Navigating Barnegat Inlet

[Reckless]

  Have never gone through this inlet. Any suggestions advice would be greatly appreciated. 21 foot Seaswirl CC.

Thanks
Frank

[IrishAyes]

quote - Any suggestions advice would be greatly appreciated

Bring an extra pair of shorts!   
That inlet is not a good one for the inexperienced.  Your best bet would be to go with or have someone with you who has been there-done that.  He/She could act as your guide in navigating Barnegat.  Could direct you as to the does and don'ts while you are underway.

[Luna Sea 5]

best advice I can give, from going through that inlet for years... If you never did it before... STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM IT...

[Bucktail]

My boat has been decommissioned for a few years now, but I have run Barnegat inlet quite a few times.  As Joe and LunaSea have said, it can be a tricky one.  There are times when going out is as smooth as butter, but coming back is treacherous!  It can be very scary!  Make sure you are very familiar with all aspects and capabilities of your boat before you run this inlet.  I almost flipped my Welcraft CC in that inlet once.  Not a fun day.

Having said that, getting to the inlet can be tricky as well.  There are many twists and turns in the channel leading out to the inlet.  Unfortunately, at least in the past, it was not well marked.  Along with your chart or GPS, you will need to watch your depthfinder.  One wrong turn and you can be in half a foot of water quick!

Oh yeah, one more thing.  Wear your life vest!

-Bob

[Hotrod]

Well  The inlet isn't as bad as it was 20 years ago.  I've taken My 19' Center Console out of there plenty of times.

If it's really bad. You can always follow a larger boat in, that helps.
When heading in,in large swells and a smaller boat, I  make sure I maintained my distance in between the swells.  You don't want to go over the one in front of you and you don't want the one chasing you to catch up .  So that's where it gets tricky.

Heading out, Thats a little trickier.  If you get too far out a realize...  this is not good.  then making the turn in between the swells is tough.

And If your going to head North. You need to know when it's ok too make the turn. That jetty runs a long way out

If your locked into using Barnegat. You'll get out on most days, But you'll always have that "what's the inlet like for the trip in" In the back of your head.

Greg/reel-time has the same Boat and hit that inlet many times this year. Let me see if I can peel him away from is new LOVE

[Reckless]

 Thanks all for responding.  I think I will find someone to take me in and out a few times. Better safe than sorry.

thanks

[IrishAyes]

Smart move Frankeu. 

As Rod was saying, stay between the waves.  If you are outside of the inlet, sit back and watch the waves as they come in.  They usually come in in 'sets'.  That being, you may have three or four average size waves and then a wave a bit larger.  Figure out the pattern for the waves and get behind the larger one.  That way, if you do come off of a wave, the one following it will not be the biggie.  The waves there also will come in different directions.  They may start on your port side and wind up on your stern.  That is something else to be aware of.  Not afraid of, just aware of.

If you run the inlet a few times with someone knowledgeable you will get to know what to do.

[Reel Time]

 hiya frank, welcome to the site. Mmm good ole barney inlet, my favorite. in all honesty, its really not that bad.

 being new to running my current boat and the inlet this year, i started out a little worried, but as i became confident in my skills and the boats ability it became a piece of cake, even on some of the nastier days. typical inlet day will have 3-4 ft swells running on the north side. some people run the south side close to the rocks, but not i. most i will do is hit the center and creep on in past the swells (rips actually) then get back on north side. dont be in a hurry and all will be fine. basic boatmanship will get you through every time with out a hitch.

 leading to the inlet oyster creek, is very curvey, "watch" the markers, in certain spots a 10feet away can be 1foot of water if you on the wrong side.

 people started this year to cut through the big sand bar to short cut to the inlet. for me i'll spend the extra 5minutes and take the scenic route following the markers.

 one thing to note is on the north side the jetty runs all the way out to the light tower, you might not see it, but belive me its there. so dont cut north till you get past that. as for the south side, run out a bit farther out before you turn as due south of the jetty there will be breakers that tell me shallow water.

 if you need any more info, plz ask away, and i will do my best to help you out.

[Reel Time]

 when swells are running in, pick one and surf on in using more or less power to stay on the back of the wave. actually winds up being pretty fun once you get the hang of it. just dont ride ove rit as i did once, and torpedo'd my front end into the base of the one in front of me. that was rather interesting, but only took once to figure that one out.

[Reckless]

 Thanks again for all the help.

[ped579]

Like everyone has been saying running the inlet can be tricky.  When I ran the inlet especially coming I loved to tine the swells and ride the trough.  It was as though you were standing still a very unique feeling.  But be careful and not ride over the swell pitch poling is no fun at all.  Did that in the PP canal once, never again.

Paul

[Fishin Dude]

All of this advice sounds good. I'm considering a slip in Waretown and would be using this inlet if I decide to slip there. <'((((><

[Luna Sea 5]

low water going to the inlet is just as bad as the inlet itself.. if your 1 foot out of the channel, your beached..

[ped579]

 

[TurboDan]

Boy, we Manasquan Inlet boaters are pretty spoiled. 

But, having spent pretty much every summer of my life on LBI, I can offer a couple points on this one...  I would definitely stay in the channel which runs along the north jetty.  People often run straight up the middle of the inlet, but I've seen breakers/rips just form out of nowhere in the middle before.  Great for jet skiers, nerve racking for boats.  As everyone else said, there is a sunken jetty once you get "out" of the inlet.  No turns until after the light tower.

The channel is well marked getting out to the inlet, but I'm not sure if they remove any of those markers during the winter.  If they did, pay close attention to that GPS, and extra close attention during winter/spring blowout tides.  In the summer, your main obstacles will be other boats flying through there and anchored on the channel edge.

It's not THAT terrible.  What was TERRIBLE was the time I made it through the Point Pleasant Canal in a 14-foot aluminum.  The worst part, however, was knowing that I had to turn around and come back!  LOL, I actually have come to find the canal to be a lot of fun, but WOW was it scary in that little boat.  Only did it once.

[Luna Sea 5]

I have to disagree.. it is terrible.  Even in the channel,  your looking at maybe 5 - 6 feet of water.. miss the marker  by an inch and your in sand.  Even with my gps, i was on the edge of the channel when I looked at it, but I was stuck in 4" of sand.  I had to get towed out, and I only missed the deep water by 2'. 

[IrishAyes]

The biggest problem with the low water situation is the sands are forever shifting and the sand bars constantly move.  What is good water one day can be a disaster waiting to happen the next.

[Luna Sea 5]

that what makes it one of the worse Inlets in NJ... Its too unpredictable.

[TurboDan]

It's definitely unpredictable.  I didn't boat near there at all this season, but as someone else said, apparently there is a new channel opening up that hasn't been marked.  All of the locals know exactly how to run it, but I wouldn't take a chance unless I was following someone through.  It's definitely a place where you don't just "follow the other boats," because you might follow someone right onto a sandbar.

I'll probably head down there next summer and check things out - preferably on a weekday. 

[ped579]

Yeah, the channel is right across from where the road ends at Old Barney. It looks pretty wide and I have seen a lot of boat traffic using it.  I opened up right around the time they dredged the main channel this summer.

Paul