NJ Coast Report

[CD_Sailor]

The Barnegat Bay area along the central NJ coast appears to have been pretty close to the center of Storm Sandy devastation. I'm sure many have already seen the photos that document this. Meanwhile, I have been speaking with several folks who have actually visited the local commmunities, and although there are many very sad stories, there are also some surprisingly good reports. Some of them follow.

Essentially all the coastal and barrier island communities from Sandy Hook to Cape May have been severely damaged. Surprisingly, a house belonging to a friend, located very close to the Mantoloking Bridge, is still in one piece. It happens that his is perhaps the only house left in the area. A bit further south, the Seaside Park YC is still OK, although the lower level (i.e., basement) was flooded. This is hardly news, because when we were last there in June it was also flooded. However the historic building somehow came through the storm. The same cannot be said for many other homes and buildings in Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.

Across the Bay, the town of Ocean Gate is faring reasonably well. Ocean Gate Yacht Basin does not seem to have had very many damaged boats or buildings, which is surprising considering the exposed location. We do not have reports from any of the nearby "lagoon" communities. Further up the Toms River we were all fortunate. There was flooding, but evidently no "trashing." Friends who stayed aboard their large schooner fared well, although why they stayed aboard is not clear.

On Long Beach Island it's still difficult to get a reading. A friend used some "pull" to get onto the island to check his buildings. Like many storms of this type (Oxymoron? Are there other storms like this?), the damage was unpredictable and sporadic. It will be some time before an accurate appraisal can be made.

Continuing south, the island of Brigantine (directly north of Atlanntiic city) fared quite well. This is where Obama and Christie visiited a few days ago. I cannot explain how this happened since AC was hit severely. That's about it for now. If you have additional local info, please advise.

[Sea Hunt Video]

I have been trying for days to get in touch with folks from Shore Point Marina in Toms River, NJ. This is where I acquired S/V Bali Ha'i, my 1982 Cape Dory 25D. I have tried land lines, cell phones, emails, etc. Nothing operational as of early this morning.

During the inspection/buying/shipping process I flew up to Toms River four (4) separate times and stayed at a Comfort Inn just a little inland from the marina. I drove along the shore many times and thought of how wonderful the homes were along the coast and how much the owners must enjoy living on such beautiful land so close to the ocean.

From what I have been able to piece together, it looks like the eye of Hurricane Sandy made landfall just a little south of Toms River. If accurate (I do not know for sure), this means the north wall of the storm would have been very close to Toms River.

I am VERY concerned about my friends. The folks at Shore Point Marina were some of the nicest people I have ever met. They were extremely helpful to me during the process of prepping S/V Bali Ha'i for shipment to South Florida.

I saw news coverage of the NJ damage. One sequence was about Toms River. The destruction was devastating. Having been through the things in life I have been through not much brings me to tears any more. The video I saw on TV brought me to tears.

If anyone has information about anyone involved with Shore Point Marina I would be grateful for any information. They are good, decent folks.

Thank you.

[Paul Grecay]

The eye of hurricane Sandy made landfall at Cape May Courthouse....just slightly north of Cape May. Therefore, everything north of landfall suffered onshore winds. We were very lucky at Cape Henlopen in Delaware because as the storm approached NJ, our strongest winds were from the north and then it quickly became northwest and eventually west. This blew the water away from our shores. North of the eye the winds always had a strong easterly component piling up the water on the NJ coast and strong southeast winds forcing the ocean into the New York Bight....horrible. I just made a donation online to the Red Cross...but it seems like such a drop in the bucket in the face of the magnitude of this disaster.

[mashenden]

The Jersey coast is of particular interest to me too. I picked up my CD Typhoon Daysailer in Toms River earlier this year (May). During that trip, I stayed in the Aztec Hotel at Seaside Heights, in a room that overlooked the boardwalk and the roller coaster. Its sad to see the damage to that pier and to watch all the news stories coming from the same hotel. I wish that area and the whole affected area a quick recovery.

What makes it really odd to me is that last year, I was in Atlantic Beach NC for a wedding one week before Ilene landed 1 mile south of our hotel. Similarly, the fishing pier behind our hotel and the waterfront bar was completely wiped out. I really need to stay away from piers.

Something just caught my eye - a few minutes ago I watched a CBS News report from a NJ beach town near Seaside Heights. In the background as the reporter discussed the damage, you could see a damaged house along with a Cape Dory Typhoon in the front yard (presumably on a trailer, but maybe not). It was covered in debris.

About 53 seconds in:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50134470n

[CD_Sailor]

I just spoke with someone who has (had?) a house on one of the "lagoons" off the Forked River, a tributary that flows into Barnegat Bay near Barnegat Inlet. Unfortunately the news is not good; it is not even hopeful. Their house had approximately 8 feet of water on the first floor, and the building may be a total loss. In addition there were many personal and valuable possessions that are probably gone forever. This person also mentioned that she anticipates a long hard road with her insurance company. Very sad situation.

Farther inshore, several folks I spoke with in Whiting, perhaps 10 miles in from the shore, reported that aside from power outages (some of long duration) they sufferred little damage aside from that done to trees and plantings. This is good news because Whiting and similar communities in the area are populated largely by seniors and retired folks.

[CD_Sailor]

Just spoke to another chap who has a lagoon home in Waretown NJ, just over from the Barnegat Inlet and due west from there. They were quite fortunate in that the water came within inches of their first floor, but that was the extent of the problem. My friend had left two of his boats in the water behind his house (one a Typhoon, I believe) and they suffered no damage. Meanwhile several houses in and around his location floated off their foundations and were heavily damaged. It's pretty much a case-by-case thing, it seems.

[CD_Sailor]

Some local coverage:

http://www.yachtkerrydeare.blogspot.com ... -wake.html

[M. R. Bober]

I just received this. STAGGERING!


http://photosbymk.phanfare.com/slidesho ... D171766956


Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where we vote.) VA

[Sea Hunt Video]

Some local coverage:

http://www.yachtkerrydeare.blogspot.com ... -wake.html

Thank you for posting the photos.

Shore Point Marina is where my Cape Dory 25D (S/V Bali Ha'i) was stored on jack stands from June-September 2011 before I moved her to South Florida. I think one of the photos shows the area where she was stored. Fortunately, she survived Hurricane Irene without a scratch. The photos are very sad. Shore Point Marina is one of the nicest places. I hope Ed W., Ken K, Kim and all of the staff are OK and able to rebuild.

[Sea Hunt Video]

I just received this. STAGGERING!


http://photosbymk.phanfare.com/slidesho ... D171766956


Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where we vote.) VA

Mitchell:

Thanks for the post. "Staggering" is an accurate description. Consistent with news reports it looks like much of the damage was from storm surge instead of (in addition to) wind damage. This is true of coastal damage during most hurricanes in Florida. If the wind doesn't kill you the storm surge does.

P.S. Stood in line 3 1/2 hours this morning to vote

[CD_Sailor]

I was able to get into the town of Ocean Gate NJ on Monday last. Frankly I was pleasantly relieved at what I found. Even though the streets were piled high with the ruined contents of many homes, the homes themselves were still standing, by and large. Considering the water levels that occurred, this is good news. Electricity is returning to Ocean Gate, albeit slowly. Ocean Gate Yacht Basin is getting back into shape, little by little.

On Long Beach Island, just below Barnegat Inlet, the news is less encouraging. A friend who owns several properties there including his own home has had very bad luck. His collection of several vintage autos, custom wood working tools, and much else appears to be totally lost. He and his wife are fine because they were evacuated prior to the storm's arrival. Once they'd determined the extent of the damages, they decided to just head on down to Florida and ponder the situation from there.

I mentioned in an earlier post that a friend with a house off the Forked River suffered severe storm damage. A few lagoons further north from her property near Cedar Creek, another friend who happend to have two very large multi-hulls at his docks seems to have suffered only cosmetic damage, both to the house and to the boats.

Very sad, and very much case-by-case.

[Cathy Monaghan]

I thought you might be interested in the photos in the article/blog linked below:

http://www.morgan-nj.org/blog/2012/11/0 ... ane-sandy/

This is the "New Jersey Transit Morgan Rail" bridge which spans Cheesequake Creek off Raritan Bay in Morgan, NJ. The boatyard where we keep our boat (Lockwood Boat Works) is west of the bridge. Anyway, it's one of the bridges that we have to get through in order to get from the boatyard to the bay and vice versa. The 13-foot storm surge completely submerged the bascule bridge which normally, at high tide, is only about 3 or 4 feet above the water. Needless to say, rail service won't be running on this line anytime soon, which is a problem since it carries commuters.


Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[Rollergirl]

You can see updated Sandy geoearth images, and compare them with before-Sandy photos at:http://google.org/crisismap/2012-sandy

Look for the Post-Sandy Imagery check-box in the right-hand column (scroll down) and after you have selected an area, toggle back & forth.

I saw the pictures before I went out to my house in the Mantoloking area before I was allowed back on the island,but nothing could prepare me emotionally for the destruction. To see an area I have liven in for almost two decades shattered so badly was the most disturbing things I have ever experienced.

We will rebuild the barrier islands, for better or worse. It will take several years, or perhaps 5, but the landscape will be back to normal. Whether we residents will be the same is questionable.

Bill

[Sea Hunt Video]

Great news I just heard from Ken Krauss at Shore Point Marina. Everyone is OK. They just got comms back. I will try to talk with them tomorrow and see what they need. Right now, given the current weather conditions I am guessing a two week Tahiti vacation. Best news all week

[CD_Sailor]

... just heard from Ken Krauss at Shore Point Marina ... I will try to talk with them tomorrow and see what they need ...

Shore Point is a well capitalized operation financed by a consortium of North Jersey power boat dealers. The marina itself caters largely to medium-sized power boats. They currently have a $2 million crane operating in the yard pulling up a few older plastic boats damaged by Sandy. Aside from a small secion of bulkhead and one dock, they suffered little damage.

Meanwhile there are many local residents who have lost their homes and a lifetime of personal possessions. If you want to help, one possible option is:

http://www.redcross.org/templates/rende ... OgodaSYA_g