Mamaroneck NY to Manasquan NJ

Start time and hours                               0935                                     3321.00

End time and hours                                 1755                                    3329.45

     We left Mamaroneck NY and cruised through New York City and on to Manasquan.  

     Our initial plan was to go to Sandy Hook NJ and wait for a good weather window to go on the outside route down New Jersey to Cape May.  However, the cruise down the East River and through New York Harbor was so easy and fast that we decided that we would try for Manasquan and wait there for our window.  There was a Brewer marina there and we could use our last two free nights and any additional nights would be half price.

     The weather and seas were calm cruising down the west end of Long Island sound and under the Throg’s Neck Bridge and into the east river.  We had good tides and made great time.   We passed through Hell Gate just past slack tide and carried an ebb tide all the way through New York harbor and under the Verrazano Narrows bridge.

     It is amazing at how much commercial traffic is in the East River and around lower Manhattan.  The ferry traffic is nonstop and you really have to pay attention.

     After first considering stopping at Sandy Hook we looked at the marine forecast and saw that the seas off of New Jersey were forecasted to be only 3ft.  The next few days were going to be snotty so we had to decide if we wanted to sit at Sandy Hook or Manasquan.  We decided on Manasquan, a mere 3-4 more hours south. 

     The seas were every inch of 3ft.  Probably closer to 4ft with short intervals.  It was a very rocky ride down the coast.  It was never dangerous and we never felt unsafe, but the ride was uncomfortable.  I believe it was a good decision to continue on to Manasquan because we stayed at the Brewer Crystal Point Marina for three nights and is was more relaxing than staying on the hook in Sandy Hook.

     Entering Manasquan inlet in rough weather you go from bouncing around like a coke bottle on the water to perfectly smooth in a matter of about 100 yards.  There is a decent current in the river and docking was a challenge, we went bow in because the wind and current were too much for out little single engine trawler. 

    The Brewer Crystal Point Marina https://www.byy.com/marinas/brewer-crystal-point-marina-point-pleasant-nj/ is a new acquisition by the Brewer/Safe Harbor company.  They really are a work in progress as they have no services there except showers and bathrooms.  The fuel dock and pump out are self service.  There was no Wifi, no grills, no dock hands, nothing. 

     We spent the first night recovering from out bouncy ride down the coast.  The second day we did the same exact thing.  We slept late and relaxed all day.  The third day we walked to the Super Stop $ Shop to re-provision.  It was a nice walk after being on the boat for a few days. 

     We had dinner at the River Rock bar adjacent to the marina.  http://riverrockbricknj.com/  The food was good and the beer menu was barely adequate.  The noise from the TVs was overwhelming.  We could barely talk across the table.  It was so loud that I wondered why OSHA wasn’t requiring ear protection.  My ears were ringing for the rest of the night.  The worst part was listening to the bar patrons cheer on the Yankees as they beat Cleveland in the playoffs. 

     The next morning as we got ready to leave we discovered that the pump out hose would reach our boat without us leaving the slip.  A very convenient surprise.