Another great Friday

It's cool to motor by this creaking hull on the way down the river.

We don't know if she's still working; she wasn't there last year,

so at least she's mobile.  Awfully rusty though.  This may very

well be her final resting place.  Good choice, I think.

One of dozens of Catalina 30s on the bay.  This one's in need of

some TLC, although the name and port of call seem to be freshly

applied.  I like the all-encompassing idea of just saying plain,

"Barnegat Bay, NJ".  I really do.  The thought had crossed my

mind before.  Who do I know of that sails a Catalina 30?

As we spilled out into the bay from Forked River, this barge was

straining hard to port in hopes of avoiding this can.  He did, barely.

When we came back up river later, we saw these guys pulling

 a huge stump out of the water directly in front of a launch ramp.

That wouldn't have caused too much of a problem, would it? 

Pete at the helm as JT sings on the newly installed stereo. 

Living large now.  I intended to post a story about the James

 Taylor/Carole King concert last night in Philadelphia.  One of

 the best I've ever seen.  I'm 49.  I've been to a few good

 shows.  Unfortunately I wimped out and didn't bring my

camera inside, and therefore used my cellphone for pictures

 and video all night.  It was a complete waste of time.

  Using the cellphone.  Not the concert.

Sailing south, approaching channel marker 40, just east of the mouth

of Cedar Creek, the scene of my launching mini-nightmare, regarding

Sea-Tow, low tide and late starts.  Water under the bridge.

"Gumbo" is a unique fishing boat; I don't quite know what she goes

out for.  Maybe oysters and okra and andouille.  Dunno.  If I ever

come aside her, I'll ask for sure.  You'll all be the first to know.

The view from the BI marker, inside the Barnegat Inlet, looking

 out through the inlet itself, with Old Barney standing guard just

 to the right.  The inlet is notoriously rough and tricky to navigate.

The town that hosts the lighthouse is named simply "Barnegat Light".

That is the northern tip of the world-renowned Long Beach Island,

aka "LBI".  You'll see those oval stickers and magnets on cars 

from Canada to Mexico.  I think Martha's Vineyard started the

whole foreign car "oval sticker" thing with MV.  I've got a couple

of those plastered on my original Playmate cooler, which is missing 

the spring in the release button to open the lid.  Come to think of it, 

my wife threw that away the last time the basement flooded .

The land directly north of the inlet is the southernmost tip of

Island Beach State Park, a long strip of pristine beaches and

dunes enjoyed by beach-goers, fishermen, kayakers, and sailors.

Come visit us.  You'll be hooked from the get-go.