Hi Max,

It's the best inlet on the Jersey coast, and if you really got weathered in there for awhile, probably the most pleasant place to be stuck... The anchorage is decent, but will be pretty exposed in a blow, especially from the NE... South Jersey Marina is one of my favorites anywhere, nice restaurants around there, a nearby West Marine and another excellent chandlery if you need anything for the boat... Utsch's Marina is also popular with sailors, but I haven't been in there in quite some time, and your draft might be a problem now in there...

I think Barnegat is another good option, but only in reasonably settled weather, of course... The inlet itself is in pretty good shape these days, and the anchorage near High Bar marina is pretty benign, minimal current, only some wakes from passing head boats leaving the commercial harbor...

Manasquan has become a real PITA for sailboats, sadly cruisers only have themselves to blame for the loss of the hospitality they enjoyed at the Shrimp Box restaurant for so many years... Anchoring is very tight, right on the edge of a very busy channel, and the marinas will often involve some tricky docking in a tight slip with a lot of current running...

I've never cared much for Atlantic City, haven't anchored there in years... There's a nice looking little restaurant/marina off to port as you approach the CG station, saw several sailboats in there the last time I went by, it's got to be more reasonable than the obscene dockage rates at Trump's/Farley State Marina... Be advised when I went into AC for fuel about a month ago, there was a huge beach replenishment project going on in the inlet, with a big dredge on the north side with pipes running completely across the inlet to the beach on the south side... It could be pretty spooky going in there at night or in fog as things were back then, you'd want to call the CG for the latest info if you were considering heading in there...

Ocean City isn't too bad, though it can get pretty riled up on the ebb, or of course with any real sea running... Anchoring inside is possible, but I wouldn't advise it, and the way the current can rip in there, you'd almost have to be standing a permanent anchor watch... Marinas are really your only option, but I can't recommend the ones on the beach side, the surge in there can be horrendous... You're better off proceeding all the way to the head of the commercial harbor to the west, there's a small little marina that can usually handle a transient or two on one of their face docks... But the Sunset Marina is probably the better option, a beautiful and very well operated facility, nice showers, etc, and the Sunset Grille is a good restaurant... You'll likely be the only sailboat among a few hundred sportfishermen, ask them if you can lie alongside behind their fuel docks where there's usually plenty of room, instead of having to mess with a slip, which tend to have rather short finger piers... Finally, when you leave Ocean City, do not turn south until you get out to the sea buoy, there's a lot of shoal water south of the inlet, you don't want to try to cut that corner at all...

Once you pass Ocean City, you're committed to the Chesapeake Entrance... Chincoteague would be an option in the event of an emergency, but it's a long way back up in there, very changeable conditions, I haven't been in there in probably 20 years... Which is a bit of a shame, for it's an interesting, distinctive stopover, that very rarely sees a larger sailboat, you'll be the local curiosity in there, for sure...

Have a great trip, let me know if you have any other questions...