Feelin' foolish at Barnegat Light

May 17, 2004
5,680
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
I'm assuming there is navigable channel from Beach Haven to Barnegat.
Indeed there is. The ICW runs the length of LBI on the inside, and is pretty straightforward at least until you get south of Little Egg Inlet. It's too narrow to be much fun to sail, but it's a convenient way to get to Beach Haven or on your way to Atlantic City.
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,786
Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ
Scott, great story and info. Only thing missing is something like losing your favorite Costa's over the side while pulling anchor or something.
With the high tide and your shallow draft I can see trying to get through the channel if it wasn't for the time crunch caused by the approaching storm. Getting stuck in that building wind would have ruined your day.

While I was waiting to be launched in the spring I talked a guy whose boat was going in before mine. Large boat, 35+. Said he lived and docked on the south end of LBI and went out the Little Egg Inlet for his sailing.
Sounds like a fun trip to go around the island.

All in all nothing to feel foolish about. Great adventure and learning experience.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,277
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Hi Ward,
Nope, I didn't lose my sunglasses, fortunately they were in the cabin at the time. I lost my reading glasses because I had them out to read the chart more carefully at one point. I put them in my shirt & lost them when I reached to loop a line around the dam piling when we got back to the slip! They're under the boat now because my attempts to dive on them failed. It was about 10' deep and too dark to see even with the mask. That's the 2nd pair I lost this summer ... the other pair on a job site and I have no spares. I just spent $400 the other day replacing 2 pairs ... ouch! I would rather have put that toward a chartplotter or new sails!