I'm heading over to Washington for the game LDW. Anyone else going and have information on sailgating and renting a boat? I have somewhere from 6-8 people coming so I'm trying to organize early.
Sailgating
- Thread starter BaseballFan913
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Yes, it's the law of diminishing.....water....as in The Raritan's tidal changes will leave you stuck in the clay, which is why you never see anything "docked" past the upper part of Route 18, IIRC, and Crew has to schedule around them so they don't "catch crabs."
I lived across from Johnson park in Piscataway and you could anchor if you know where the channel runs and dingy ashore But as it is NB/Piscataway jurisdiction will I get a ticket and/or get my boat towed?
OH yea I was in a dingy literally IN the park when some squirrel chaser (park police) told me I had to get out of the park, even though it was flooded. I just paddled away, God they are stupid people
Didn't they dredge the river a few years back near Johnson Park? Where are the low spots? I've always wondered what it would be like to take a boat down the Raritan River since it is all familiar area around it. Is it possible to do that from a place like Raritan or Bridgewater?
depends on your definition of boat.
http://nynjbaykeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/raritanriveraccess.pdf
There's a couple of dams between Bridgewater & Piscataway that have been known to kill people doing the trip.
The pictures in the article showed that power boats outnumbered sailboats by about 50-1. So... not actually "sailgating".
Let's just leave all boats out of her tailgating equation.
Though watching her try to set up a couple of canopies and a chafing dish on a sailboat might be worth the price of admission...
She needs to spend a week or so actually living on one, so as to reset her expectations.
During the summer you can boat to New Brunswick.
I suppose you could dock in NB and take a campus bus the rest of the way :) This is a PDF file that downloads.
http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/Government/Departments/IM/Documents/Maps/New Brunswick Landing Brochure.pdf
Here is the webpage as well: http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/About/ParksRecreation/Pages/PR/New-Brunswick-Landing.aspx
I suppose you could dock in NB and take a campus bus the rest of the way :) This is a PDF file that downloads.
http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/Government/Departments/IM/Documents/Maps/New Brunswick Landing Brochure.pdf
Here is the webpage as well: http://www.co.middlesex.nj.us/About/ParksRecreation/Pages/PR/New-Brunswick-Landing.aspx
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I don't know what that link is supposed to be, but it doesn't work.
Regardless, the Raritan is only charted as far as the end of the channel, which is right at the northward bend near Boyd Park.
The channel between there and downriver to the Turnpike is only navigable by small powerboats due to the variable depth of the channel and unpredictable shoaling. There are (or at least there used to be) some sailboats berthed in Highland Park, but anything that draws more than 5' is going to have a hard time maneuvering.
You can attempt to take a powerboat upstream from the end of the charted channel, but you'll only get as far as Landing Lane in the best of conditions and if you screw up your insurance won't cover your stupidity.
A 5 foot draft?!? Are you bringing the Cape May Lewes ferry to the tailgate?
A pontoon boat or deck boat would probably be fine to take down the Raritan as long as you avoided running it around low tide. The problem is, the Raritan isn't that wide of a river. You're not getting hundreds of boats docked like at UW. It's not that cool of an experience when it's just one jackass on a boat outside of the stadium.
A 5 foot draft?!? Are you bringing the Cape May Lewes ferry to the tailgate?
A pontoon boat or deck boat would probably be fine to take down the Raritan as long as you avoided running it around low tide. The problem is, the Raritan isn't that wide of a river. You're not getting hundreds of boats docked like at UW. It's not that cool of an experience when it's just one jackass on a boat outside of the stadium.
Um...
The thread is about "sailgating". Therefore all references to sailboats are implicit.
I know an awesome runabout dude like yourself only has to worry about the depth of his outdrive when beaching in the Bay for some cold ones, but sailboats have keels - and serious sailboats have keels that draw 6+ feet.
I already said that.
You don't see tons of sailboats in that part of the world. The onshore flow that kicks up the surf out there makes our Manasquan Inlet look like a lazy river ride. The sailors are, indeed, intrepid adventurers - but the casual weekend boaters all buy power wagons and hang out in the rivers.
This thread pops up every so often. Bottom line is the best you can do is dock at the public docks at Boyd Park (25 slips or so called Raritan Landings). No way are you going further up river in anything more than a rowboat/kayak, and certainly not in a sailboat with a keel. Keep in mind the docks close before the season ends so get to a game early in the season. Unfortunately the cost of dredging means we will never see sailgating or other aquatic parties at Rutgers home games.
