What Last Sunday’s Inlet Rescue Can Teach Every NJ Boater
During the late summer and fall, boaters in New Jersey must keep an eye on the marine weather as well as the tropical weather forecasts and live buoy data. This is the time of year when distant storms can quietly send long period ground swells toward our coast. Even when skies are clear and winds are light, that hidden energy can create deceptively hazardous conditions in the inlets and shoals. What looks like a great day to fish or transit offshore very well may be, BUT it can quickly turn treacherous when groundswells collide head on with a strong ebb tide in a shoaled inlet.
Sunday, October 5, 2025, was one of those days.
The weather was great: light winds, warm, sunny and clear skies. Just a stunning Indian Summer day! There was long-period swell energy lingered from offshore (sub)tropical systems Imelda and Humberto. The Barnegat ocean buoy was reading 3.5–4 feet at 12–14 seconds. It was also the full moon and maximum ebb tide (the strongest part of the outgoing current) peaked at 12:30 pm. This was the worst part of the day’s tide cycle that was also even more extreme due to the moon. This combination produced a dangerous setup at Barnegat Inlet’s East Bar which even on the average day isn’t a nice place to be.
The timing could not have been worse!
At approximately 12:45pm a good samaritan reported on VHF16 a vessel overturned outside Barnegat Inlet. Numerous assets responded to assist. Jet skiers in the area rescued the two victims from the water. Tow Boat US Barnegat Light & Beach Haven was able to transfer the passengers onto there boat from good samaritans on jet skis. From there they transferred them to a USCG 47 MLB who took them back to U.S. Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light to awaiting EMS crews. Sea Tow Central New Jersey assisted Tow Boat with the recovery of the 24-25′ vessel from the line of breakers just outside the inlet. This was another excellent example of multiple agencies working together; Tow Boat US, Sea Tow, US Coast Guard Barnegat Light, Barnegat Light First Aid, NJ State Police Marine Unit. Source: Sea Tow Central NJ
Barnegat’s East Bar: A Hidden Trap
The east end of Barnegat Inlet has long been an area to avoid. There the Aids to Navigation (ATON) are misleading and guide unaware boaters straight toward one of the most hazardous zones in the area. Transient captains running the coast looking to duck into Barnegat Light to ride out weather or make a quick pit stop are set up for failure if they follow the channel markers leading to the inlet. The #3 & #4 direct inbound traffic right towards the shallow East Bar area. It’s treacherous when there’s swell and especially during outgoing tide.
No commercial vessels working out of Barnegat Light use that passage. They all know better and it has been this way for years. It has only got worse. Yet the ATONs remain in place. The solution isn’t complicated. Either removed or reclassify as white danger buoys to clearly identify the shoaling hazard.
Until that happens, local knowledge is the only defense. When transiting in or out of Barneget Inlet alway take the North Cut just off of the North Jetty’s monument’s #6 Red Day Marker. Always follow the classic maritime rule… Red, Right Return. Do not pass on the west side of #6. There’s rocks running from the beach in a straight line all the way to #6. The outer/ eastern half is submerged. Two white danger buoys to the north of the inlet properly identify the rock jetty. The Barnegat Inlet North Jetty is also detailed on every GPS plotter.
This aerial photo taken on 10/2/25 details the Barnegat Inlet during a recent swell event. The whitewater helps identify the shoaling outside of the inlet as well as off the beaches of Barnegat Light.
A: Barnegat Lighthouse
B: Barnegat Inlet
C: North Cut – Deep water safe passage around the North Jetty
D: East Bar
E: Hazardous Channel Markers leading through the East Bar
F: Barnegat Light Shoals
The Role of the Moon
The moon’s gravitational pull drives the rise and fall of sea level called tides. Around the new and full moon cycles, that pull strengthens. These times have more extreme highs and lows as well as stronger currents during both ebb and flood.
Even on calm ocean days, a hard outgoing tide in Barnegat Inlet can make choppy and rough conditions.
When a strong ebb tide (outgoing current) meets long period swell at Barnegat Inlet, the physics of the ocean turns against boaters. The powerful swell collides head on with the tide and compresses the energy. This steepens the waves forcing them to stand up, stack up, double up and break. The result is a turbulent washing machine like sea state. Instead of predictable rollers and chop boaters face commonly in open seas, these chaotic waves appear and commonly hold up in a stationary fashion forming whats referred to as a standing wave. These wave heights can double or even triple up.
At times the combination of swell and tide produces conditions capable of swamping or capsizing small vessels.
That’s exactly what was happening around 12:30 p.m. on October 5. Maximum ebb current during a full moon, with long-period swell present.
Seamanship Starts With Weather Awareness
Boating safely isn’t just about navigation and knowledge of a vessel’s systems… Understanding not only wind and tides, but also swell direction, period and current interaction as well as geographical features and relationships is fundamental seamanship.
For an angler fishing inshore out of Barnegat Light transiting to a fishing area to the north, a south west wind 10-15 kts isn’t the best but very well may be fishable. And on the ride home you might choose to run into the beach and hug the shoreline for a better ride back. But if transiting to a fishing area to the south in a south west wind, 10-15 kts could be very rough. Long Beach Island has a much more southern facing beach than IBSP and offers no protection in a south west. Now this exact scenario is mirrored in a hard northwest or north north west wind. Fishing north off IBSP could be very rough while fishing off LBI could be much nicer and offer a better ride back in tight to the beach.
Mariners must check wind, tide and swell reports carefully to best prepare and be aware. Understanding, uncertainty, judgment, vessel, experience, crew and risk tolerance all play a role.
Modern weather apps make it easy to glance at colorful graphics, but remember those forecasts come from raw computer models that are updated roughly every six hours. There’s no human interpretation. That’s why many times different apps disagree especially the further in the future forecast period you look. The truth lies in the details and in your ability to interpret them.
Nothing beats looking at the flag at the dock as well as checking the NOAA Barnegat Buoy 44091, located about 15 nautical miles east of Barnegat Light for live swell height and period data before leaving the dock. You can find it here: NOAA Station 44091 – Barnegat Buoy
When you open that page, look for the blue conditions box showing the most recent data (time-stamped in UTC). For deeper insight, click the small graph icons on the left side to view the past 3–4 days of recorded swell, wind, and temperature trends. That historical context can help you anticipate how the inlet will behave before you even untie from the dock.
Also, don’t overlook NOAA’s text forecasts. They may not be flashy, but they often spell out crucial details that can make or break the day on the water.
Since the term long period was used, I’ll include…
Understanding Swell vs. Chop
Sea state depend on swell and wind. The wind is important to the surface conditions however a mariners should never overlook the waves height and the wave period. Wave height is how big the waves are. Wave period is the interval or time between peaks which reveals the swell’s power.
Swell Height – Wave Height = vertical distance between the wave crest (top) and trough (bottom), size of the waves
Swell Period – Wave Period = spacing between wave crests, time between waves, longer interval swell has more energy and moves faster
- Long-Period Swell (10+ sec) – Long period swell sometimes referred to as ground swell is deep wave energy that travels hundreds of miles from distant storms. These are often observed as smooth rollers with spaced out sets in the open ocean but the swell jumps up and walls up in shallow water. *4-6′ long period swell at 14 seconds on a sunny light wind day could be beautiful.
- Short-Period Waves (<10 sec) – Short period swell sometimes referred to as wind swell or wind chop is tight together and many times a more confused sea state with waves not having a defined direction and pattern. This type of swell is created from short term more localized wind/storm events. These are rough on small boats. *2-3′ wind swell at 5 seconds on a sunny light wind day, although relatively small, could be bumpy, uncomfortable and rough.
