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Mayor and Council seek bidders for Seasonal Restaurant Concession on Ninth Ave Pier

With piles of snow on the ground, and another blizzard on the way, it’s hard to envision a beautiful July evening enjoying dinner and cocktails on a pier with a spectacular view of the Belmar marina and the sun setting over the Shark River. But that’s the sizzle the Mayor and Council are hoping will attract more than 80 area restaurateurs who have been invited to attend an informational meeting on February 11, 2010 at 9 a.m. at the Belmar Municipal Building. The purpose of the meeting is to outline the Borough’s plans to bid out a concession to operate a seasonal bar and grill on the Ninth Avenue Pier, and get feedback from interested bidders so that the Borough can properly prepare bid specs for the project.

Over the past decade, the Borough has upgraded its marina into one of the finest facilities of its kind on the east coast, including more than 70 slips available for transient boaters who can rent on a daily or weekly basis. This spring, the Borough will start the next phase of upland marina improvements, which are designed to make the already popular marina a top destination for transient boaters in the New York metropolitan area, as well for land-based visitors and especially the residents of Belmar. These improvements will include the renovation this spring of the Ninth Avenue pier to include not a seasonal bar and grill, but also landscaping and seating areas for the public, a nautical flag pole and memorial area to honor Pat and Sandy Breslin, areas equipped for festival or seasonal vendors to display their goods and a booth where visitors can book kayak rentals, charter fishing, diving and sightseeing trips, eco-tours other activities.

The restaurant concession will be offered with a Special Concessionaire Permit from the State of New Jersey to serve alcohol pursuant to N.J.S.A. 33:1-42 and N.J.A.C. 13:2-5.2 (liquor license). The permit will be subject to limited hours of service and other conditions, which will be discussed at the February 11 informational session.

Currently there is only one location for service of food in the marina, a luncheonette located in the Borough’s Harbor Master building. This concession is also currently up for lease. The Mayor and Council are preparing bid specifications for both locations, and would like input from experienced restaurant owners, who may be interested in leasing this space and/or the Ninth Avenue Pier. Although 80 restaurateurs have been invited to attend, the informational meeting is open to all interested potential bidders, as well as the public at large, and the Borough plans to use information and ideas obtained during the informational meeting when preparing the bid and lease documents.

This bid opportunity is not in lieu of, but rather in addition to, the Borough’s longer-term plan to replace the Harbor Master building with a much larger, permanent building which will include a fine-dining restaurant with Concession Permit License on the second floor, as well as a variety of first-floor uses including a casual foods, ice cream, bait, tackle and chandlery, and other marine-related retail uses. The Borough has applied to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for a CAFRA permit to develop this larger facility, most likely pursuant to a long-term ground lease, and will hold additional meetings in the future once the necessary permit has been obtained.

Anyone interested in attending the February 11, 2010 meeting or in leasing the new outdoor concessions on the Ninth Avenue pier and/or the current luncheonette, and would like to review either the draft lease agreements should contact Borough Administrator Robbin Kirk at rkirk@boro.belmar.nj.us

Equipment Swap

It’s that time of year again, Belmar Recreation will be accepting your Sports/Fitness gear (playable shape Please) on September 23, 24, and 25 from 0730 till 3pm at the gym 601 Main Street. . This is a great chance for you to clean out that space and help someone in need of some equipment. On Monday September 28 from 0730 am until 230 pm , the equipment that has been collected and cleaned up will be placed in the gym at 601 Main Street for people to take as needed. There is no charge for the service so let’s help each other and make some child happy.  Please contact Mike Campbell for questions 732-681-3700 Dial 9 then 211.

The Shark River Kayak Co. Wants to Help Your Favorite Local Charity

Beginning September 8 and running through October 8, the Shark River Kayak Co. will help support your favorite local charity.  How?  For every kayak that is rented between September 8 and October 8, 50% of the proceeds will go directly to a local charity.  If you have a charity in mind or if you are a charitable organization, please call Brenda at (732) 749-0490 for details.

Two New Webcams Coming Soon to Belmar.com

The Borough is installing two new webcams that will enable visitors to Belmar.com to enjoy Belmar’s spectacular scenery. The new webcams will be installed on the roof of the Taylor Pavilion at Fifth and Ocean Avenues, and on the roof of the Senior Citizen’s Building at Eighth Avenue and Railroad. The Taylor Pavilion roof location will enable Belmar.com visitors to enjoy beach and Ocean Avenue views, while the Senior Citizen Building roof top camera will capture views of the marina, commercial boat docks, inlet and back bay of the Shark River.

Currently, visitors to Belmar.com can access a webcam only through a link to an NJ.com-sponsored webcam mounted on the front of the Eastern Lines Surf Shop on Ocean Avenue. Although this fixed, still-shot camera provides a view of only a narrow slice of Belmar’s beach and boardwalk, it has proved to be enormously popular with Belmar.com visitors. In fact, despite its limited features, this one webcam accounts for upwards of 15% of all summer-time visits to Belmar.com.

The Borough’s two new webcams will use a more feature-rich version of TrueLook software to provide streaming, as opposed to still-shot images, and viewers will be able to pan, tilt and zoom the camera to capture a wide array of scenes. The TrueLook software will also include a variety of special features, including enabling My Belmar members to sign up to receive photos of Belmar’s magnificent sunrises over the Atlantic and equally spectacular sunsets over the Shark River. Moreover, unlike the NJ.com webcam, Belmar will be able to earn advertising revenue from these new webcams, and also use the cams in a variety of ways to promote Belmar’s special events and downtown, marina and beachfront business communities.

As part of the webcam project, the Borough is also installing wireless directional antennae on the roof tops of the Taylor Pavilion and the Senior Citizen Building that can transmit data at high speeds via line-of-site wireless links between the two buildings. (There is no broadband cable service east of the boardwalk).

This wireless network will connect to the internet via a high speed fiber optic cable that is being installed in the Senior Citizen Building. The Borough plans to rely on the same wireless network to enable visitors to Belmar.com to see the planned new 4k wind turbine at Taylor Pavilion in action, as well as to view real-time data about the turbine’s energy output.

The wireless directional antennas Belmar is using have the capacity to be expanded in the future to provide full mesh-networking capability. This will enable Belmar to not only provide wireless access for internet and cell phone use, but also to expand the network over time beyond line-of-site locations. Under the plan, Belmar’s 70-foot tall Senior Citizen Building will serve as the hub for the network, collecting wireless line-of-site data feeds from an array of directional antennas in the town. The building’s easily accessible roof, existing broadband service, and clear line-of-site views to numerous other Belmar buildings and landmarks make it an ideal platform for the future expansion of the network. Future sites for the installation of webcams include the basketball courts and skate board park at Dempsey Park, the ball fields at Memorial Field, and the Community Sailing Dock, followed by other municipal parks, playgrounds and walkways.

The Belmar Tourism Commission is funding the cost of the cameras, weatherproof enclosures, wireless antennae and routers and cables, poles and mounting equipment, and will also manage the advertising revenue from the cameras, as well as their promotional use to support Belmar’s special events and Belmar’s businesses. Advertising revenue from the webcams will pay for the ongoing software and maintenance of the cams, and fund the expansion of the program. The design and technical aspects of the installation are being handled on a volunteer basis by long-time Belmar resident Marshall Boxer. Special thanks is also owed to Luis A. David, who is the Senior Learning Manager for SCOPE Center at Brookdale. Luis spent 23-years with AT&T Communications in both networking and engineering, and has been an invaluable resource for Marshall and the Borough in the planning and implementation of this ambitious project. Special thanks are also owed to the Public Works Department, and in particular Rich Neral, who is handling the installation and cabling of the system. Thanks are also owed to Borough Administrator Robbin Kirk, who has handled the procurement issues is spearheading the installation of broadband service to the Senior Citizens Building.

Venture III accommodates divers and fishermen alike

The Venture III operating out of Belmar Marina is a multipurpose vessel, but over 25 years has earned a particularly venerable reputation as a diving boat.  Captains Paul and Ruth Hepler, both certified scuba divers, have used Venture III to assist NJ’s Reef Program build and monitor NJ reefs and bring scuba divers of all experience levels to visit these natural and manmade attractions.  Their 46′ crew boat can handle diving groups of up to 18 and offers open boat diving and night diving at NJ’s best shipwrecks, natural rock and reef diving spots.  As for fishing charters, the Venture III can hold up to 24 people and will fish day or night, inshore or offshore, year round.  Bait and tackle is included.  Climb aboard and experience the hidden treasures of the Atlantic Ocean!

For more information, call captain Paul Hepler at (732) 928-4519 or venturediveboat@aol.com.

DIVING	FISHING	COMMERCIAL
Groups up to 18	Groups up to 2	110-220 Volt generator
Open rung T ladder	Day or night	Magnetometer available
Open boat diving on weekdays	Inshore or offshore	Underwater TV available
Night diving	Year-round	Hard Hat diving available
Shipwrecks, natural rock and reef diving	Heated cabin	Side-scan sonar available

Kayaking the Shark River

Down at the Belmar Marina, next to the charter fishing boats, is a little shack — we call it the Yak Shack. That’s the place to go when you want to cool off in the water after a hot day on the beach. Shark River Kayak Co offers guided kayak tours of the Shark River as well as the Shark River basin. You can also rent kayaks and go exploring on your own. All the kayaks are sit-on-top style, and you have the option of renting a single (for one person) or a tandem (built for two). They also offer fishing kayaks, which are set up to hold all your fishing gear and have up to 6 rod holders. Life vests and paddles are included in the rental price.

Visit www.SharkRiverKayaks.com for more information or call (732) 749-0490.

East Coast kayakers visit Belmar for 4th of July

Back in June, Belmar.com reported that Dan and Bethany, a married couple kayaking the length of the East Coast, would be landing in our little town sometime in the near future.  Well, they finally landed, and spent their Independence Day at Belmar’s Marina.  After a somewhat harrowing journey through New York City, its surrounding islands and Sandy Hook, the couple made it to the peaceful Shark River, where they were greeted by Belmar’s own Shark River Kayak Co.  The couple wrote:

“Got up early the next morning, the 4th of July, and booked it outta there. We portaged our boats across sandy hook to the ocean, which was hellacious, and finally got out on the water for the day. We paddled down to NJ coastline and were shocked. The number of people on the Jersey Shore was unbelievable. really. i think we passed over a million people on our way to Belmar. It was incredible. These people are SERIOUS about thier beach time.  We saw so many scary bathing suits, rainbow umbrellas, a fly over, GI Joe come out of a low flying helicopter, a boardwalk fair, and a gazillion plane ads. It was awesome. We entered the Shark River and paddled to the docks for Shark River Kayak Company and met Brenda and Bert. So glad to get to Belmar. We took showers and were wisked away to a cookout and met the town, had some home-made SWEET TEA, (by a NC resident) and met the mayor, who gave me a kiss on the cheek. Can’t complain. We then took a low speed electric vehicle to the fireworks. After that, we set up our tent on a little floating dock and slept like babies… except for when the party boat from NYC came back to dock.”

Click here to follow Dan and Bethany’s journey to Key West.  To learn more about the Shark River Kayak Co., click here.

Happy kayaking!

Low-Speed Vehicles Arrive in Belmar

The Shark River Kayak Company now rents LSVs (Low-Speed Vehicles) at their “Yak Shack” in the Belmar Marina.  These LSVs are 100% street legal and 100% green.  Legal on streets with a speed limit not to exceed 25 mph, you can cruise the Shore from Asbury Park to Sea Girt.  For more info, contact the Shark River Kayak Co. at (732) 749-0490; www.SharkRiverKayaks.com.

Monmouth University Research Vessel to Map Shark River Bottom

In a few weeks you’ll see this research vessel on the Shark River, methodically plying its way back and forth in a pattern that will ultimately cover the entire estuary. Then one day later this year you’ll be able to sign on to Google Earth, zoom down to the Shark River and peer underneath the water and see a contour map of the river’s bottom. You’ll even be able to see where Shark River’s clam beds are located.

The research vessel is named the R/V Seahawk, in honor of Monmouth University’s Hawk mascot. The Seahawk is operated under the auspices of the University’s Urban Coast Institute (UCI), and works closely with the University’s program in Marine and Environmental Biology. The UCI was formed in 2005 as one of the University’s "Centers of Distinction," with the mission of supporting collaborative programs focused on sustaining the quality of New Jersey’s coastline. The UCI is a very visible example of the broad academic vision of Monmouth University’s President, Paul G. Gaffney, II, a retired Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy, where he was the commander of the Navy Meteorology and Oceanography Command and the Chief of Naval Research. He was also a presidential appointee to United States Commission on Ocean Policy. The UCI purchased the Seahawk with a grant from the National Oceanagraphic and Aeronoautic Administration (NOAA).

The Seahawk is outfitted with sensitive side-scan sonar equipment and some extremely powerful computer hardware and software from SWATHplus Sonars, a division of SEA (Group) Ltd. The SWATHplus system enables the Sea Hawk to perform sophisticated, and highly accurate, bathymetric surveys of the river bottom.

Belmar Mayor Ken Pringle got a tour of the Seahawk and a demonstration of its capabilities when it was in Belmar back in March, during the commissioning of its sonar rig and software. The mayor’s host on the tour was Tony MacDonald, the UCI’s Executive Director. (Mayor Pringle sits on the UCI’s Advisory Committee). At the helm was the captain of the Seahawk, Jim Nickels, UCI’s resident marine scientist. Also along was Paul Byham , a consultant for SEA (Group) Ltd, the manufacturer of the SWATHplus system. Paul flew over from his home in Bath, UK to install and commission the system and train Jim Nickels and some Monmouth University students on how to use it.

As Jim Nickels slowly piloted the Seahawk between and among the slips in the Belmar marina, Paul Byham demonstrated how the bathymetric surveying program works. (Paul Byham is an expert in the use of sidescan sonar for bathymetric surveying, and has co-authored articles about the subject and how it the process works). The computer screen displayed an instantaneous visual image as the side-scanning sonar transponder did its job, gathering data that enabled the computer to calculate and graphically depict depths across a broad swath of the bottom, 100 feet or more on either side of the boat’s path — including areas under the docks — with a degree of accuracy in the range of a matter of inches.

As the bottom contour appeared on a computer screen, items of debris and shoaling spots could easily be seen on the bottom, Byham explained that this was only the "rough" data. Later, this data would be downloaded to onshore computers, which with some human help, will scrub the data to eliminate artifacts caused by sound shadows and "smoothe" the data so that it can be presented visually in a variety ways and from different perspectives. Global positioning system ("GPS") locations are plotted simultaneously as the sonar data is recorded, enabling the survey data to be seamlessly stitched together. Data obtained from different directions can be overlaid precisely and digitally integrated , forming a comprehensive detailed map of the bottom. This same GPS data will enable the finished survey to be synchronized with government and other publicly available GIS map data, and even uploaded and made part of Google Earth’s data set.

The sonar also has the ability to penetrate the mud and distinguish between different types of bottom consistencies, and can even detect and delineate shellfish beds. Nickels explained that the software doesn’t know what a shellfish bed looks like, but rather assigns the same category designation (e.g., Category 12 bottom) to each data grouping showing similar characteristics. Later, Nickels explained, he and Monmouth University students will go out and take samples from varying locations, in order to identify the distinguishing characteristics (e.g., Category 12 = clam bed) and will then update the survey map to accurately identify each unique area based on the results of their field work.

Even in its rough form, the flexibility of the data is pretty amazing. Traditional bathymetric survey maps are totally two-dimensional, showing depths every so many feet (the more frequent the readings, the more expensive the survey) on a paper survey map, with perhaps contour lines that give a general sense of the contour. With a few clicks of the mouse on either side of channel, Byham was able in seconds to show cut-away views of a channel in any given place, and could quickly identify areas where shoaling has occurred.

When the processing of the data is completed and uploaded to Google Earth, anyone will be able to "travel under" the Shark River, and get an accurate, albeit simulated view of the contours of Shark River’s channels and bottom.

Stay tuned for more updates this summer as Monmouth University and the R/V Seahawk goes to work mapping the bottom of the Shark River.

“A-Cats” Await the Start of the FOBH Adult Sailing Season

Adult sailing instruction will be offered by the non-profit Friends of the Belmar Harbour this summer. The adult sailing courses will be offered twice this summer, which each set of instruction beginning with a Wednesday evening orientation course, followed by successive weekend classes of 4-hours each day, with times based on tides. The first series of classes begins on Wednesday evening, July 8 at 7 p.m. The second series starts on Wednesday evening, August 5 at 7. p.m. All classes are taught by certified sailing instructors at the Shark River Bay sailing area, which is located at Maclearie Park just west of the L Street Beach on Highway 35. All participants who complete the program will receive a certificate from FOBH.

The classes are free to active members of the Friends of the Belmar Harbour. For non-members, the fee is $195 to FOBH for the cost of instruction and $30 to FOBH for fleet maintenance. For more information, or for instructions on how to register for the class, visit the FOBH website.

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