Good forecast (for a change ) so away early 7:45 in the hope of making Cape May.
Crossing Barnegat Bay towards the inlet about 8:00 am we ran hard aground.
We were well inside the marked channel but only had 2 feet of water, tide was running out fast and wind was not helping. I could not shake the boat loose so I called Sea Tow (well worth the membership money, unlimited towing anywhere in the USA for about $100 per year). The local Sea Tow man was there in five minutes, tossed us a sturdy line and pulled us loose in five more, he told us that Green Buoy 36 was in the wrong place, and towed us into where the channel should be, that’s where I ran hard aground again (under tow), I told the Sea Tow man our situation via VHF, he replied that he was hard aground too. Boy could he cuss, I thought I could string them together but he had me beat hands down. Finally wiggled his way free and me with him. Told me that was the worst spot in the crossing and I should be OK on out. After making sure I had no damage and could motor, he said he had to go, had three more groundings before breakfast. (sorry no pictures)
Out into the Atlantic and South past Long Beach, and long it is, I would guess this is twenty miles of it and that’s a about half the total.
Approaching Atlantic City (from the ocean side this time).
Not one of my chosen destinations, and we give it a pass today and press on to Cape May( about thirty miles on)
On the way we are entertained by the dolphins, probably hundreds in all, large groups traveling together generally towards the North.
Hellish difficult to get a picture, they are either gone down, or swimming right at you.
Finally closing in on Cape May and some recreational activities.
After nine hours, into the harbor and anchored just next to the Coast Guard Station.
Just in time for a “Working Sunset” Dredger in the dusk.
That’s our way out tomorrow, under the bridge on the right and through the canal to Delaware Bay.
84 miles, 9 hours including time aground. Home tomorrow?
Boadicea's Chariot 
Hope the bottom was soft where you grounded so not too much damage to the hull or antifouling. I like the idea of your national “towage” scheme, here it would be the RNLI and in France “Les Pompiers”
Here we have the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) a voluntary organisation, one which I and my family have been a (small) donor for the last 20 years.
My family and I rarely put foot in a boat but we’ve always recognized the importance of their work, here’s the cover of this quarter’s magazine which fell through my post box this week.
Hello JHL and Soutie: There are two, large, for profit (franchise) organizations here that offer towing services, their coverages are slightly different.
https://www.boatus.com/
http://www.seatow.com/
If you boat a lot in strange waters it is best to belong to both, they both offer unlimited towing services for about $100/year. They will respond if you are not a member but they have much higher charges in that case.
The primary marine safety and security responsibility remains with the US Coast Guard service (the fifth branch of the US Military). They handle navigation marks, buoyage and Mayday events but do not normally respond to simple groundings unless they cause some hazard to navigation. The shifting sand bars in the ocean inlets are a constant problem for the Coast Guard and the boaters.
Barnegat Inlet and Bay are notorious for sudden shoals, the bottom is coarse sand, which moves about in storms, we have slow boat so she just plows to a standstill, the rudder and prop are behind a deep keel and are well protected. The challenge then is knowing where some deep water may be, my usual response is to try to go back the way I came, obviously the boat floated in here so it should float out. This time the wind and tide were holding the boat solidly on the bar and my 120 HP was not sufficient to do that. The Tow Boat operator had 400 HP on a twenty foot center console boat and it took him most of it to get me free and then up on to the second bar. So much for local knowledge in difficult water.
LW – Glad the boat is OK. I love the ‘working sunset’ shot. which I think is your best of the whole odyssey.
OZ