Wildwood Trip

We have boated to Cap May many times...
We stayed in South Jersey, Utches and Canyon Club.. We like Utches the best http://www.capemayharbor.com/ because it is the biggest marina in area, it have the best fuel prices and the people are great... Earnie and Charles are great. Yes it has a lot of fishing boats, we were given fresh fish twice. We have stayed in Schooners... It is a great marina, but the neighborhood is so so. One of the things we used to do is buy season beach badges for Cap May... It was only $13 dollars a year, cheaper than paying for 2 daily day badges. We also bring our bikes. One time we took the ferry to Delaware to shop tax free. BTW... When is this trip planned for??
 
We are leaving on Friday July17 stay at Wildwood till Tuesday go to Cape May, Canyon Club stay till Thursday, Or we may add another day in Wildwood Dependson the group. Bob
 
Hey guys,
I never thought that single slip reservation at Schooners need to be 6 months in advance. So, unfortunatelly they have no availability for the dates I need.

Does anyone know if Lighthouse Pointe Marina is a good place to spend 6 days? It's locateed right across the bay from Schooners.

Thanks,
Alex.
Alex, I wouldn't recommend Lighthouse Point for a family. They have an outside bar with loud music and sometimes some people that like to party hard. What dates are you looking to go to Schooners? I can stop by the office to see what's up. I know the staff pretty well and I'm surprised they can't find room for a party of one. Mark
 
Hey Mark,

Thanks for the heads up on the Lighthouse. We need Aug 3-8, arriving Monday and leaving Sat. They told me they have limited space and there is a group that booked in Feb.

The hardest part is to find something nice that people can actually recommend. It'll be a bummer if we commit for 6 nights to some crappy marina.

Thanks,
Alex.
 
Last edited:
Alex
We are going to be in Beach Haven Aug 9-12 (Morrison's). You planning any stop-overs on your way back home?
 
Alex
We are going to be in Beach Haven Aug 9-12 (Morrison's). You planning any stop-overs on your way back home?

It's hard to say at this point Ron, b/c I have a hard time getting marina for the days I need. I feel like I need to take a ride there to check few places before commiting, unless someone will suggest a good place. Of course if Mark can pull a mirical at schooners that will be great.
 
Trip From Chadwick Island To Cape May
The plan on travelling during week days was a good choice. The boat traffic was very light making navigation in some parts of ICW much easier. Actually, the run on ICW was very enjoyable. Here’re some interesting observation on ICW, just south of 72 bridge.
Z980_08-03_2009023.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009024.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009025.jpg


However, the fishermen will never change a thing and it’s almost guarantee that they’ll be blocking narrow channels.
Z980_08-03_2009043.jpg


Making AC trip in July helped me this time since I had a new track saved when I was following Dominic through the troubled spots between BHYC and LEI. I remember bringing up a question last year on what do you trust more charts or navigation aids and most said nav. aids. Well, in the area of buoy #114A you must reconsider, b/c the red buoy is right on sand bar at low tide. My saved track helped a lot, but the ICW channel on the chart was also providing safer route then this navigation buoy. I’m only guessing that Cost Guard can’t keep up with Mother Nature changing things around. Although, the weather was perfect and most of the trip was pretty nice and easy to navigate, but the LEI was something to remember. Even mild (about 10-15mph) east winds created some uncomfortable swells between the LEI and the deeper and safe area in the ocean. I remember that we were caught by surprise on the way to AC when we hit few pretty steep waves, but there were only few and we entered calm seas. But, this time they just kept coming. This was the time when admiral no longer felt comfortable and I had to ignore performance numbers placing the boat at the speed that will prevent it from slamming in to the waves. The problem was the short frequency of the swells. After riding them for about a mile a thought of a possible course change using ICW all the way had crossed my mind. But, I had to see what the seas were like further in the deeper area. I thought that it was pretty logical having rougher water in the channel with constant depth changes and east winds kicking up the waves to shore. When we got to deeper water thing had calmed down and seas were getting smoother and as I was expecting good enough for the ride. I had plan this to be a testing leg between LEI and Atlantic City where we had a nice stop for lunch and enjoyed swimming. Kids had a great time and wanted to stay longer. I didn’t mind letting them have at it, because there wouldn’t be much left to do when we arrive, except get settled, relax, have dinner walk around and watch some TV. The final leg of the trip from AC to Cape May Inlet was a bit smoother for some reason and entrance to CMI was very easy. Schooners Island marina was just 2.5 miles north of the inlet.

Schooners Island Marina
Although, it was tough to get a transient slip for this week, we’re really glad we were able to stay at Schooners Island marina (we have to thank MARK for helping us making the arrangement with marina management). It’s conveniently located close to beach, rides and walking distance nice restaurants. The facility is very clean and has fresh look to it. This is where you don’t have to think “do I take a shower on the boat or use marina showers”. Laundry machines looked as new and staying there for a week we had to use them, btw it’s very convenient having your laundry going while you enjoy the pool, which was also very nice and clean. It’s also hard to ignore the fact that people at the marina are very nice. Everyone is willing to have a conversation with you and share their local knowledge making you feel at home instead of an outsider.

Z980_08-03_2009094.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009126.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009248.jpg


In Wildwood and Cape May
We came here on Monday (I wanted to travel on the week day to have fewer boats in new waterways) and left on Saturday. This worked out great allowing us to visit all prime spots and not run anywhere. We planned our days as follows:
Day 1 – travel day getting here
Day 2 - spent a day in water park
Day 3 – went to the beach and stayed at the pool later in the day.
Day 4 – Some rain was in the forecast, so we went to Air Museum and Cape May since for the most part we’d be under a roof or in the car. This worked out nice.
Day 5 – it was nice to end the week with rides on the boardwalk.
Day 6 – trip back home

We took the advantage of AAA discount (their office was about a mile away from Enterprise car rental office) and purchased 2 days tickets (1 day for rides and 2nd for water parks, they have two of them). These tickets allow to hop between the piers (there are 3 piers) and use the tram car until 5:30pm. We went to Oasis water park and didn’t feel a need to go to other water park. It had just enough rides for us. When we went for the rides (on a different day) we’ve hopped over 3 piers. The tram car helped a little but it take forever until it arrives. Also, on the way back we’d had to wait too long for it to show up, so we just walked back. The lines in any parks weren’t bad at all. So, going there on a week day was another good idea.

One day we had rain, so we switched the plan and used this day for visiting Cape May. On the way there we stopped by Air Museum, which was kind of cool. This was the first my kids boarded military plains and choppers. From there we went to the Cape May Light House.
Z980_08-03_2009224.jpg


Here's some shots from the top:
Z980_08-03_2009206.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009212.jpg


Then we drove around the area to see beach, Victorian houses and other things around.

Z980_08-03_2009227.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009230.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009241.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009245.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009225.jpg


Here’s something I’ve never seen before a vending machine for bait.
Z980_08-03_2009222.jpg


Restaurants
We’ve dine in restaurants recommended by board members.
- Beach Creek is 5min walk from marina with good views, food and service.
- Gia is closer to the boardwalk and rides area, so you’ll need a ride there. The place is cozy and food is also pretty good. I’d say that Chilean Sea Bass is a must to try dish. They coock it different than in most places, it was very good. BTW, it’s BYOB place.
- Japanese (I forgot the name, but it’s right next to Payless Shoes) – is just off rt47, nothing fancy, but very good service and good sushi, although size is a little on a small side. It’s also BYOB with liquor store right next to them.
- Lobster House just after the bridge to Cape May on your left is very interesting place. It has great combination of great food, very inexpensive, great atmosphere and good service. They don’t take reservations. On Friday night when we arrived at around 8:15pm we had 1hr15min waiting line. Having a drink at the bar makes the time go fast enough. They also have tables with regular chairs, so families with kids don’t sit at the bar table.

Beach
When making choice of what beach to go to we’ve decided to stay in Wildwood area, but took advice of locals to go to North Wildwood to avoid having long walks to the beaches near the marina. Here’s a picture of the beach at the boardwalk.
Z980_08-03_2009318.jpg


Z980_08-03_2009319.jpg


At around 9th and 10th streets the beach walk is much shorter. The sand is very thin, so be aware if winds kick up the fine sand will fly everywhere and will get to all the stuff you have uncovered. This was a different experience than we used to on our local beaches where sand is thicker.


Trip Back Home
On the way back we had the opportunity to enjoy flat ocean as we went through the Cape May inlet. As we headed back north we happened to spot lots of dolphins dancing around. This was very nice way to end our stay at Wildwood. About 30min in to trip the North winds kicked up and we had nice 2-3’ constant chaps. I had to drop speed to 18kts @3400RPMs using trim tabs all the way down to keep the bow lower to glide through those seas. I’ve been in 4’-6’ seas, but frequency makes the whole difference in the world. Head winds with constant chap for 2hrs was a first time for me, but I still think that the boat handled it just fine providing enough comfort for the crew.

Our total trip was about 160 miles and we burned about 210 gallons, which puts it in line with what SmarCraft shows as 0.7-0.8MPG fuel usage.

We’re very happy with the trip and how everything played out. We’re looking in to more upcoming exciding cruise trips.

I’d like to thank everyone who provided recommendations, which helped us very much to plan the trip. I hope that my write up will help someone else to plan their trip as well.
Happy cruising,
Alex.
 
Last edited:
Alex
Sounds like a really great trip! You did wind up renting a car. Good move.

Regarding the inlet, the tide also plays a big role in the frequency and steepness of the waves in the inlet. If you have an east wind and outgoing tide, you're going to get battered a bit until you are a good 1-2 miles out and in water that is deeper than 30'.

Angel By The Sea B&B. We stayed there about 9 years ago on a trip to CM by car. Great place.

Nice write up! We head out tomorrow for BH and Ocean City. Nice day for a boat ride along LBI. Near 100 degrees and no west wind. The greenheads will be swarming!
 
beautiful pictures... wish we could have gone... Smart move coming back on Saturday...
 
Ron,

We had the car for all the days we were there. I always like to be mobile having options to go anywhere desired. Wildwood and its surroundings is the place when mibility was required.

The conditions you described (east winds and outgoing tide) was exactly what we had. I recall that the current was very strong (outgoing tide) when I was pulling up to the BHYC to fill up my tanks. This was a first one for me, but I've learned from past experiance that after going throught the troubled inlet the seas should be more inviting. I'm glad this was the case for us. However, 30' or so depth is something I'll keep in mind for future cruises. To be conservative due to seas conditions, I stayed a little closer to shore (this was just to keep admiral a bit more relaxed, I think she did great). On the way back I stayed about 2-2.5miles out. I think I even saved like 20min or so, b/c I was able to maintain streighter course. Starting my boating life from 175BR, which saw some rough waters and number of inlets (including FL regions) I'm pretty comfortable handling rough inlets, but I just need to know that as I'm out of the inlet channels the seas are comfortable enough to maintain cruising speed or at least keep the boat on plane.

On the way there the greenheads were all over the place as soon as we hit no-wake zone on ICW. They also re-joined us when we were anchored in AC. It was a little better coming back.

I hope you'll have a smooth ride and good times in OC.

Alex.
 
Last edited:
Hey Alex
Got back home today. Just an observation - not sure if it's correct. As you head down from Little Egg to Absecon, if you are 1-2 miles offshore you cross over Brigantine Shoal, which is at times in the teens in depth. Heading south on Wednesday the ocean was flat so I didn't care. But coming home today it was a tiny bit more wavy so I stayed east of my Wednesday track by about a mile, keeping probably 3 miles off shore. Really smoothed out the ride. Also, the waters south of Absecon are deeper (40+ feet) at the same distance from shore so things seem to be calmer on that leg of the trip.
 
Couple of shots from our trip, while we're on the topic of Jersey Shore boating.



Beach Haven seagull heading over to see what's in the bag


100_1531.jpg




We don't need no stinkin' boogie boards.

100_1536.jpg




Still another emergency use of duct tape

100_1538.jpg




This was our ocean heading south from Beach Haven to Ocean City
100_1555.jpg




Our destination: Seaview Harbor Marina, Longport, NJ. They got some BIG BOYS in there

100_1557.jpg




Nice weather, eh? You're looking east. That's Great Egg Inlet directly across from the Marina. Ocean City is the south shore (right side) of the inlet. I think that's Margate on the north side of the inlet (left).
100_1560.jpg



The marina boasts it's own private beach. Weather sucked so we didn't get out there. Pretty nice, though. That bridge connects Longport to Ocean City. We rented a car for $44 and got back and forth. Gotta love Enterprise.
100_1562.jpg



At the slip. That grey box hummed constantly. I guess they put the transients by the electromagnetic fields.
100_1564.jpg



What do you know? They put me right next door to a sistership - that's an '88, which they called the 345. Identical boat, completely different interior layout.
100_1565.jpg



D-Dock
100_1569.jpg




Apologies for the video quality. Didn't have my DV camera. Stupid little point and shoot can't handle sunlight.

The ocean on the way home
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHlZeBURM40[/youtube]

Two ships passing in the, er, day
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S-pMQz7th8[/youtube]
 
Last edited:
Hey Ron,

Welcome back. Nice shots and you gotto love that ocean as you had Wednesday. We only had it for 30min or so on our way back. Brigantine Shoals was something I was suprized to see few years back when I did my first run from AC, still on my 240DA. The shoals come out off shore soo far. I guess, every situation is different, but in our case being in 30-40' of water didn't make much difference south of Absecon. I know I was a bit closer than you by about 1/2 of a mile, I'll try going further out next time.

The marina looks nice and having private beach right there is big plus. You'll need to share some details and highlights of the trip when we get together.

Alex.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,861
Members
60,932
Latest member
juliediane
Back
Top