The Bascule Bridge

[Bolo]

Don’t know what a “Bascule Bridge is? Take a good look at your charts and you‘re sure to find one. I did a short video on one located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Check it out!

 

[peaman]

Draw bridges can be daunting for sail boats. My boat was located at the very top of Barnegat Bay when I bought her 2 years ago. I studied what I could about the passage to open water, but I couldn't find much good information prior to starting the voyage here to New England. Within just a few miles, I had to navigate the narrow and sometimes hazardous Point Pleasant Canal, pass under two separate lift bridges with published clearance of 65 feet, a twin bascule highway bridge, and just a short distance later, a single leaf bascule railroad bridge with a very narrow opening. I wasn't sure about the air draft of my boat. I estimated it to be about 50 feet, but couldn't help but question that as I passed under the lift bridges with no perceptible difference in elevation (Is it fully open??). The highway bridge was a relative piece of cake compared to reckoning the current while hugging the north side of the railroad bridge passage. After all that within my first hour of operating my new boat, the open Atlantic Ocean was a welcome sight.

Nice video, Bolo. Chesapeake Bay is such a great area.