Day 9 Mantaloking bridge to Ocean County Park Head Quarters

Surfing to the finish line.

Well, not the finish line for the trip but the last consecutive day we had free to paddle it. We met at the Ocean County Park Headquarters where we left John’s car and found Patrick waiting for us. He wanted some pictures of us shoving off and we hadn’t yet decided on the put-in spot. We decided to put in at the Mantaloking Bridge and after leaving John’s car, drove north around Silver Bay and Kettle Creek and out along the south shore of the Metedeconk River. On the north side of the bridge there was small parking area and beach.

Packing the boats I realized that I had forgotten my chart. That meant we had only John’s GPS for direction, seeing as mine got waterlogged Day 4. I used my boyfriend’s iPhone to drop pins on each of the land outcroppings on the route and emailed them right back to his phone so that we could write down the coordinates. I drew a rough map, he added the numbers and we added the coordinates of the last-turn buoy as noted on John’s GPS. Then we headed out in 11 mph head NE wind, overdressed and uncertain of the conditions on the other side of the bridge.

After paddling under the near end of the bridge and we passed a guy in a fleece sweatshirt and without a PFD paddling an inflatable kayak from the first cove into the wind to go fishing under the bridge. Yikes.

After passing the outside of that cove we set a SSW course with the wind almost directly to our backs and started surfing (riding the white cap waves headed in the same direction we were). It was work to keep the boats on course and not breech. We paddled for Seaweed Point, made a sharp turn behind a bulkhead and took a break. John looked silly drinking from a ½ gallon jug of orange juice but the store he stopped in didn’t have anything smaller.

I put the video camera on the tripod and the tripod on the deck in front of me and we headed out, this time on a SW course for the take-out with the wind directly behind us. The surfing was easier now and the waves were bigger. I made several videos, none of which remotely illustrate what the surfing felt like but you’ll note the horizon line, compass and my boat in relation to John’s in front of me never holding steady. Here's a video clip. Video to follow. The moments when the bow is nearly under water are those when a wave passes under the boat.

I was glad this would be our last day of consecutive paddling. After the rest in behind the bulkhead, I had to rest 3 times out in the surf, exhausted from being sick. Even if either one of us were free to paddle on Monday, I just didn't have the energy to do it. We’ll have to go back this coming weekend for the stretch from Barnegat Light to the Rte. 72 bridge.

At the take-out however, we did feel as though we accomplished as much as we could and in review, we had paddled many, many miles of New Jersey – through 3 counties and over 3 sides of our 5’ long, accordianed Maptech charts. We had driven to the end the Garden State Parkway (there’s even a light on the GSP at Stone Harbor Blvd., including a left turn arrow!) and stopped at no fewer than 2 WaWa’s / day. One GPS got trashed and a VHF radio is on the blink. It now takes 3 hands to get the skeg down on my boat as the casing buckles rather than pushes the cable through it. The Smartwool eventually became smelly and my 4-month-old car smells like a damp beach. Lastly, my sinuses are killing me and I have a hacking cough. My boyfriend thinks it started with allergies, my mom with pollution and I just being damp and occasionally chilled. I hated the wind when I was a kid and thought I grew out of it but found I preferred my ears covered at all times. Next time I’ll take earplugs.

I asked John if he would recommend the trip. He replied that he wants to do it again later in the season when more creatures are out in greater numbers. I fear the bite of the greenhead flies but I would most definitely do it again. I found the twisty course and the wildlife in the south intriguing and the long vistas everywhere most relaxing. The wind, tide and chop were challenging and I’m a better paddler for having pushed through them. I hope a number of paddlers join us for the last leg, because I want to celebrate!