust my instruments (your compass HAS been zeroed, right?) and I'll steer what makes sense.

Thus, if I were to do the trip today, I'd stay out of the channel if the tide was foul and in the channel if it favored me. There are a number of great, inexpensive laptop tide and nav programs out there so this is really easy to do (tip: look at your GPS speed and compare with your calibrated knotmeter. If the GPS speed is greater, the current is with you. If not, it's foul).

We sail the MD Governor's cup each year (84 NM from Annapolis to St. Mary's City, MD). The route is much more scenic but basically the same trip. Skinny in the North and fat in the South with a current to deal with. If you click on the link to our Google track in the following link, you can see that we favored the Chesapeake's western shore during the flood and in center channel during ebb. We confirmed whether we were being helped or hindered through GPS/knotmeter comparison.

2009 MD Governor’s Cup (31 July - 01 August 2009)

Regarding sailing vs. motoring... in August the decision is usually made for you... you motor. On the other hand, after we (stupidly) tried to anchor of the power plant and lost our anchor we sailed all night long through to Cape May.

Bottom Line: Sail if you can and motor if you must. Either way, I wouldn't enter Cape May at night unless it's absolutely unavoidable (general rule for any unfamiliar harbor, but there are crab pots, commercial traffic, etc.).

As for Barnegate Inlet... ummmmm don't go unless you follow someone who really knows the inlet (i.e., Coast Guard). BUT. Generally don't follow people; when I was a kid, we almost hit a sandbar and we followed a 40' powerboat through OC NJ's inlet. She grounded and eventually broke up. Better to make your own mistakes than to follow someone else's! OC NJ, Atlantic City, & Manasquan are good alternatives, IMO.

[deniseO30]

wow.. I was looking the chart inset for AC. deep! Is there an anchorage there? geeze.. you guys have me talking like I'm on my way already! I know about following others.. years ago on the Susquehanna river in my canoe. followed someone I thought knew the river.. next I knew we were perched on a table rock (flat rock) with over a small 1ft like drop in the river LOL