Good place for sailing in NJ.

[maijipo]

Good place for sailing in NJ.

I am moving back from Florida to our dear NJ.

I am thinking about moving my Tartan 33 (4.5 draft) and I am looking for a good spot.

We will be around Princeton. However, since we are usually spending the weekend on the boat having to drive two hours is not a big deal for a weekend.

I am trying to find a place where leaving on a Saturday morning is possible to sail during the day and anchor somewhere quiet for the night. That has been our program since years since we can only sail during the weekend.

I was thinking about the Cap May area but if you have any good location or recommendation, I am very interested.

PS: also looking for someone able to move the boat to NJ by sea or road.

[ShoreFun]

Check the charts, the southern bays may have a lot of shallows. My neighbor kept is larger sailboats in bays further north like Barnegate. I am in the Ocean City area and there you have to look for sand bars.

[kcj]

I day sailed Barnegat bay for 10 years with a 4.5’draft...absolute hoot. I was near Toms River so you had options depending on which way the wind was blowing... great place for day sailing... but the water is thin...

I’m down near cape May now...tides, and ocean and inlet conditions limit good sailing opportunities...normal blue water stuff...

Raritain bay, up north, is another option, but I am less familiar with it....

Good luck

[maijipo]

Originally Posted by kcj

I day sailed Barnegat bay for 10 years with a 4.5’draft...absolute hoot. I was near Toms River so you had options depending on which way the wind was blowing... great place for day sailing... but the water is thin...

I’m down near cape May now...tides, and ocean and inlet conditions limit good sailing opportunities...normal blue water stuff...

Raritain bay, up north, is another option, but I am less familiar with it....

Good luck

What is your marina in cap may? Delaware Bay seems to offer a few day destination.

[Gadagirl]

You might want to consider Barnaget bay/Tom's River. Traffic in summer from Princeton to Cape May can be a 3+ hour slog. All east/south bound traffic in summer, in NJ is a congested slog.

[MySolution]

Raritan Bay is an excellent place to sail. Easy access to the ocean and NY Harbor.
Check out Keyport Yacht Club.
Family oriented club with an Anchorage to moor your boat.

[ptards]

Upper Barnegat Bay,lower B bay is between LBI and Manahawkin, north of the causeway and fairly shallow.

[kcj]

In Avalon...when transiting the Delaware bay one must pay particular attention to the tides... also note the channel has major shipping and the non channel areas are shallow and filled with traps.

My question would be what are your sailing objectives?

If getting out on the water (a lot) for day sails, my vote would be barnegat. Remember, when the wind is picking up, its snotty outside and the inlets can be a mess, but the bay is fun. (As noted above appropriate water is south of rt37 bridge down to inlet.) and it’s less than an hour from Princeton...

If blue water destination sailing is your mission, well, there are lots of options, none of which are ideal....nj inlets are not especially friendly, most less so than others. May explain why sailboats are outnumbered by 10:1.... not aware of any really good destinations on the Delaware, lots of marsh and a nuke plant..and it’s 60nm of work to get to the Chesapeake... raritain bay is convenient for a run to ny harbor...

[maijipo]

Originally Posted by kcj

My question would be what are your sailing objectives?
=.

Since we are only there during the weekend. (friday night till sunday night). I am looking for a place where I can leave the marina on Saturday morning, drop the hook somewhere Saturday night and come back on Sunday.
That is 90% of our sailing.
C.

[kcj]

Unless you like traffic I’d look up north... raritain bay; keyport yacht club was my second option after barnegat.Also Atlantic highlands, it has a mooring field. You can sail around the bay, anchor off sandy hook...

Barnegat bay/ Toms River area is still an option.

Look at maps and charts. Go drive around the area. See what lights your candle.[emoji16]

Good luck

[Sparx]

I would have to recommend the northern Chesapeake. I have been into every navigable inlet in New Jersey and none offer the diversity of easy over night destinations that abound in the Chesapeake. A marina on the Bohemia or the Sasafrass Rivers in Maryland would be a great place to keep the boat. Easy access by car, excellent access to all the Bay has to offer.

[mlydon]

looking at the map, the upper Chesapeake is roughly 2 hours from princeton. I'm not local to there, but LOTS of people talk up the joys of sailling there....tons of anchorages, etc.

Plus if you did want to hit the Ocean, a few hours will get you to Cape May.

I have my boat very close to my house, near the Tappan Zee bridge above NYC. While I get a lot of use out of it on the river, hitting Long Island is a 6 hour run there and a 9 hour return......

Matt

[jbarton]

Originally Posted by Gadagirl

You might want to consider Barnaget bay/Tom's River. Traffic in summer from Princeton to Cape May can be a 3+ hour slog. All east/south bound traffic in summer, in NJ is a congested slog.

Sailed Barnegat Bay for several years when the kids were small (20 yrs. ago.)
Normally had good onshore winds- but definitely keep an eye on the depths. Particularly south of Barnegat Inlet.

Forked River has a few nice marinas only a short motor out to the Bay. Fairly centered in the Bay, to run North, South or outside in Blue Water.

[spoehlein]

I own a Tartan 3500 and sail out of Pt Pleasant, NJ, Canal Point/Johnson Bros Marina. We draw 4’10” and being careful we can get into the north end on Barnegat bay. Staying in the channel there is plenty of water, good for east or west winds. We personally do most of our sailing in the ocean which is a 40 minute motor away. There is also the Metedeconk River which is good for north and south winds. We usually stay in the marina as we like the social scene there and can go out to eat if we wish. This would likely be the closest marina to Princeton. We have cruised to NYC (50 miles) and Long Island Sound multiple times. Goo luck finding a new boat home.

[Tom_F]

Agree with Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays. Much deeper than Barnegat Bay and better winds. We're members of Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy, but agree Keyport YC is nice, too. (We prefer RYC because it has a restaurant so we do not have to cook.) We were not fans of Atlantic Highlands YC simply because we felt the area it is in is too crowded and parking is a challenge, but I've heard nothing but good things about it. There are also sailboat-friendly marinas around, including Lockwoods and Morgan Marina, if you prefer a marina with no YC to deal with.

Tom