Just curious who here sails in Barneget Bay? If so where? Where do you launch and sail?

Currently I am at Trixie's landing in bayville. They have a great setup for cats. A big plus is having a floating dock to pull your boat up onto and secure without having to go through the whole trailering drill.

I usually sail within a few miles of the marina and around island beach state park.

I live near Chicago and sail on Lake MI now but used to live in Central NJ. We used to trailer down to Seaside Park. Nice set up and friendly folks, decent beach. It used to be possible to leave your boat there for a modest annual fee. Sailing was pretty good at high tide and if you stayed out of the main channel. Low tide was a pain.

Ha ha! Dude! My best friend and fellow cat sailor of 25 years sails his Hobie 18 Magnun out of Trixie's. He built their website for them. I've been up there sailing, but the last time I did that we got run down by a Bayliner sport-fishing powerboat being idiotically driven by a fresh retireee who didn't have a clue. Totaled the old Hobie 18 and put Dan and I in the hospital. Not our best day of sailing.

Doug-p182-590

Ha ha! Dude! My best friend and fellow cat sailor of 25 years sails his Hobie 18 Magnun out of Trixie's. He built their website for them. I've been up there sailing, but the last time I did that we got run down by a Bayliner sport-fishing powerboat being idiotically driven by a fresh retireee who didn't have a clue. Totaled the old Hobie 18 and put Dan and I in the hospital. Not our best day of sailing.

Hey when did that happen with Dan's boat?

Where do you sail out of?

Its funny, everyone seems to kow Trixie's Landing. I have a Trixie's shirt and everytime I wear it at least one person comments how they have/had a boat there or have a friend that has a boat there.

mma600psi

Hey when did that happen with Dan's boat?

Where do you sail out of?

Do you know Dan? If you sail off the cat dock at Trixie's, you probably do.

It was June of '99. We were out on his Hobie-18 on Barnegat Bay on a BEAUTIFUL day! 15+ knots of wind blasting us along at about 19 knots. We're both out on the wire, Dan is at the helm and me crewing. The catamaran is flying the windward hull about three feet out of the water.

While I'm keeping watch forward and as far as I can see upwind, everything downwind is blinded by the main. We're flying along, having a blast when all of a sudden I see this flash of white, hear a large crack which sounds like an explosion and the next thing I know, I'm underwater underneath the cat! I swim to the surface and find that a good part of one of the bows is missing and there's a 28-foot Bayliner sport fishing boat on top of us!

My first thought is of Dan and I see him in the wreckage sort of dazed and confused. I swim to him, we look at each other and we can feel the wreckage dragging us along - we're still moving! The dumbass who hit us hasn't killed his engine yet and it's in gear! Dan screams out, "KILL YOUR ENGINE! KILL YOUR ENGINE! THERE ARE SURVIVORS IN THE WATER!" The guy does, looks down at us and says, "you sailed right into my boat!"

This moron, was recently retired. He buys this boat and typical of powerboat dealers, they hand him the keys and say, "go have fun". It's the very first time he's been out and hasn't had a lesson or training of any kind in proper boat handling. He's on the flying bridge with his wife at the stern near the transom, screaming along the bay at top speed. He was heading directly into the wind in our blind spot and assumed we would move out of the way. He never knew that all powerboats give way to boats under sail. Then he claimed he never saw us, but it's awfully hard to miss a multicolored Hobiecat mainsail. He hit the starboard (right-side) hull and sliced through it like it was butter. The cat snapped around sideways and flipped over bringing the aluminum mast down across his transom and missed his wife by about two feet which would have squashed her like a bug if it hit her.

A very large cabin cruiser came backing up to the wreckage to get us on board. Other boaters came in and two guys on PWC's jumped off their rides and swam to us (more on this later). As we trying to get on board I realized something was wrong with my foot/ankle and Dan's shoulder was messed up. "What do you need," they asked? "Take care of Dan and make sure that HE doesn't leave," I yelled out!

The skipper of the cabin cruiser had already called the Coast Guard. Other power boats circled the Bayliner like sharks to prevent them from leaving. I asked one of the PWC'ers, "what about your jet skis," "Floated off in the current," he answered. "Forget about them, we'll find them later." Wow! Not all PWC'ers are annoying jerks!

The Coast Guard aux boat came and asked the moron to throw them a line. So he does. But he failed to tie it off to his own boat so he basically just threw a coiled bunch of rope. "Now heave to and prepare to be boarded! We're taking control of your boat!" they yelled back. They were not happy with this moron at all. They transferred Dan and me to the Coast Guard aux boat and started in to shore to meet an ambulance. The Coast Guard piloted the Bayliner in to follow us.

We went to the hospital, got treated and were released. My wife wasn't too happy to greet me in a wheelchair at the airport.

Epilogue: Since it was in the bay, it was not technically under the CG jurisdiction, so the accident was deferred to the local county sheriff. Who didn't really know how to handle it and just wrote it up as a collision. Of course they could have gone for criminal charges against the guy, but they didn't. We weren't very happy about that, but the guy's insurance company paid for all of our medical bills, a new boat for Dan and a little extra for each of us. No, we did not bother suing for more. Not our style.

The follow-up in the newspaper the next day was really funny! Check it out below. "A couple tumbled into the sea." Made us sound like a coupla homos in a dinghy. We laughed about that for months afterwards! And of course, it wasn't accurate in the least.



Oh and I now live in North Carolina and primarily sail off my backyard in Lake Norman just north of Charlotte (which on holiday weekends can be just as dangerous).

Does Dan have an 18^2 or something like that now? If so I am the guy with the orange and white H16 right next to him. This was my first year sailing and only really know a few people down there. Other than the mud Trixie's layout is about the best you can hope for.

The boating traffic can get dicey. Particularly the "macho man wearing boom mic to communicate" power boats that pass way too close, way too loud and way too fast.

By the looks of the news report it states that sailboat collided with the powerboat, makes it look like you were at fault. HA j/k.

Are you still sailing this time of the year? I have gotten so hooked on sailing, I am spending the winter planning overnight sail trips and reading up on improving my sailing skills.

Everytime I see a cigarette boat on lake MI, I cringe. I remember too well being stuck in light air in the channel off Toms River dodging drunken retards driving those things.

We never had any issues with motor boats except the time when we were on a screaming reach, my buddy was on the wire, and we were whooping our heads off and we sliced some fishing lines (for which we stopped and apologized).

1982 H16: (Eric and Siobhan, right?) You're thinking of Jeff, who has the 18 square. Dan has the paler blue Hobie 18 down at the other end of the dock. this is Peter (of Peter and Carol) with the other Hobie 18. We sold Dan and Zena our old hobie 16, the boat they had back before they bought the ill-fated 18 (part of which remains in the boat ehy have now). Sailing on weekends is tough down there, but it was worse a few years back when they had a major power boat race (only once a year, thank God) right down the middle of the bay. Now you can sort of run the gauntlet across the Intracoastal channel and get to relatively safe water across by the park, but we're always on edge in midafternoons on weekends. Nobody seems to either know or care about the right of way rules. We've had a couple of close calls but we're still there after 25 years (yipes!). Nothing beats the wind down there, though, and when it really gets cranking on a hot summer afternoon and churns up those southerly rollers, all the power boats (and even a lot of the big sailboats) run and hide and you have a lot more breathing room.


Too bad it's winter.

Peter

pomalley

1982 H16: (Eric and Siobhan, right?) You're thinking of Jeff, who has the 18 square. Dan has the paler blue Hobie 18 down at the other end of the dock. this is Peter (of Peter and Carol) with the other Hobie 18.....


Too bad it's winter.

Peter

Hey great to see you on here. That's right Jeff, we only spoke a few times briefly. Yes you are correct Eric and Shavawn with the H16.
We had made the mistake of heading north to the seaside bridge on a saturday afternoon. To make matters worse the wind died off and we ended up "bobbing" around with powerboats flying around us from every direction.

Being that you know the bay, what do you think of this trip we are planning on sailing next year? It is from Trixie's south then slightly up the Mullica river, it is 40 miles with the course that I mapped on the image below. There is the Chestnut Neck boat yard that has a beach suitable for beaching. Approx .25 miles up the road is the Chestnut Lake campground. They have cabin rentals. I have started to figure out all of spots that if need be we could beach, abort mission and get a trailer and truck into.

Good idea or bad? Any input would be great, being I have only sailed north of the Barnegat lighthouse.

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Eric and Shavawn: I see I mistakenly gave her name the Irish spelling (Siobhan).
regarding the planned trip:

It sounds like it could be fun, but it would depend on the wind. If you're going to do it over two days, you'll want to go south on a day when the wind is going to be west/northwest or southeast to northeast. Once that typical afternoon southerly kicks in, you'd be beating all the way down, which, on a 16, could be a lot of work (or, think of it as practice).

bring a good sized dry bag to carry your change of clothes, towels, etc., or you'll be pretty soggy for the overnight.

Jeff is a truly inspired sailor, but he is a man of few words! A real resource, though, with any technical questions.

Yeah I am guessing this trip will have a 50% chance at best of going off smoothly, expecting the worst and hoping for the best. The afternoon thunderstorms are my main concern.

I have seen Jeff do some pretty amazing sailing, the few times I have seen him out.

We had a lot of help from Dave and you and your wife. Thanks!

How is your winter coming along? I cannot wait to get out on the water again. Went down to Trixie's 2 weekends ago just to see what was going on and noticed a few cats still on the dock. I don't know if people are still out sailing!?!?!?

Shavawn and I send our bests to you and Carol.

Also rumor has it there may be a trimaran or two down there next year. They have folding amas, so it shouldn't be a space problem. There is a new family there checking it out late August.

I'll bump this one back from the dead... any of you guys still out there? I'm looking to launch from the bay beach in Lavallette next to the Yacht Club. Sailing between the 37 and Mantolooking Rd Bridges

--
Bob Miller
1983 P16 Sail # 7312
"Miller Time" A work in progress; out of the water for 16 years
Barnegat Bay NJ
Beach Cat Lesson #1 - A free cat isn't
Find more Prindles on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/173120656090532/
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Check out Trixie's landing in bayville. They have by far the best setup for cats, you can do mast up storage on the water. Plus they have sail storage, so all you have to bring is yourself and some cold beverages when you want to sail. Plus its cheap and you wont break your back raising and lowering your mast.

Finally....the winds are much better that past of the bay, they typically come from the SSW so they come right up the bay without too much land to interfere. North of the seaside bridge is not as big of an area to sail, not a whole lot to see. Down out of bayville you can sail across to IBSP and go to Tice's shoal if you like.

I have actually been thinking about bring the boat back down from sandy hook, even thought the drive is an hour or more the sailing was so much better out of bayville it would be worth it.

I'm actually thinking about joining the Sandy Hook Club, but will keep my boat in Lava. I've got a family house 3 blocks from the boat. For now as a noob its more about convience than anything. Plus I get mast up storage april-oct for about $100. There is a town beach that has about 70 slips and 50 cats.

Maybe one day I'll make it south of the bridge, but I'd only attempt that on a week day. Those power guys are nuts around the bridge. Plus it will really depend on the wind and if you are in irons coming under the bridge itself. On second thought awful Idea..trailer to trixies

One day I'd love to figure out how to sail up into F cove just to see the expression on people's faces and possibly be the first sailcraft in there ever.

--
Bob Miller
1983 P16 Sail # 7312
"Miller Time" A work in progress; out of the water for 16 years
Barnegat Bay NJ
Beach Cat Lesson #1 - A free cat isn't
Find more Prindles on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/173120656090532/
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I belong to the sandy hook cat club now...I use to be at trixies for 4 years.

You cannot sail under the bridges without motor power...I believe the marine police will give you a citation. I may be wrong about though.