Day 267: Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Port to Port: Ventnor City to Surf City, New Jersey
Underway: 7:20 am Motor Off: 2:55 pm Miles Traveled: 36/36 Stayed At: Anchor
Mile 72 to Mile 36: We lucked out again today. Not only was it sunny (perfect for drying all our wet gear) but we rode a favorable current for most of the day. Plus, the waterways were mostly quiet and peaceful with even less fishing boats than yesterday. Most of the day was routine but we started the day having to pass through 3 basqual bridges and one railroad swing bridge in less than an hour – all with the current behind us making it a challenge to wait in one place while they were opened. At least today, the operators opened the bridges fully into of making us squeeze through a small opening. Thankfully they were all on demand bridges and not restricted to some impossible-to-plan-for time schedule.
We passed by Atlantic City early in the morning – it seems so out of place compared to the surrounding scenery. Even though this area is heavily populated, we spend most of our time motoring though low areas called thorofares only a few feet above high tide. They are basically large flat plateaus covered with grass and teeming with nesting waterbirds. When we are near civilization, the shoreline is packed with large houses packed tightly together (and sometimes extending out over the water) with not trees or greenery of any kind. Not too enticing to me. Although many areas we have passed by were hit hard by Sandy, a lot of repairs have been made. Many marinas are back in business and we didn’t notice as many damaged houses as we thought we would. I suspect the ocean side got hit the hardest.
We stopped for gas at a marina (still being worked on) and I made a quick run into town for a few groceries. It looked like a nice place to stay and explore but the weather might be changing in a few days so we want to keep moving north.
In Passing: Mankiller Bay, Big Fish Thorofare, Middle Thorofare, Cedar Bonnet, Flat Island, High Island, Johnny Sedge, Hither Island, Little Beach
Glad to see you finding the inside New Jersey route passable. We hope to transit this route same time next year in our MacGregor 26X, which has draft comparable to yours.
Hi Mike, Yes, the inside route was passable – the first 30 miles or so were a little tricky and we had to do some zig zagging to find deeper water but we never hit bottom and the last 2/3 was just fine. A McGregor should have no problem inside. Try to go during the week though since parts of the ICW get really busy on the weekends. We found it very peaceful (mostly) when we went through. Good luck and keep in touch. Mike