The Jersey Shore

 TRAVEL DAY 62 - Cape May to Atlantic City

June 23, 2023

7.13 Hours/51.3 Miles

    I woke up early after a pretty quiet night and no howling of the wind. A light rain pattered the boat. I peeked out the windows and could see the breeze barely moving the flags on the docked boats in the marina. I had high hopes for today and was ready to fire up the Volvo and leave Cape May to my stern.

Absecon Inlet, Atlantic City

    We made a plan the night before with 2 other boats to set out at 7:30 am along the NJICW. The other 2 boats had second thoughts and decided to wait another day. There was still a light rain, but I felt like I had done my homework, so I crossed my fingers and prepared to shove off.  The Cape May Bay was pretty calm and as we proceeded up the NJICW the conditions didn't change. About 2 hours in some fog settled in, but the visibility was 3/4 of a mile or better and it didn't last long. After another hour the sun came out and we knew we had made the right decision.

Rum Basin Anchorage

    This route was one that kept me on my toes and my hands on the wheel. No distractions were allowed as the waterway twisted and turned with a few shallow spots here and there. At Ocean City we had another Looper contact us and ask if they could fall in behind us. Absolutely, the more the merrier! We had no idea at the time that this was only their second day on the Loop.

Ventnor City

    We made a  hair pin turn down the canal at Ventnor Heights and into the downtown area. It was a little unnerving and it felt as though we were headed to a dead-end but the GPS reassured us we were still on the NJICW. We rounded another corner to find a 9' bridge with openings at 20 minutes and 40 minutes after the hour. It was 1:30 pm so we waited in the small basin with our new buddy boat Lunasea Too. Another boat, Tina B in a nearby slip, backed out and joined us. The bridge delayed opening about 5 minutes which made us late for the next bridge. I called the bridge tender and he said, if you move you might make it. Not wanting to wait 35 minutes for the next opening, we pushed the throttle up a little. It was a no wake zone and I got a few hearty New Jersey salutes from some canal residents.

NJ Windmills

    We made Absecon Inlet and with no slips available we headed across the inlet to Rum Point Basin anchorage. The other 2 boats said they were going to find a slip at the nearby marinas and went on. It was a good thing I read the reviews for the anchorage and knew the entrance to the anchorage was narrow but had been dredged to provide adequate water, otherwise I would not have attempted it. It was extremely tight with a grassy bank on my port and a sandy beach to my starboard. We weaved our way in and I held my breath as the depth finder remained steady at 7 and 8 feet. Once in the basin there was plenty of room and plenty of water. This would be Skipper Zelda's first attempt at dropping the anchor. A little fumbling at the new activity but she did great. I wasn't happy with our set, so she raised the anchor and got to practice again. The second set was perfect. 20 minutes or so after we anchored the other 2 Loopers moved into the basin as they discovered there were no available slips. My crew was not happy with being quarantined but we made the best out of it with some games and grilled hamburgers with fresh corn on the cobb cooked on the grill. We settled in to watch the lights come up on the tall casino buildings at the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Cape May to Atlantic City

TRAVEL DAY 63 - Atlantic City to Manasquan Inlet

June 24, 2023

9.04 Hours/65.1 Miles

    Low tide for the inlet was predicted for 7:15 am. I did not want to get stuck in the anchorage for hours so we pulled anchor and proceeded back through the narrow entrance. I followed my track in and saw 4' at one spot but we were able to get out easily. A fog had settled in and the other 2 boats elected Pau Hana as the leader again since we have radar. Lunasea Too had a tough time deploying their anchor the night before and indicated it would take them some time to retrieve their anchor and get underway. We radioed them and informed them that we would wait in the inlet so that we could all travel together for the last leg of the shallow intracoastal waterway. With Tina B close by we both held station in the inlet north of the bridge. The slack low tide made it simple to stay put with very little drift. After an hour I was getting a little impatient, that's when the crew of Tina B texted us to say this was the other boats 3rd day on the loop. Thinking back to our first days, I settled down and continued to wait, besides at 8 in the morning on a foggy NJ morning, we had pop songs blasting from the casino's and hot coffee to keep us occupied. The last boat finally emerged from the basin and we headed on.

A foggy start and a narrow inlet

   We snaked our way through the waterway and knew that at about marker 160 there would be some depth challenges. Timing this movement on the rising tide gave us some assurance we would be OK. As predicted there were 2 skinny spots past the 160 marker and we slowed to idle and passed through with little water under the keel. These however were not the only shallow sections, there were at least 4 or 5 more. Each time, I would call back to the other boats and relay the depth I was seeing, constantly trying to jockey the boat over some for a little more depth.

Buddy Boats

   Once the fog lifted and the clouds moved out, it shaped up into a nice day with sun and a light breeze. As we moved across Little Egg Inlet, the water got deep at 15 and 20'. My depth finder indicated plenty of water and the chart agreed. I passed to the wrong side of the red buoy and the water went from 14' to 2.5' in about 4 seconds. We were aground and not moving. Tina B was paying attention and was on the correct side of the buoy and not more than 75' from our location. We called out our predicament and they responded that they had 10' of water. We quickly tied a line on the bow cleat, dropped the dinghy and carried the line to their boat. Only problem was, the rope was too short. I went back to the boat and Zelda handed me another line. Tying two Bowlines together I made a longer line and brought it back to Tina B. With barely enough scope, they grabbed the bitter end and lashed it to their bow and Sampson  Post. I got back on Pau Hana and with the signal, I throttled up. We scooted a little and then moved free. What a relief! With nothing but a sandy bottom and the fully protected prop we suffered no damage, unless you count my ego which was bruised. We knew now that waiting on those buddy boats proved to be a good move.

Short lines and soft groundings

  Almost 10 hours after leaving Atlantic City, we exited the Point Pleasant Canal and into the Manasquan River to our slip at Hoffman's Marina at Manasquan Inlet. After a very long day and a night at anchor, the crew was ready for hot showers and libations. I had to repay my debt for the ungrounding assistance. It cost me 2 drinks and dinner for the crew of Tina B but it was the cheapest tow I could have hoped for and well worth it.

Parked next to the "Big Boys"

Atlantic City to Manasquan Inlet