North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club commodore Dave Drawbaugh peers out at a the thin sheet of ice covering the river. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Is it happening? Is it finally happening?
The surface of our beautiful Navesink River was covered in a thin layer of ice Thursday morning as temperatures and wind chills continue to hover at finger-freezing levels.
The ice is still far too thin, but the mere sight of it, coupled with the relative early stage of winter we are in and the forecast of nights remaining below freezing for the immediate future is giving hope that this may be the year the ice boats return to the Navesink River.
Home to the what is considered the oldest ice boat club in the country, the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club, Red Bank has not seen ice thick enough for the ice boats that are the very symbol of the town, since 2016.
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As he peered out the window of the club’s headquarters with the wind howling outside, club Commodore Dave Drawbaugh couldn’t help but feel somewhat optimistic that they could race on their home ice this year.
“This is a good sign, it’s early January, so,” he said, his voice trailing off.
There is one concern: continued dredging of the river by the US Army Corps of Engineers. While most of the river was covered in a thickening sheet of ice, several channels of open water remained, apparently cut and cleared by boats involved in the dredging operation. 
The Navesink River appears largely frozen except for routes used by contractors dredging the river as part of a US Army Corp of Engineers project. (photo by Brian Donohue)
“We can’t get them to stop, but if would be nice if they did stop,” Drawbaugh said.
Drawbaugh said he believes the dredging project may be near completion.
A bigger concern may be the weather forecast. One ten-day forecast we looked at showed temperatures rising to a high of 45 degrees at the end of the ten day period.
Let’s hope it’s wrong.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
