New'ish to sailing and new to the forum

[edeckerpc]

When I was young I lived in a lake community and raced sunfish and comet's. Despite enjoying sailing, I stopped sometime in the late 80's.

Fast forward to 2021. I decided to sign up for the ASA Basic Keelboat Sailing course. I live in NJ and took the course through a group based in the NY Harbour. The course was great and I really enjoyed being back out on the water. I followed up the initial course with the Basic Coastal Cruising and Bareboat Cruising courses. Most of my recent sailing has been on the Hudson, the NY Bay, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook area, and a bit past that into the Atlantic.

I started back up because I thought it would be great to be able to do some charter vacations in the Caribbean with my family. Instead I find myself getting hooked and looking to become more of an active weekender. It's to the point that I've started researching marinas and looking at used boats online.

This has lead me to this forum. Curious if anyone can guide me to any discussions about NJ marinas. Marinas in the harbor are convenient, but costly. Some of the ones further south are more reasonable, but I don't know much about them.

I'm sure there are plenty of used boat discussions that I'll find.

Thanks!

[desodave]

Welcome aboard edeckerpc from the wet coast of BC. Can't help at all with your marina questions but certainly understand the enthusiasm.

[JoeRobertJr]

to forum, edeckerpc!
If it were me, I would make a list of NJ marinas from a Google Maps search, then read the Google reviews, and then plan some Spring visits to wander around each marina, chat with some boat owners, and say Hi to the marina staff to get a feel for each. You can ask about slip rates and availability.

[edeckerpc]

JoeRobertJr, completely agree with your recommendation. The Google homework was completed when I was done with the first ASA course. There are a couple that are close to me that I'll check out in the spring. Having said that, it's always good to hear if anyone has first hand experience, or a recommendation. I guess I'll get that when I visit a couple.

[Adelie]

Welcome to CF!