Good luck with your move Scott. I think you'll enjoy the new area - there will be new challenges but you'll be rewarded with great winds and some really nice sailing areas. Let me know if you need any local knowledge.
Lake Hopatcong no longer ...
- Thread starter Scott T-Bird
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Just imagine the amount of money you'll save not having to spend the big bucks for sea salt any more. After every day sail you can just brush your eye brows and have a week's supply!
If you grow a beard, you can start up a little business. Perhaps you'll call it the Lake Hopatcong Sea Salt Company.
If you grow a beard, you can start up a little business. Perhaps you'll call it the Lake Hopatcong Sea Salt Company.
This is another welcome to Barnegat Bay. It sounds like you are in the lower Bay if near Barnegat Inlet where its wide and beautiful. For your first few times out the inlet, it may be best to follow another sailboat. It is tricky and changing. At some point make your way up to the North Bay above the Toms River Bridge (Rte 37 or Mathis Bridge) and give it a try. Then give the NJ Loop a try...out Barnegat Inlet and in Manasquan. As far as equipment make sure you have a VHF and a depth instrument and charts or GPS....there are many shallow areas Out of Manasquan Inlet we have seen Dolphins, sharks as well as various fish. In over 10 years have never had a problem with the Coast Guard, local or State Police. That is not to say I have not had contact with them because I have. With them its been almost like 40 years ago where they were not interested in busting your chops but only wanted to be sure you were safe.
I'll be looking for you out there near the BB marker.
I'll be looking for you out there near the BB marker.
My first SoPac island was an atoll and there were no charts of the lagoon. As we entered the pass, with the sun behind us, I noticed a small freighter in the distance, and decided to follow her. After all, she drew a lot more water than we did, right?
As time progressed, things just didn't seem right, so I pulled out the binos and studied the freighter. She was high and dry on a reef and probably had been so for at least ten years! Cured me of following the other guy, forever.
There is no guaranty that the other guy knows more than you do.
Scott, I just.looked at the maps, that's a huge difference geographically. Do you live close to the shore or closer to the lake? Does this mean no spur of the moment after work rides?
I would like to welcome you to the Jersey Shore. The Barnegat Inlet can get a little sporty, but the Bay is a great Sailing area along with the Toms River. A bit of advice is to study the charts as the eastern shore is shallow.We finally pulled the trigger and moved to Barnegat, NJ and we're looking forward to the change!
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I'm actually going to have to learn a few things about charts, vhf, zincs, tow insurance, channel markers, bridge openings, inlets, anchoring (always a source of angst it seems :cussing, and greenheads (and other pests). This forum is the best resource I know.
It should be fun!
A nice watering hole is the Waters Edge in Bayville.
Where I sail, the nearest commercial tow guy is 60 miles away. Its the Coast Guard or nothing---unless you have a friend who will help. So even guys with big 110 HP motors also have a small 10 HP to limp back if the biggie dies. I have a 5hp Honda, a torqeedo 1003L, and a 55 lb thrust trolling motor that I bring aboard from the dinghy. Having been towed in by the Coast Guard at 9:00 PM, after drifting uncertainly for 3 hours, I'm hoping not to have a repeat of that. Be sure that you are not drunk and that you have all the stuff that you are supposed to have, since if you are in danger, like floating out to sea with a broken mast or no food, you have all the stuff they want. And when they ask if you are in immediate danger(and they will) tell them what kind of danger you will be in in 2 hours if they don't come. I was drifting with the tide in the channel with the potential of going into rocks in a couple of hours.
If you plan for all the potential bad things, none of them will ever happen. If you don't, they will.
The water there was 150 feet deep, and the rocks come up very very quickly. The ledge that we were drifting toward would slam into us before the anchor would hold. While dropping the anchor would have been possible as a drag, its awfully difficult to set an anchor without wind and without motor power, since the best you can do is drop it and hope for the best.
If you have not already done so, take the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Course. It will teach you all of the things that you don't have now.
Just a thought. Next time (which hopefully never comes), adding sheets, dock lines and whatever to your anchor rode might just be the difference between saving the day or not. As an old friend said to me a half a century back, "Kid, any idiot can make a boat go. It takes a sailor to stop one!"
Good question!
We have been indecisive for a long time about where to move, basically because of the influence of traffic in a metro area and it has also been hard to give up the convenience. Placing the boat in Jersey City would undoubtedly provide more after work opportunity to sail and the urban environment appeals to me, but not so much to Sue. The drive to Barnegat is long, but it is easily one of the most convenient marinas to get to off the Parkway (which makes a huge difference when dealing with shore traffic) and we really like the laid-back atmosphere, natural setting and quiet town. It also appears to be a marina that is populated almost exclusively by sailors. I like that!
I think we'll really enjoy the variety of opportunities in that area. I saw a boat with a Long Valley 'hailing port'. They are just as far away as we are. Besides, we are selling our house and haven't decided yet where to find a new home.
Dave, we live overlooking LH and it has been very convenient to have the boat so close, but the reality is that it has felt like we're shackled by being landlocked. After 10 years, I just don't have the same desire to sail the same paths over and over. In that respect, I envy the ability to put the boat on a trailer and find new places, but I also don't want the effort involved in going that route.Scott, why do you need to heat hot water?
We have been indecisive for a long time about where to move, basically because of the influence of traffic in a metro area and it has also been hard to give up the convenience. Placing the boat in Jersey City would undoubtedly provide more after work opportunity to sail and the urban environment appeals to me, but not so much to Sue. The drive to Barnegat is long, but it is easily one of the most convenient marinas to get to off the Parkway (which makes a huge difference when dealing with shore traffic) and we really like the laid-back atmosphere, natural setting and quiet town. It also appears to be a marina that is populated almost exclusively by sailors. I like that!
I think we'll really enjoy the variety of opportunities in that area. I saw a boat with a Long Valley 'hailing port'. They are just as far away as we are. Besides, we are selling our house and haven't decided yet where to find a new home.
Go Coastal!
For instance a house a few miles inland in Tom's River will be very reasonable. My parents lived there and it had a lot of positives. Owning a boat there would have been better. There are some negatives. Traffic can be a problem. Rt. 37 is visually ugly. The Island Beach State Park is an excellent beach. A pretty good place to live.
Well , that explains it, thanks. good luck with your move. Off topic, but I wanted to share ,saw a fishing boat on a trailer coming out of the marina Sunday..boat name : "Sore Subject", I thought that was the best!
Good Move
Have fun. We all know you will. :dance::dance::dance:
As long as they have fresh water hoses at your dock, salt water should not be an issue. Hose, hose, hose and don't forget to do your swages at your chainplates and you'll be just fine.
Have you found a haulout place yet or am I just pushin' it too much?
PS - I grew up in NYC and "did" the "Jersey Shore" many times. The Parkway is always fun, even back then!
That's wonderful. Great choice, good thinkin'. I really am so happy for both you & Sue. Sounds like a great time of your lives. :dance:
..........................The drive to Barnegat is long, but it is easily one of the most convenient marinas to get to off the Parkway (which makes a huge difference when dealing with shore traffic) and we really like the laid-back atmosphere, natural setting and quiet town. It also appears to be a marina that is populated almost exclusively by sailors. I like that!
I think we'll really enjoy the variety of opportunities in that area. I saw a boat with a Long Valley 'hailing port'. They are just as far away as we are. Besides, we are selling our house and haven't decided yet where to find a new home.
Have fun. We all know you will. :dance::dance::dance:
As long as they have fresh water hoses at your dock, salt water should not be an issue. Hose, hose, hose and don't forget to do your swages at your chainplates and you'll be just fine.
Have you found a haulout place yet or am I just pushin' it too much?
PS - I grew up in NYC and "did" the "Jersey Shore" many times. The Parkway is always fun, even back then!