Sedge Island Weekend
by Monica Orso
August 2-4, 2024
Finally it was Sedge Time after the trip was postponed from an earlier date. It was a bit nerve wracking following the weather predictions for the upcoming weekend, it could have gone either way. Fortunately for us, it went our way with the only storm issues being overnight. Wind was another story...more on that later.
On Friday morning, ten hearty Sedgies met at Area 21 on Island Beach State Park with their cars packed with food and gear...well mostly food. A pontoon boat met us at the launch to transport all of our stuff 1+ mile across the bay to Sedge House. Nine of us brought our own boats with Dean L. using a sit-on-top from the Sedge fleet...it was pretty much just like his own boat, so why lug it? Dean rode over on the pontoon boat, and the rest of us paddled over in pretty decent conditions and a nice cooling breeze.
Once we were unpacked and given the lay of the land and house rules, (like the bug rule: close the doors IMMEDIATELY after entering and exiting the house, even if you are slamming it in someones face!) we ate a quick lunch and headed out with our program director, Zach, and 3 staff interns for a short paddle and walk/talk in the marshes. A little tricky getting in and out of the boats but no one got “completely” covered in mud. We learned about the marshland ecology and tasted some edible marsh grass. Lots of Latin names, none of which I can remember!
After paddling back to Sedge House, clamming was on the agenda. We scooped up a couple of bucket of clams (quahogs I believe) of all sizes and sorted them. Some were thrown back, some were for the grill later, some for bait, and one unlucky bivalve mollusk was chosen for dissection. Back at the house, Zach dissected and explained all the parts of a clam...who knew there were so many parts? The designated grill clams soon met their fate accompanied with either butter or cocktail sauce. Some brave souls slurped them down raw. This trip leader can not comment on the taste, but there were no complaints from the crowd.
Our first day wound down with a pot luck dinner plus burgers and dogs. Afterwards we enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the upper deck with cool looking clouds, colors, and conversation. A bay breeze kept the mosquitoes away, but not so lucky with the flies. However it could have been a lot worse! Then it was time for bed...it was a comfortable night and Sedge House thoughtfully provided small rechargeable fans for everyone if they needed one.
Saturday morning greeted us with a nice sunrise which I couldn’t resist getting in my boat for a few minutes to experience. As others awoke, breakfast was laid out (oddly, there were two hard-boiled eggs that had double yolks!) and plans for the day were made. The chance for rain had diminished but the wind factor was very much in play. Zach took all things into consideration, including the tidal currents, and mapped out the day. Morning would be trawling (net fishing from moving pontoon boat) and the afternoon would be the long paddle to the lighthouse/inlet.
The trawlers went out in 2 groups. We cast a weighted net from the pontoon boat, then dragged for approximately 7 minutes before hauling in. Why 7 minutes and not more? It is a precaution in case a terrapin was caught, they can not hold their breath for extended periods of time. The first group got a dogfish shark along with various sea critters and one large fluke which was large enough to be kept for a dinner supplement. The fluke regurgitated a partially digested hake fish while still in the boat...oh dear!
I was in the second group and we got some assorted small flounder, a small sea bass, plus a ton of pregnant crabs, and a small blowfish. We also saw swimming by a huge southern stingray and a smaller cownose ray. But sadly no one got a seahorse this year...they are way cool and are quite abundant in the bay.
After the trawling, we decided to go for an exploratory walk on the “Bay-hamas”...a sandbar adjacent to the house that appears at lower tides. It was covered with different species of gulls and beautiful orange beaked oyster catchers. We found lots of small critters, sea stars, hermit crabs and the like for inspection. Zach did a good job of pointing things out.
Once back at the house, we ate a nice lunch on the deck and packed up snacks and water for the longer afternoon paddle. The wind was going to be in our face on the way out, so hopefully we could duck into some more sheltered channels. No such luck. There was one channel that Zach wanted to take but it didn’t have enough water at that time in the tide cycle. So we paddled the long way out, mostly in more open water.
The wind was really kicking, 20+ and not getting better. You couldn’t really stop for picture taking or you would be blown back and spun around. The combination of wind and power boat wake gave us additional challenges in the form of chop and waves. A few times I was close to shore and paddling hard but the shore was not moving past me more than a couple of inches every 10 strokes or so. But our hearty group plowed forward with the folks in front occasionally pulling over and holding on to grasses or beaching to let others catch up. After what seemed like many more miles than it actually was, we reached a sandbar just across from Old Barney lighthouse. The boats were pulled up and many of us walked over to the shoreline to try and find some relief from the wind. The tide was turning and the sandbar was rapidly flooding, so the boats were now carried over to the shoreline while we rested up and waited for a more definitive change in the tide.
On our way back to Sedge House, we rode the incoming tide with the wind at our backs, it was a whole different (and welcome) animal. One section had some nice little waves that we could surf in the direction we were going. By now the channels all had enough water for passage so we were sheltered, as well as having a more direct route back. Everyone did great and knew they would sleep well that night!
Dinner was prepared and served, including the aforementioned fluke. Once again, I can not comment on the taste, but there were no complaints. There was enough lasagna roll ups, salad, cheese and crackers etc to keep me happy!
After dinner and watching an extremely bizarre cloud bank roll in just before sunset, we retreated to the south porch in the dark and played a game that involved a flashlight, a quarter, a moon snail shell, and holding hands. You are just going to have to go to Sedge to figure how all that worked, but it was fun!! Tired and satiated, we retired to our rooms.
Sunday morning was a little cloudy, but some of us went out for a Sunrise Pajama Paddle, and it was well worth the 5:30AM wake up time. The rules are no talking...just look and listen. This is my favorite part of the weekend, it qualifies as attending my own brand of Sunday services. We sat quietly for a long time in our boats while the sun rose, being so much a part of the place that the gulls paid us no mind and dove close to us for their breakfast. The sounds of osprey and other birds in the distance was just magical at dawn. After the sun was up, we circumnavigated the small island that is home to Sedge House, stopping along the way to watch young osprey testing their wings before leaving the nest for the first time.
Time for breakfast, packing, and cleaning up the house, then the final paddle back to the put-in. All went well. After some car juggling in the parking lot, we parted ways for the drive back to civilization. A few of us stopped at the beach concession on Island Beach for a walk along the ocean (crazy little shorebirds scuttling about) and for a farewell beer and some fries. The weekend went so fast!
Thanks to all who attended: Herta D., Dean L., Cory W., Ken B., Sumonnat K., Anton G., Tom B., Phil B., and Robyn L.
Some comments from the paddlers:
Anton: "You'll forget you're surrounded by the densely developed Jersey Shore, it's that special, and unique."
Cory: "The Staff especially Zach had passion for what he was doing which should motivate interns and program participants."
Dean: “It was great socially and educationally to see such wildlife, the next generation’s interaction with it and the ongoing experiments regarding it, e.g. the oysters, terrapins, clams.”
Herta: “A weekend on Sedge Island is a wonderful way to get away from the world and enjoy the beauty of the bay, the sounds of the gulls and osprey, and the camaraderie of like-minded friends.”
Sumonnat: “As I was expecting: nature, peace, kayaking and company of good friends.”
Ken: “Thankful for the weather (a little wind never hurt anyone), the food, camaraderie developed over the years within the club, the improving condition of Barnegat Bay because of the dedication of NJ Fish and Wildlife employees like the ones we had the pleasure of spending the W/E with.”
Monica