ON THE GREEN: SEINE, CLIMB OR KAYAK

It’s Climb Time in Lincroft again as the Monmouth County Park System moves that portable mountain to the grounds of Thompson Park for another free instructional session.

A chance to take a “drop in” kayak tour of a scenic waterway… a hands-on, close up look at local marine life… and an opportunity to climb a mountain face in Monmouth County.

They’re all on tap in the coming week around those public places that make life on the Greater Red Bank Green a recreational pleasure — and brought to you by the people of the Monmouth County Park System.

June 16, 2017 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

SEA BRIGHT: CLUB LIFEGUARDS ADD TO SKILLS

Two lifeguards bring in a rescued “victim,” in the form of a weighted mannequin, during a certification drill conducted by Sea Bright lifeguard Captain Mike Hudson, seen at left. Below, Hudson offering final instructions to the class at Surfrider Beach Club. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Eleven months after a teenager drowned nearby, nearly two dozen lifeguards from Sea Bright’s private beach clubs completed a training program Tuesday aimed at preventing ocean fatalities.

Guards from all seven of the town’s waterfront clubs spent three nights a week for the past three weeks in a first-ever advanced certification program that concluded with simulated emergencies on the beach at Surfrider Beach Club.

July 14, 2016 - 12:29 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: MARINE SANCTUARY BLASTED

With the basement meeting room already full, an overflow crowd gathered on the library’s main floor hoping to be allowed in Wednesday night. Below, the sanctuary would include Sandy Hook Bay, the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers and their tributaries. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The main proponent of a “marine sanctuary” that would include some 12,500 acres of northeastern Monmouth County waters found himself pounded by wave after wave of criticism Wednesday night.

With 75 or so commercial and recreational fishermen, clammers, hunters and others packed into a basement meeting room at the Red Bank Public Library, and a comparable number turned away due to crowding, maritime historian Rik Van Hemmen got a cold reception for his proposal for a Sandy Hook Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which he hopes will win federal approval.

“We’ve got enough layers of bureaucracy,” Jim Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, told Van Hemmen. “This is going down. We’re going to fight it.”

March 16, 2016 - 10:00 pm | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: MARINE SANCTUARY PROPOSED

An effort to create a “water-based equivalent of a National Park” covering Sandy Hook Bay, the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and their tributaries is the subject of upcoming informational sessions, one of which is scheduled for Monday night.

If enacted by federal authorities, the Sandy Hook Bay National Marine Sanctuary would add more than 12,500 acres of public-use parkland to eastern Monmouth County, according to proponents. Among them are the Navesink Marine Heritage Association, whose website has extensive information on the proposal.

Tonight’s presentation is slated for 7 p.m. at Crawford House at Tinton Falls. The Red Bank Public Library plans to host another on March 16 at 7 p.m. (Click to enlarge)

March 7, 2016 - 7:50 am | Comments ()

COUSINS DROWN AT SEA BRIGHT

A Red Bank man and his cousin from Sea Bright drowned at Sandy Hook’s Gateway National Park Saturday, and the Red Bank man’s brother was in critical condition after attempting a rescue, the Asbury Park Press and the Star-Ledger reported over the weekend.

The Sledger reports that Miguel Angel Romero-Leon, 30, of Red Bank, died after trying to save Gonzalo Romero-Tlamintzi, 33, of Sea Bright, who also died in the waters off Plum Island, a sandbar on the bay side of the Sandy Hook peninsula. They were taken to Monmouth Medical Center where they were pronounced dead after the 4:30p incident.

Romero-Tlamanintzi’s brother, Martin Romero, 30, of Red Bank, remained in intensive care Sunday after bystanders Bobby James of Woodbridge and Howard Morris of Columbus, Ohio, brought him to safety, National Park Service spokesman John Warren told the Press.

“I know bystanders performed CPR on him,” Warren said.

July 26, 2010 - 4:48 am | Comments ()