Cruising New Jersey - Little Egg Inlet
Little Egg Inlet (39°30' N) is located about 46 NM north of the southern tip of New Jersey, and about 73 NM from the northern tip of New Jersey. NOAA Chart 12316 "ICW Little Egg Harbor to Cape May", covers the coastal details of this area.
A break through the barrier island, about 3 NM south of Little Egg Inlet, is a minor inlet known as Brigantine Inlet. It offers limited navigation, primarily to smaller boats, and should not be confused with the larger and more active Little Egg Inlet.
Little Egg Inlet is an active and navigable inlet, although subject to significant shoaling and shifting sands. It joins the Intracoastal Waterway just inside the inlet, where you can head either north or south. Most of the back-bay in this area is filled with marsh islands and shallow water, but marked channels, including the ICW, enable passage. Further in from the inlet lies an open and navigable body of water known as the "Great Bay". Also feeding the Great Bay from inland is the Mullica River, which is also navigable. It is further up this river that the factory of Viking Yachts is found, and through which those yachts are delivered.
The Intracoastal will guide you southward from Little Egg Inlet, in a winding but well-marked channel through the swamps and islands of the back-bay. It initially heads westward to the back of the bay, then south until in line with Absecon Inlet, then eastward back toward the ocean. The ICW does not exit Absecon Inlet, although headed directly for it, the ICW will continue inland.
The barrier island from Little Egg Inlet to Absecon Inlet is about 8 NM long. Development is only on the southern half in the town of Brigantine. A marked channel at the north and south ends of Brigantine connect to the Intracoastal at the back of the bay. Brigantine is a fairly well developed year-round community.