Jay H
New member
Just for the helluvit, here's a trip of a different sorts. I had the weekend free and thought it would be a nice time to explore an area by my sister who lives by there, at a time where the boat traffic isn't bad and the water is just about liveable (low 50s). The weekend's weather was proposed to be a lot better than predicted and I was going to be down there originally anyway.
On saturday, I launched my kayak out of my sister's development directly into the Shrewsbury River at low tide. As such, I literally walked out the mud flats and put my kayak down and launches like it was a beach launch even though at high tide, it's a dock. Paddled west a bit on the shrewsbury along Oceanport, NJ for a bit, exploring the expensive real estate along the shore. Met my sister at a small park with a boat launch on it and ate lunch, regalling in the nice weather, the lack of boats and no other kayakers.
I didn't feel so great that day as I think I ate something on friday that just didn't agree with me so I told my sister, I wont be out for much longer. Exploring the various bays and inlets in that large tidal brackish river that opens out to Sandy Hook bay and of course, the Atlantic Ocean.
So I continued to explore the island shoals among the shallow tides and tons and tons of mussels living in the somewhat brackish water where the river meets the bay before pulling out at the dock at my sister's place.
On sunday, I decided to go a little bit and explore the Navesink River, which is just further north from the Shrewsbury. You can paddle there through some notoriously fast current (narrow channel) though being solo, still somewhat sick, I decided to forgo the paddle and drove to a put in on the navasink side.
Having an earlier start, I was able to paddle west all the way to Red Bank (home of Kevin Smith (Jay and Silent Bob fame)) and the Swimming River. After meandering west, I had another lunch spot to meet my sister at Hartshorne woods back east so I turned around when I got to the mouth of the swimming river. (I even paddled under a NJ Transit RR tressle and watched a passenger train roar by). Then paddled back east along the north shore til I went under the Oceanic bridge and into Hartshorne woods (a place to Mountain Bike in Monmouth County). Anyway, lots of more island shoals that are sandbars at low tide and always shallow. Explore more of the islands and played in the mixed current waters where the channel meets the larger navasink so that was kind of fun. Saw 2 other kayakers that day and still not many boats. It would of been a good day to paddle out to the bay except for my ongoing sickness and being solo.
I even paddled by Jon Bon Jovi's house..woohoo, if anybody really cares. He's certainly got a nice spread! But there are a ton of huge ass mansions on the river where I saw nobody there. Maybe they are all in their villas in the south of france, but I always find it odd when going through rich areas and towns, is that nobody ever seems to *live* there. and all you see are landscapers..
Saw tons of ducks, piping plovers, fresh-water turtles, birds that looked like cormorants but not sure if they visit Jersey...
Didn't have my camera with me so no pictures...
Jay
On saturday, I launched my kayak out of my sister's development directly into the Shrewsbury River at low tide. As such, I literally walked out the mud flats and put my kayak down and launches like it was a beach launch even though at high tide, it's a dock. Paddled west a bit on the shrewsbury along Oceanport, NJ for a bit, exploring the expensive real estate along the shore. Met my sister at a small park with a boat launch on it and ate lunch, regalling in the nice weather, the lack of boats and no other kayakers.
I didn't feel so great that day as I think I ate something on friday that just didn't agree with me so I told my sister, I wont be out for much longer. Exploring the various bays and inlets in that large tidal brackish river that opens out to Sandy Hook bay and of course, the Atlantic Ocean.
So I continued to explore the island shoals among the shallow tides and tons and tons of mussels living in the somewhat brackish water where the river meets the bay before pulling out at the dock at my sister's place.
On sunday, I decided to go a little bit and explore the Navesink River, which is just further north from the Shrewsbury. You can paddle there through some notoriously fast current (narrow channel) though being solo, still somewhat sick, I decided to forgo the paddle and drove to a put in on the navasink side.
Having an earlier start, I was able to paddle west all the way to Red Bank (home of Kevin Smith (Jay and Silent Bob fame)) and the Swimming River. After meandering west, I had another lunch spot to meet my sister at Hartshorne woods back east so I turned around when I got to the mouth of the swimming river. (I even paddled under a NJ Transit RR tressle and watched a passenger train roar by). Then paddled back east along the north shore til I went under the Oceanic bridge and into Hartshorne woods (a place to Mountain Bike in Monmouth County). Anyway, lots of more island shoals that are sandbars at low tide and always shallow. Explore more of the islands and played in the mixed current waters where the channel meets the larger navasink so that was kind of fun. Saw 2 other kayakers that day and still not many boats. It would of been a good day to paddle out to the bay except for my ongoing sickness and being solo.
I even paddled by Jon Bon Jovi's house..woohoo, if anybody really cares. He's certainly got a nice spread! But there are a ton of huge ass mansions on the river where I saw nobody there. Maybe they are all in their villas in the south of france, but I always find it odd when going through rich areas and towns, is that nobody ever seems to *live* there. and all you see are landscapers..
Saw tons of ducks, piping plovers, fresh-water turtles, birds that looked like cormorants but not sure if they visit Jersey...
Didn't have my camera with me so no pictures...
Jay
even though the water temp is only in the low '50's It must have been cool on the water, too, kayaking. Hopefully, I'll have my kayak in a few weeks......
