Once located between Great Bay and Little Egg Harbor, along the New Jersey coast, Tucker's Island disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean. Sand dunes and native foliage once covered its eight miles. For generations, the Rider family kept the light illuminated, and the US Life-Saving Service provided aid to ships in distress. Two hotels were constructed by island men with building materials salvaged from local shipwrecks. Visitors arrived by sail or steam, and the popularity of Tucker's Island inspired real estate agents to sell worthless lots to unsuspecting buyers eager for their own piece of the shore. Storms battered the vulnerable island; the lighthouse toppled in 1927, the life-saving station washed away, and in 1932, the island was removed from tax records.

Set sail with this collection of stories of boating the Northeast's waterways from New Jersey to Canada. Inland Passage takes readers on a tour of the natural history of the Northeast, revealing how the waterways and waterfronts that make up these popular cruising grounds were formed. The stories also delve deeply into the history of how human ingenuity shaped the waters, and the way of life along the coast and inland waters in times long forgotten. Additionally, the book focuses on rare boats, their owners, and the many people from boatyards to museums who work to preserve them. Ride the waves with Shaw as he sails the major waterways from Cape May to Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands on the Saint Lawrence River, the mountain lakes of the Adirondacks, the Erie Canal, the Hudson River, and Lake Champlain. Shaw takes readers on tours on- and off-shore, above and below water. Without ever leaving your seat, you'll shove off for the coasts many fascinating lighthouses, museums, bridges, harbors, inlets, beaches, and artificial reefs. You'll learn about New Jersey's disappearing (and reappearing!) island and how New York Harbor was built. Hear tales from the marine police, find out what a sand sucker is, and voyage through the most dangerous inlet on the Jersey Shore. Shaw will take you boat racing, whale-watching, and treasure hunting in the many shipwrecks along the Northeast. Readers will even get a history lesson on how the unique geography of the Northeast coast effected the Revolutionary, Civil, and Cold wars. Inland Passage brings alive the cruising experience, and the people and places that make the Northeast waters so special.

With this book in hand, boaters can cruise down the Jersey Shore--from New York Harbor to Delaware Bay--in the good company of Captain Donald Launer. Captain Launer brings many years of experience as a skipper of small boats to this engaging nautical and historical guide to New Jersey's tidal waters. Cruise with him from the New Jersey/New York state line near the mouth of the Hudson River, past Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook, and into the Manasquan Inlet. From there, he gives you a choice of voyages: the inside route through the Intracoastal Waterway to Toms River, Barnegat Bay, Atlantic City, and Cape May, or taking the offshore passage. Then you explore the Delaware Bay and its tributaries and cruise up the Delaware River to Trenton. This revised edition contains updated information about onshore facilities, marinas, restaurants, stores, sites of interest, docking fees, bridge heights, maritime service stations, weather, navigation, and safety, as well as post-September 11 regulations in the waters around New York City. The book also includes a wealth of photographs and sea charts. Donald Launer, who holds a U.S. Coast Guard captain's license, has explored the New Jersey waters in every kind of small craft since he first sailed in Barnegat Bay at the age of eight. His articles on recreational boating have appeared in Good Old Boat Magazine, Cruising World, The Beachcomber, Offshore, and Sail. He berths his schooner, Delphinus, in Forked River, New Jersey.