Website Aims to Navigate Shore Boaters

Getting ready to take the boat out on the Navesink or Shrewsbury, but worried that debris from Sandy may make it difficult?

GoBoatingNJ.org may help.

Since Hurricane Sandy came ashore in late October, reports of unprecedented destruction to area marine facilities have left boaters wondering if there will be a boating season in 2013, said Ed "Skip" Harrison, who is the owner of Baywood Marina, Brick Township, and Board Member of the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey.

The GoBoatingNJ.org initiative was launched to address these concerns by providing coverage of the restoration efforts taking place each day by state, federal and municipal agencies as well as scores of volunteers and organizations.

The campaign highlights — through on-the-water videos and photos — some of the state's most popular boating areas to give boaters firsthand knowledge and visuals that these waterways are open and ready for them this season, Harrison said.

"Lots of people are hearing rumors, we thought the best way to go is show them," Harrison said. "Basically, if you are going anywhere where the breaches are, on that side, you are going to have shoal, and they are working on taking all that out. When you are not in the channel, you have to be a little bit more wary of what you are doing, but when you are in the channels, I would say all the channels we went through didn't have any issues."

Dredging projects are either underway or beginning throughout the area, he said, so caution is warranted, but overall, he said many major channels are passable.

Harrison said his marina has been rebuliding for months since Sandy, thanks to flood insurance reimbursement. While he did not recover all his losses, Harrison said he received about 60 percent of his damages back. He is still awaiting word on whether or not the SBA loan he applied for went through.

"Our docks are good, they are usable, our pumpout wash water system is usable, as far as that stuff goes we are good," Harrison said. He said they also have plans to expand the business, including adding additional bay shop doors so they can work on boats throughout the winter.

"The marina's been in the family since 1965, so a lot needs to be done," he said. Discussing lost business, Harrison said that "talk of the bay not being in good shape is not helping us."

Footage of the Navesink, Barnegat Bay, Harvey Cedars, Forked River and Tices Shoal are on the website.

Harrison said he hopes the footage will convince pleasure boaters to venture back out this year.