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NJ intracoastal / Wildwood

Pacman

New Member
Firsts things first. Hi everybody! I don’t own an ericson yet but that’s going to change soon.

A little bit about my experience. My sailing started with windsurfers (when I was a young lad in the 80s), lasers, Force 5 (still have one) and a Hunter 23 (as reasonably big as possible for a pond) up in Wallenpaupack lake in NE PA. I’ve done a few summer coastal regattas with friends on a 27’ in NW Spain (Atlantic Ocean) as well. And of course a lot of cruising the Chesapeake Bay on a friend’s Coast 34 cutter. That’s my sailing experience in a nutshell.

We sold the place and are moving camp from the Lake down to the shore, and the spartan Hunter23 ain’t gonna cut it for all summer enjoyment.

In anticipation for retirement in a few, when we’ll be sailing as far south as Puerto Rico and who knows where else, rather than getting a 34 or 36, I’m looking at 38s. BUT they have 6’6” keels. Even the 36s are 6’3”. And I don’t want to have to buy a 34 only to have to go through the hassle of selling and buying 5 years later.

So here’s the BIG question. Anyone motored a 6’ keel into Wilwood? Got a slip at the very end of the docks of Schooner Island Marina. I’ve memorized the chart already and it’s clear, but I’d like o hear “ I did it. You’ll be fine”. If that’s possible..... I know. I could change location but that’s not in the cards I’ve been dealt by the captain of the ship. If you kno my meaning....

It’s basically the southern end of the NJ Intracoastal waterway. And currents have a way of changing things around....

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/12316.shtml

long shot but I figured I’d ask....

Cheers and nice to meet ya’ll.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I be ignorant about NJ, altho my wife's niece and family live there and seem to like it.

Keep in mind that EY actually sold a fair number of the 38's with an alternate 5 foot draft keel. It is more of a Petersen shape and not the trapezoidal shape of the Bruce King keel. Both are efficient shapes with good lift, BTW.
Past threads here with some good input tell me that it sacrifices only a little bit in pointing. (And, given the intrinsic speed of that design compared to the "sailing vacation homes" nowadays, the boat has speed to spare, anyhow.)

Matter of fact, somewhere on your coast is the E-38 with the converted fin-and-bulb keel (split bulb modification from Mars Metal Keels), and it might not be the only one. It now draws 5', IIRC.

Welcome to the group, and happy shopping!
:)

Loren
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
This is a good question to ask at the new marina. Look at the boats there and interview the owners. It is a local question.
 

Pacman

New Member
I’m afraid this ain’t LA or Hawaii, Christian. It’s the NE. No boats in the water. No owners around. You’ll find more people in Death Valley in the middle of July than you would at any marina in the north east in the Middle of March. Come April they start coming out. Hell. We’re supposed to get 3” of white stuff tomorrow and 3 more the day after.
I may end up grabbing the tidal charts and renting a motor boat with a depth finder and puting around next weekend. Or ASAP weather permitting.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I was born in Brooklyn and grew up sailing on the Jersey Shore. I seem to recall people in Wildwood in winter.

What you need is not a depth sounder, but local knowledge of reality of dredge, shoals, shifting sands, hurricane effects and perhaps slip availability. Collect local opinions and weigh them. Every inlet and waterway is different.
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
Looked into it, Never did it

Pacman,

My cousin used to own a waterfront home right at the Stone Harbor Blvd bridge on the ICW. I looked into taking a trip up there with my E36RH (6'3" draft) from Annapolis. I would have to follow your proposed route from Cape May north on the NJ ICW just past N. Wildwood. It looked workable up to the 55' fixed bridge on NJ147 in N. Wildwood which is a no go for me. The NJ ICW Project Depths for your route from Ottens Hbr. to Cape May are 10-12 feet not the usual 6 feet in the rest of NJ. I suspect the marina controlling depth will be the limiting factor. You should call the marina office. You may need one of a few specific slips that may or may not be available.

I would be inclined to leave a boat at a marina in Cape May so I could be out sailing faster and avoid the 3 miles of ICW, all the small boat traffic, possible shoals and the one opening bridge. Now if you are staying on the boat and the particular marina is critical than ignore what I just said because I am NOT the Captain.

Mark
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
[h=3]Quote from the Schooner Island Marina website:

Intracoastal Waterway[/h]Our navigators have great local knowledge of the Intracoastal Waterway. Let us guide you!
Contact us at 609-729-8900 or by VHF Channel 16.
 

gadangit

Member III
I'm the Jon Snow of the NE: I know nothing about New Jersey.

I just looked at the satellite google maps at all the marinas near Wildwood and I'm pretty sure I didn't see a single monohull sailboat in any of the marinas up and down that area. Either there is no place to go sailing from there or they can't get back in there. I was thinking you could call a local sailing club or sailboat racing organization, but there are no sailboats there to even have club.

Generally speaking the harbormaster at the marinas will have a general sense of depths, but they will only give you the most conservative answer unless they themselves are sailing a boat drawing 6' or more. The only person who I would trust to give a good answer is a fellow sailboat skipper with a boat that draws as much as my boat.

Chris
 

ddoles

Member III
I've got a 1988 E38-200 with a 5'6" draft. Although I'm on the other end of NJ, in NY Harbor, as a life long NJ sailor I specifically stayed away from anything over 6' draft when I was boat shopping. The Jersey shore is not deep keel friendly, and the further south, the worse it gets. I can confirm that E38s with under 6' draft are out there. I found my boat in the Chesapeake Bay where they also have shallow water concerns, so you may want to look there. I do highly recommend the E38 and even with a shoal draft keel she sails great, especially as I am a cruiser not a racer.

Good luck,

Dave
 

Hanktoo

Member III
If you intend to sail from there. That means going in and out of the Cape May Inlet. So in addition to your justified concerns over the depth. I would make sure you have a real solid engine, if the weather kicks up a bit life can get real interesting and there aren't any other options in the immediate area. I believe the tide around there is about 5ft range too.
 

dbmcmichen

New Member
I'm close to securing a E262 with a 5ft draft at Schooner too.

Firsts things first. Hi everybody! I don’t own an ericson yet but that’s going to change soon.

A little bit about my experience. My sailing started with windsurfers (when I was a young lad in the 80s), lasers, Force 5 (still have one) and a Hunter 23 (as reasonably big as possible for a pond) up in Wallenpaupack lake in NE PA. I’ve done a few summer coastal regattas with friends on a 27’ in NW Spain (Atlantic Ocean) as well. And of course a lot of cruising the Chesapeake Bay on a friend’s Coast 34 cutter. That’s my sailing experience in a nutshell.

We sold the place and are moving camp from the Lake down to the shore, and the spartan Hunter23 ain’t gonna cut it for all summer enjoyment.

In anticipation for retirement in a few, when we’ll be sailing as far south as Puerto Rico and who knows where else, rather than getting a 34 or 36, I’m looking at 38s. BUT they have 6’6” keels. Even the 36s are 6’3”. And I don’t want to have to buy a 34 only to have to go through the hassle of selling and buying 5 years later.

So here’s the BIG question. Anyone motored a 6’ keel into Wilwood? Got a slip at the very end of the docks of Schooner Island Marina. I’ve memorized the chart already and it’s clear, but I’d like o hear “ I did it. You’ll be fine”. If that’s possible..... I know. I could change location but that’s not in the cards I’ve been dealt by the captain of the ship. If you kno my meaning....

It’s basically the southern end of the NJ Intracoastal waterway. And currents have a way of changing things around....





http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/12316.shtml

long shot but I figured I’d ask....

Cheers and nice to meet ya’ll.




Hey Pacman, I'm looking to secure the deal on an E262 this Monday. The boat is in the Chesapeake Bay and will be heading up the bay, through the C & D, down the Delaware Bay, across the Cape May Canal and up the ICW to WW. I spoke with the DM at SI and UM and they recommended timing the ICW on high tide.
I'll hopefully be making the trip within the month if you or anyone would like to buddy boat up and around, let me know.

db
 

Pacman

New Member
Hey Pacman, I'm looking to secure the deal on an E262 this Monday. The boat is in the Chesapeake Bay and will be heading up the bay, through the C & D, down the Delaware Bay, across the Cape May Canal and up the ICW to WW. I spoke with the DM at SI and UM and they recommended timing the ICW on high tide.
I'll hopefully be making the trip within the month if you or anyone would like to buddy boat up and around, let me know.

db

Hey there!
How did you make out? I’m still searching. In the meantime I’ll just have to sail the old H23.....
 

celtic sea

Member III
Hi, I've lived in the area (wildwood) many years. Cape May/Wildwood is NOT a sailboat friendly area,(except for the harbor) as it is basically a fishing area. All the sailboats are at Bayway marina in CMCH where the creek(deep enough) leads out to the Delaware bay in a nice area of the bay. A great group of Sailboat guys there and we kept our E27 there for many years. Currently sailing our E35-2 by Ocean City and sail down the coast to Cape May harbor. Leaving Oct. Down the ICW to Florida.
Good luck.
John
SV DIJAN
1975 E35-2
 
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