GL: ICW in New Jersey

[Ralph Yost]

You did not mention the type of boat you will be traveling in: ie, keel hull
or flat bottom twin screw. This advice may make a difference depending on
your boat type.

I was born and raised in Atlantic City NJ and have been boating the southern
NJ waters for nearly 50 years. I am very familiar with the ICW in NJ. There
is a lot of misinformation and fear about running the ICW in NJ. I have
heard boaters say you cant run the ICW in New Jersey because its too
shallow. Not true. From Fla to Maine it is probably the lowest depths of the
ICW but is navigable at all tides. Feel free to email me back about any
specific locations and I will see if I can help.

You can run the ICW from Cape May to Manasquan Inlet, then you have to go
outside to get to Sandy Hook or New York, whichever your destination is.
There are not a lot of anchorages in Manasquan so examine that location
carefully if you plan to overnight to wait for favorable winds. For the
Jersey Coast, the best winds for are NW, with North not being bad if you
stay close to the beach in about 20 ft or so of water, then move out to the
sea buoy at each inlet to be safe. (I run inside them but only because I
have done it for years in shallow draft boats and know the shoals at each
inlet but I will not advise it for travelers). If you go outside on a NW
wind, the ocean will be most calm close to the beach and gets progressively
worse as you move off shore. Most of the summer winds on the coast are SW
which is not bad if its light and you are heading north. From Cape May
heading north that would put the wind on your stern quarter. "East is Least"
as we say and NE is really bad unless its less than 5kts. SE chops the ocean
up pretty good also. Due West is not bad. "West is Best".

Dead low tide should be the only serious time of concern. We have about 4 ft
rise (avg.) to the tide along the Jersey coast, so anything above dead low
will be safer by up to 4ft. My sailboat was 4ft draft and I used to run it
regularly from A.C. to Barnegat Bay and Manasquan.

Fixed bridge heights are typically 60' but there is one in Atlantic City
that is only around 30' or so, so that completely eliminates sailboats of
any live aboard size in the ICW from Great Egg Inlet (Ocean City) to Absecon
Inlet (Atlantic City). Minimum ICW depths here are about 5ft or so at dead
low tide in many places but then deeper in most others.However, we do have
seasonal changes that bring in shoals and these depths can vary from year to
year. At low tide, you should still keep a keen eye on the water CURRENT to
show you where the deep water is in the marked channel. It could be over to
the side and not in the middle. Do not assume that the middle is always the
deepest. That is the mistake that many boaters make. Watch your depth finder
and if the depth gets shallow, try moving to one side of the channel or the
other while watching the depth sounder for deeper water. If the numbers get
more shallow, immediately head to the OTHER side in the same way. Slow down
in areas of concern so that if you do bump you can back up immediately.
Always be observant as to WHICH WAY the current is moving. In our ICW, the
current is always flowing either from and inlet or to an inlet, so you
should have both favorable currents and head currents on the trip.

I would not be afraid to run the ICW in a 4.5' draft boat. If you want to be
a little extra cautious, lighten up your boat by carrying less fuel and
water. However, the most conservative approach is to go outside from Cape 
May to Great Egg or Absecon Inlet. The ICW betwen Cape May and Ocean City is 
the most unreliable.

R.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <commjerry at aol.com>
To: <great-loop at lists.samurai.com>
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 4:26 PM
Subject: GL: ICW in New Jersey


> Looking for recommendations on those who may have cruised the ICW through 
> New Jersey lately.? We have a 4.5 foot draft and are heading north and 
> were thinking about doing that section this spring instead of going 
> outside.? We have dodged it in the past due to concerns over the shallow 
> water there.
> Thanks
> Jerry Richardson
> onboard M/V Monarch
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