We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Atlantic City. It wasn't quite Vegas or anything, but it was OK. The boardwalk was OK, and the marina was good. Dinner was the best, even though expensive.

Our friends were all staying behind, waiting for better weather, but we made the decision to take off for Barnegat Bay. We were stopping at Beach Haven for gas, which was just about an hour away, but we had to go 'outside' because the ICW was too shallow for us. There is a stretch that gets down to 3 or 4 feet, which with the tides might be an issue. It also might be fine, but why risk it. The trip from the marina to the inlet was super short, and the inlet was exactly what we anticipated. Its typically a washing machine at the inlets to the ocean, and there is no way around that. We just endure it, and try to hang on to stuff as best we can.

We got out about 5 to 8 miles, and the waves were maybe 2 ft, with the rolling surf every 5 to 10 seconds and about 3 feet swells. That sideways is really rolly, but we had a tail wind, so we could ride it pretty well. All in all, it wasn't a bad hour. We came into the Little Egg Inlet, so we could get to Beach Haven, otherwise we might have stayed out a bit more. It wasn't a bad ride. We got to Beach Haven and the wind pretty much blew is to the dock, which was OK. Fuel was cheapish, and quick. We were back at it in just a few minutes.

The trip up the NJ ICW was long, and slow, and super shallow. There were homes on every nook and cranny. So many people. I included a picture of the map that we were using. It shows the little water roads to get to the homes. There are houses all up and down the canals. Crazy

We stayed at Barnegat Bay Marina. I chose it because it was super convenient, and looked like not a ton of wasted miles. The trip up the ICW was pretty uneventfull, and slow, but thats OK. When we got to Barnegat Bay, the Garmin Chartplotter was taking us around on the right side of the bay, and the depths were disturbingly low, but we kept going, assuming that we would come out of it. False. Garmin had lost her mind. We had to back up and go all the way around the other side of the bay when the numbers showed 2 ....then 1.....then...scrape..... (oh hell) It was a rising tide, so we would get a few more inches, but thats about it. We were pretty fortunate that we could back off..... others weren't so fortunate. We made it to the marina, but were exhausted when we did. We were there with Lesley's Idea, Runaway, Leave it to Wally, Yensid, You n Me, and a few others, so it was a fun time.

We really enjoyed, the next day, going to the local food truck for burgers. I made the comment (quietly) that it sounded like being in a Sopranos episode. The NJ accent is pretty thick.

We had a few exciting moments when Devon and Dolly came in, and their boat had malfunctioned, and smacked into the side of a fishing boat tied to the dock. Everything was fine, and no scratches, but it was exciting!

Next stop is Raritan Bay / Sandy Hook.