Thursday, September 27, 2007

Nutley High School

September, 2007

Indian summer continued with the arrival of the AP Biology class. Due to the low water it was impossible to transport everyone and all the gear to Sedge. As a result, six of the students (several from the Nutley Girls Crew Team) paddled from Island Beach to the island in the big canoe. Soon after the group assembled, we paddled kayaks into the marsh to explore the warm, clear water. The osprey are now gone but two peregrine falcons are still utilizing the new igloo house on the hacking tower.

Taking advantage of the unusually warm water and air, it was peasant to get wet as we paddled to the dike and then hiked to the ocean. AP Biology teacher Mr. Bania, who works in the summer as a Seaside Park life guard, joined most of the students for a dip in the 72 degree surf before lunch on the beach. We stopped to go clamming in one of the creeks on our paddle back to Sedge. Digging by hand in the shallow water, we were rewarded by finding 100 clams of various sizes. Some of these clams were served up for dinner along with crabs and bluefish that we had also caught.

The warm days were complimented by cool nights. Most students slept out under the stars. The only problem was that the moon was so bright it was difficult to pick our constellations. It wasn’t really much of a problem.

NJ Kayak

September 2007

Fall at the Jersey Shore doesn’t get much better than this. The water was warm (72F) and clear (visibility 10’ off the dock.) The air was warm (80F) and clear (bright blue sky with unlimited visibility.) On arrival the group found the tide had blown out so fat that it was impossible to bring the pontoon boat across the sand bar to reach the IBSP dock. Alton used the small jon boat to shuttle the gear to Sedge as the group paddled out. This was just the first paddle in a series of adventures on the water.

On the second day we paddled south along High Bar Harbor to Viking Village in the town of Barnegat Light. We ate lunch at a picnic table in the center of the tourist shops. Later we paddled past the land based shellfish nursery near the public landing area. Before heading across Barnegat Inlet, the group got into a line with Bill at one end and Jim at the other so that we could minimize potential interference with boat traffic. We paddled straight across the inlet to the dike at Island Beach State Park. Several of the paddlers took advantage of the small waves in the inlet to do some kayak surfing.

Slurping raw clams and oysters and then cracking and picking blue crabs preceded Carmen’s delicious dinner (steak and chicken kabobs.) The night was so cool and clear that half the group slept on the front porch. They were rewarded with a spectacular sunrise. Unfortunately the fish were not up so early and no one caught anything. It was a gorgeous morning and after cleaning up the group paddled over to Island Beach. They hiked on the trail near the Forked River Interpretive Center, and then hung out on the beach before returning home. Another perfect weekend “Down the Shore.”

Monday, September 24, 2007

Rutgers University Outing Club

September 7, 2007

The Rutgers Outdoor Club arrived at the Island Beach State Park Sedge dock just as it was getting dark and starting to rain. Tony ferried them to Sedge in two groups. The thirteen students were a varied group from freshmen to seniors, majoring in anything from English Literature to Astro-physics. We listened with interest to the NOAA weather report that predicted a major change when a cold front passed through the next day.

The forecast proved to be true. After a rainy early morning, the skies cleared, the temperature dropped, and the wind increased. Rather than paddling to the dike and then being forced to fight a strong wind on the return trip, we chose to stay in the confines of the marsh. We paddled through mosquito ditches and natural waterways with a long lunch break in the shelter of John Yoder’s house. A highlight of the trip for some was the digging of soft clams in the Horsefoot Slough.

When we returned from our paddle everyone seemed to want to do something different. Three students went snorkeling. Four students fished. Six students went clamming. Tom Virzi arrived in the late afternoon and talked about his research work with American Oyster Catchers as he helped the students identify a variety of shore birds on a distant sand bar.

The highlight of Sunday was the opportunity to paddle around Sedge Island. Five students chose to paddle in the North Canoe, while others returned to the kayaks. We also had a visit from John Wnek who dug out some of the Diamond Backed Terrapins who had hatched but were still in th