Welcome to the beautiful Barnegat Bay

I have told you about the beautiful Florida Bay, now here is an interesting site that tells and shows you about the Barnegat Bay. This site provides pictures of the wildlife that inhabit the Bay, maps that divide the Bay into three sections, North,  Central and the Southern regions as well as links to direct you to other Bay sites.

During my six months in NJ,  I will try and provide you with further information and pictures of the sailing area that I grew up on as a child, young adult and more recently as an old fart. Barnegat Bay over the years provided me with great sails, good crabbing, fishing and a place to stay overnight (Tices Shoal), of course that was back when twenty boats on any given weekend were considered a crowd. The Shoals now days, for me,  is an overcrowded, overused resource that has lost it's appeal and charm.

Click on this link to get you started:  http://www.barnegat-bay.com/index.html

Although the Bay has changed drastically over the years, the memories of night or weekend sailing along the shores, which at that time were not overrun with houses crowded onto every possible space, will stay with me forever. Now,  I am very selective when it comes time to sail or otherwise venture out onto the Bay. I do not have a fondness for the go fast boats that you can hear coming and going for three miles in either direction, all the boaters in such a hurry to go nowhere while passing you with mere feet to spare,  or the incessent chop created by the boat wakes hitting one shore then heading back to the opposite side like a swimming pool. This effect, by the way, has been caused by the creation of never ending of bulkheads, there is very little natural shore line to absorb the chop.

I hope the efforts to clean up Barnegat Bay succeeds, but alas, as long as we keep adding to the concrete and asphalt, building homes and eliminating natural shore line, the runoff into the Bay will not improve. However, in spite of all the grievances I have expressed, if you pick and choose your experiences,  much can be gained from time on the Barnegat Bay. Enjoy!