Thursday, May 2, 2013
Current penalty just a $25 fine; DiGilio verdict reignites call to toughen New Jersey's 'leaving the scene' law
"I think it's sort of reopened the whole grieving process again," said Bonnie Post, describing the feeling of Anthony DiGilio being found not guilty of vehicular homicide in the boating accident that killed her husband, Robert. "It minimized the death of my husband," said Post, a pediatric nurse from Essex Fells and a summer resident of Point Pleasant Borough. The verdict in the DiGilio case, which stemmed from an Aug. 3, 2008 accident in the Metedeconk River in Brick, came more than four years later on April 22. A week after the verdict, Bonnie Post is reeling from what she sees not only as an injustice to her family, but a wider hole in New Jersey's boating laws. DiGilio, then 29, did not stop after hitting the 17-foot Boston Whaler …
Friday, March 8, 2013
Shrimp Box re-opened, Alex's Inlet Bait and Tackle and Red's Lobster Pot to follow
Flooded and beaten to a pulp by Sandy, a few restaurants and a bait and tackle shop in Point Pleasant Beach near the Manasquan Inlet are just beginning to come back to life. The Shrimp Box and Outside the Box Patio Bar, 75 Inlet Dr., re-opened Wednesday afternoon for the first time since Sandy pushed five feet of water into the restaurant overlooking the harbor. Alex's Inlet Bait and Tackle Shop, 9 Inlet Dr., is shooting for a March 15 opening and Red's Lobster Pot, 57 Inlet Dr., for an April 17 opening. The Manasquan Inlet was rushing over the bulkhead, into the parking lot on Inlet Drive on Wednesday, as the Shrimp Box was serving its first customers since the end of October. "The Shrimp Box & Outside the Box Patio Bar is opening for …
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Removing electronics will prevent looting
Boaters whose vessels have become disabled in either Hurricane Sandy or the nor'easter that followed should remove electronics and personal items from them to prevent theft and looting, a national boating organization urged. The advice is especially important as barrier island residents temporarily repopulate their hometowns, but will most likely have to leave their boats behind when they leave. The Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) also suggested boat owners place a "No Trespassing" sign on their boats along with contact information. Despite the suggestion, the organization said boaters should not climb in or on boats that have piled up together or are dangling from dock pilings or other obstructions. Boaters should …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
On May 20, the U.S. Coast Guard searched for six people who reportedly abandoned a sinking vessel near Galveston, Texas
The United States Coast Guard now believes that two hoax phone calls falsely reporting a yacht explosion in Sandy Hook last week may be linked to a similar May 20 incident in Texas. Two distress calls were received by the Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service New York on June 11 at about 4:20 p.m. The caller described himself as the master of the yacht "Blind Date" and reported that the boat had exploded with 21 people on board, according to a press release from the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard believes the same man placed both calls. The report of the yacht explosion 17 nautical miles offshore also indicated that 9 victims had suffered severe burns. The false report prompted a widespread, multi-agency emergency response to Sandy Hook, …
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Morning briefing announces increased reward of $3,000 for information about the prank calls about a yacht explosion off Sandy Hook on Monday.
Coast Guard officials in New York Tuesday said they now believe that two phone calls, possibly from the same man, falsely reported that a yacht had exploded off Sandy Hook, setting off a massive air search that came to naught Monday. In a press briefing at its Battery Park headquarters, the Coast Guard announced that it was increasing the award for information about the hoax from $1,000 to $3,000 "for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of anyone responsible." A statement from Coast Guard urged anyone with information about the incident to call its investigative service at 646-872-5774 or 212-668-7048 and promised anonymity. [Full text of the statement below.] "In addition to being a federal crime, false distress calls waste …
40.399104
-73.976496
Gateway National Recreation Area / Sandy Hook Unit
Po Box 437, Highlands, NJ
/articles/nine-injured-in-boat-explosion-off-sandy-hook
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/locations/7194913
Agency seeking information on false report of yacht explosion off Sandy Hook; audio released.
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating what they now know to be two hoax phone calls made Monday afternoon reporting an explosion on a yacht 17 miles off Sandy Hook. The reward for useful information to find the caller has been raised to $3,000 from $1,000, Coast Guard officials announced during a Tuesday morning press conference. "We need the public's help on this," said Captain Gregory P. Hitchen, urging anybody who knows anything to call the Coast Guard with tips. The Coast Guard released audio of the distress call it received on Monday at 4:20 p.m. If convicted, the caller faces five to ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine as well as reimbursement of the government's costs. The costs to the government weren't yet clear on Tuesday …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Large number of floating buoys may be a hazard, officials say
Most boaters have been there. It's night time, but channel markers are there to guide you back to your marina or boat ramp. The only obstacle, of course, is the large number of buoys marking No Wake zones that dot the path between the open bay and home port. On a busy summer weekend, the buoys can sometimes cause stress as boaters try to navigate skinny channels in the nation's most densely populated state. Boaters who equate the proliferation of buoy markers in waterways such as Barnegat Bay to a minefield of anchored obstacles will see some relief this summer, however, as the state will reduce the number of No Wake warning buoys up and down the coast. The total number of buoys, which mark areas in which boaters must slow to near-idle …
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Despite gradually warming air temperatures, accidents in cold water can be fatal, police warn
Don't let early spring warmth take you by surprise on the water. New Jersey State Police warned Shore residents that with the water temperatures still chilly, boaters need to take extra precautions or risk serious, potentially fatal accidents. “Historically speaking, as soon as warm weather comes upon us in the spring time, that’s when we see an increase in recreational boating,” said Trooper Christopher Kay of the State Police. “But don’t forget the fact that the water is going to be considerably cooler than the air.” State police said they have not received any notifications of cold-water deaths so far this year – and none last year. But in 2010, eight fatal boating accidents occurred throughout New Jersey, five of them in March and …
Thursday, August 25, 2011
From Brick to Barnegat, Ocean County residents getting ready
The rush began Wednesday at The Boat Shop in Manahawkin. By Thursday, owner Dave Schuda said, customers were flocking to the marine supply store on Bay Avenue to buy just about anything that could help them tie down - or haul out - their boats. "We've sold a tremendous amount of dock line," Schuda said. So much, actually, that the store had to order an extra shipment. "Fenders, dock lines, anything related to people protecting their boat have been big sellers," he said. At Genuardi's on West Bay Avenue in Manahawkin, crowds of shoppers bought necessities as a maintenance crew removed the plastic roofs from cart storage sheds in the crowded parking lot. Peter Bennett, 21, of Barnegat, was on a stocking-up mission for his family, loading …
Sal Petoia
5:37 pm on Monday, May 6, 2013
John S.: Well said! You echo my sentiments exactly. See my earlier post above submitted on 3 May. The prosecution and the jury really blew this case! Any sensible/responsible boater who travels these waters at night knows that you have your boat well lit and that you travel at a speed that is reasonable for the conditions. Even if DeGillio's bow lights were working, the speeds at which he was … more ›