Bay Sailing in Southern NJ on a Rhodes 22

[JimGo]

Hi! I'm a prospective first-time boat owner. I'm trying to convince my wife that the used Rhodes 22 that I've been negotiating (seems like a great price for a decent, though well used, boat) will wind up being something we will use more than once or twice a season. We have a few lakes in our area (about 15 miles Northwest of Philadelphia, PA) in which we could sail (most are within an hour drive or so), and there's also the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay, so I do think that day trips are "do-able".

But my in-laws have a condo in Avalon, NJ, and one idea I had was to find places to sail that are close to Avalon. The Rhodes has a shoal keel with a centerboard, and from what I remember of my younger days in a power boat off the NJ coast, I don't think I want to chance taking her out in the ocean (at least not until I've gotten a LOT more experienced). From what I've read of the depth charts, it looks like I should be able to tool around in a lot of the little bays (e.g., Great Sound - 39 05' 41.63'' N, 074 46' 34.67'' W and Jenkins Sound - 39 03' 45.78'' N, 074 48' 27.76'' W) at least +- 2 hours from high tide. Realistically, a 2-3 hour sail is probably as good as I'll get any time soon (I have a 5 year old and a 3 year old), so being restricted to a few hours isn't THAT bad (assuming the tides are at reasonable hours that weekend).

Great Egg Harbor also looks promising, and then there's always Barnegat Bay, but that's a little too far North of Avalon. Of course, I could also head West, and sail in parts of the Delaware Bay.

At least, that's what it looks like to me. Am I off my rocker?