LBI Garden Club members help Beach Haven School students create holiday flower arrangements

As part of The Garden Club of Long Beach Island’s intergenerational program, Beach Haven School students worked side by side with garden club members and guests of each child’s choice last Thursday to create a floral arrangement for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Photo via Garden Club of LBI
Beach Haven School students proudly
display their floral arragements.

“Children, together with their invited guests, took pause from their schedules to commune with nature and create beautiful flower arrangements. The Beach Haven Elementary School was the site of budding florists,” said Lois Perry, who chairs the LBI Garden Club’s intergenerational program.

Forty-one children in preschool through third grade engaged in the “delightful activity that brought lots of smiles,” Perry said. The students worked together with a large group of parents, grandparents, teachers and administrators as well as garden club members.

“Every arrangement was unique and will be a beautiful contribution to the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Perry.

The activity helped “promote interaction of many age levels in the creation and appreciation of nature as it relates to individual floral arrangements,” she added.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.

Stops added to bicycle and pedestrian shuttle bus during bridge project

Photo by Ryan Morrill
The shuttle is operating while construction
continues on the east and west thorofares.

The shuttle service that began giving a lift earlier this month to individuals who travel to and from Long Beach Island by either walking or riding a bicycle over the Causeway Bridge has been updated. Other stops were added to tie in with New Jersey Transit’s bus stop on Route 9, and a stop was added just before the first Causeway bridge near Morris Boulevard in case anyone living near Beach Haven West needs to commute to the Island.

The shuttle, operated by Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, costs $1,200 a day and is being funded as part of the $350 million Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridges project. The service will end once the new pedestrian and bike access is completed and opened for use, which will occur sometime this winter.

The north sidewalk on the east and west thorofare bridges has been closed for demolition and reconstruction. Schiavone Construction Co. crewmembers began to shift traffic to the south side of the bridges in early October. The new traffic pattern includes a single lane in each direction between the two thorofare bridges. The configuration will remain until the spring.

Night work, which concluded last Friday, continued for about three weeks, with crews working until about midnight on the demolition of the northern side of the bridges.

“The contractor chose to add an extra shift at night to advance the project before the onset of winter and less predictable weather,” said Stephen Schapiro, communications director of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

“The installation of a new median barrier is ongoing. The contractor began with the construction of the foundation, which consists of steel dowels. After Thanksgiving, the work to erect the median barrier will continue and be more noticeable to motorists,” he added.

To view the full schedule of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Shuttle Bus, visit state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/roads/rte72manahawkinbaybridges/pdf/shuttlebus.pdf.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.

Owner of The Bagel Shack to open second restaurant offering healthful food year ’round

Photo via Trip Advisor
 All of the food at The Bagel Shack is
baked and bought locally.

The Bagel Shack in Beach Haven is known for making fresh bagels onsite daily, using the company’s own recipe. Its owner, Ken Muha, is opening another restaurant to offer residents fresh, homemade food year ’round.

“We’re going to service the local community, not just the summer community,” said Muha, who will be running the restaurant with one of his brothers-in-law.

An American bistro with a rustic-surf theme, The Shack will have “a little bit of everything” from gourmet pizza to salad. Lunch and dinner will be offered to start, though the menu may expand to include breakfast, too.

“Right now, all the young kids want another alternative to the current situation. So we’re going to offer healthy food, as opposed to being fast food and fried served on a plate,” he said. “People are more aware of the food that they’re eating. There’s a lot, a lot of local interest, a lot of Beach Haven interest in this.”

Muha planned to open the second restaurant this summer but said he was too busy with the bagel shop. He hopes to open The Shack next door in April while still running The Bagel Shack, which is open every day except Christmas.

“We’ve had such great success here,” he said. “I figure I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.

Not everyone is on board with proposed ‘maritime village’ in Beach Haven

A design presented by William Burris, a prominent developer on Long Beach Island, that includes a “maritime village” occupying the public dock, restrooms and 62 parking spaces along the bay between Dock Road and Second Street in Beach Haven received mixed reviews from local residents and officials at a special meeting held by the borough council Friday, Nov. 20.

“It is very controversial because a lot of people like to drive around through there,” said Beach Haven Mayor Nancy Taggart Davis. “But it’s a thought. This is all conceptual. There’s no commitment to any of this,” she emphasized.

Photo by Jack Reynolds
Couples check out The Boathouse during last
year's LBI Wedding Road Show.

Burris’ application to the Beach Haven Land Use Board earlier this month initially requested the creation of a bridge over Dock Road, connecting The Ketch and The Boathouse restaurants to facilitate them as one business. This, Burris hopes, would free up one of two liquor licenses, which he would like to transfer to the Surflight Theatre to run as a mini conference center and hotel with the addition of a bar and restaurant.

The vacant theater complex is going to auction Dec. 18. Burris said he currently has The Boathouse under contract for purchase next fall, following 22 weddings already planned at the restaurant. He is looking into buying The Ketch.

Although members of the land use board unanimously approved his modifications to The Ketch, including an expansion of the dining area and the extension of the upper deck to line up with the westerly border of The Boathouse, the request for the bridge was tabled. However, if supported by local officials and residents, Burris said, he would like to have the overpass built. He also suggested closing Dock Road to vehicular traffic.

According to Burris and his lawyer, who claimed he received verbal confirmation, Dock Road is owned to the centerline by each of the abutting neighbors, with the borough having a right of way for public access. But Jeanette Lloyd, town historian, said the road was deeded to the borough in 1891.

“The first thing that was ever built in Beach Haven was Dock Road. So if anything, it should be memorialized, not sold or leased,” she said, adding that doing so would open up Pandora’s box. “If you do it one time, years down the pike you’re going to have to do it again,” she said.

Taggart Davis noted a formal title search would need to be done and that the town would have to consent to the project.

“He (Burris) can’t close the road off without the town agreeing to it,” she stressed.

Some members of the public, including Colleen Lambert, a local resident for 61 years, said they liked the area’s “hometown charm” just the way it is. Others, such as Jim Vogel, executive director of the New Jersey Maritime Museum located just east of The Boathouse, were open to the idea of improving the location. Most agreed the ideas needed to be viewed from all angles.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.

A-cat sailboats donated to Maritime Museum will be used by local sailing groups

The New Jersey Maritime Museum, famous for its collection of marine artifacts from prehistoric fossils to antique navigational equipment, recently received two very big contributions: a pair of A-cat sailboats. Copies of the original boats once used for fishing and sailing parties, the 28-foot by 11-foot sailboats carry 615 square feet of sail, have masts that are 46 feet high and weigh nearly 4,700 pounds.

Photo via New Jersey Maritime Museum
Deborah Whitcraft, founder of the NJMM, hangs
out on Ghost — one of the donated boats.

Perfect for racing on Barnegat Bay’s shallow waters, the boats will be used by local sailing organizations and groups on a lend/lease basis since there is no way either one could be on display inside or outside the museum.

Ghost is the gift of William Fortenbaugh of Bay Head and Raven was donated by Dave Alldian and Mike Tufariello of Brick, Cory Wingerter of Millstone Township and Peter Stagaard of Mantoloking. The vessels are being stored for the winter at Beaton’s Boat Yard in Brick and DeRouville’s Boat Works in Bayville.

“We are honored to be part of this aspect of Barnegat Bay history, and thank the donors who will be providing so much education and pleasure for so many people from the lower part of Barnegat Bay,” said Deborah Whitcraft, founder and president of the New Jersey Maritime Museum.

The boats “give a whole new dimension to the maritime history of New Jersey,” added Jim Vogel, the museum’s executive director and a retired commercial fisherman.

In the 1800s, Barnegat Bay mariners needed hefty boats to move goods across the choppy waters, and those who returned to the docks first obtained the best prices for their catch. Of course, it didn’t take long for sailing the workboats to become sport.

“It’s no accident that boats evolve from the waters they ply,” said Roy Wilkins, intercollegiate sailing coach at Ocean County College and Monmouth University. “Single-sail catboats were powerful vessels that could handle heavy loads, and while big sails were a handful, they were necessary to make good time, efficient in both strong or light winds. Being first to bring goods to market or deliver passengers has always been a priority for profit-minded entrepreneurs, and racing for almost any reason is part of the fabric of human nature. It was inevitable that the workboats of Barnegat Bay would compete.”

In 1871, with only eight gaff-rigged working boats participating, the Toms River Challenge Cup was started. The race was open to all yacht owners who lived between Bay Head and Tuckerton. The sailboats changed from workboats to pleasure and racing vessels in 1922 when noted naval architect Charles Mower designed an A-cat that won the Toms River Challenge trophy.

Wilkins, who is also co-author of A Cats: a Century of Tradition, will present “A History of the Barnegat Bay A Cats” at the museum on Friday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be available before and after the presentation. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

A display on the history of A-cats with historic and modern photos will be available at the museum in the spring.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.

Beach Haven will forgive ‘abnormally high’ water charge due to pipe breaks

Due to last winter’s extremely cold weather, a number of seasonal homeowners in Beach Haven received excessively high water bills when their pipes burst or began to leak. While some residents asked for reprieve from the charges, the local government could not provide forgiveness since the ordinance did not include such a provision, according to Borough Clerk Sherry Mason.

Photo via Google
Many homeowners received unusually high water
bills when pipes burst due to the extreme cold.

Now, property owners who accrue an uncommonly high quarterly water bill “due to unusually high water use attributable to a leak, mishap, or accident, in or outside the billed premises” may obtain a one-time billing adjustment. The ordinance amendment, which includes a special provision for those who received abnormally high water bills issued in 2014 and 2015, was approved by council members on Monday.

According to the ordinance, an abnormally high charge is classified as “a quarterly water bill in which the usage exceeds the total amount of usage billed to that residence or property for the prior 12 months of usage.”

Only property owners listed on the account for each respective property within the town are eligible to make a claim under the policy. Just one claim for redress during the time the owner owns the residential or business property will be acknowledged. Customers seeking a billing modification must formally apply within the grace period of the bill. A $50 non-refundable application processing fee will also be charged.

For those seeking relief from a bill issued in 2014 and 2015, applications must be submitted no later than April 1, 2016, and must comply with all other provisions of the ordinance.

Property owners who intentionally use a significantly large amount of water such as while filling a pool, power washing, or during construction, will not be considered.

Officials noted property owners will soon be able to monitor their water usage and receive customizable alerts through AquaHawk, a water leak and detection system the borough is expecting to utilize. More information should be included in the next water bill.

“Because of the variation in use of the properties here, we never really know who is at a given property, if folks are coming down for the weekend or they’ve wrapped it up for the season,” said Borough Manager Richard Crane, who encouraged everybody to participate.

In other news, the town purchased a second beach tractor from Cherry Valley Tractor Sales for $92,191 to more effectively sweep the beach after replenishment is completed by the 2016 summer season.

“Hopefully we’ll have a much wider, flatter beach to rake,” said Crane.

During the recent demolition of the town’s Superstorm Sandy-damaged borough hall, remains of some previous structures, including a portion of the original water tower and a power-generating plant, were found underneath the building. According to Beach Haven Historian Jeanette Lloyd, Crane said, it was common practice in earlier days to construct buildings on top of buildings and relocate structures to other parts of town.

“In Beach Haven, nothing goes to waste,” Crane said, quoting Lloyd.

Council members are also working on amending the town’s abandoned property ordinance based on the state’s Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act.

“We have a number of properties in town that are really unsightly and that we would like the owners to rehab, particularly in the center of town next to businesses,” Mayor Nancy Taggart Davis stated. “A lot of people we’ve contacted individually and asked them to try to improve the looks of their property, and they haven’t done anything. So by passing this ordinance it’ll be able to give us more teeth to demand that they do something. We can actually take the property away from them,” she explained.

A number of residents have expressed outrage regarding a plan presented to the land use board last week by developer William Burris that, Taggart Davis explained, would require the closure of Dock Road between The Ketch and The Boathouse. The plan is expected to be presented before the council Friday, Nov. 20.

“Because we’re elected officials, we have no right to give up any streets of this town for anybody for any reason. This is not our town to give away,” stated Councilman Jim White, who asked people to attend the meeting.

“These are just plans,” Taggart Davis added. “The street belongs to the town, and the town has no obligation or fear of a lawsuit in this regard. There’s no reason we would have to give him that street.”

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.

Former pageant winner now coaches others to crowning achievements

As a former Miss New Jersey Teen USA, Jacklyn Pezzotta Gray, 30, of Manahawkin knows beauty queens and pageants sometimes have negative stereotypes. But, based on her experience, the idea of pretty but empty-headed young women wearing a crown could not be farther from the truth.

Photo via Jacklyn Pezzotta Gray
Jacklyn Pezzota Gray (right) congratulates
her pageant coaching client, Gina Mellish, on
becoming Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2016.

Working within the Miss Universe Organization as a pageant coach for the past seven years, Pezzotta Gray has helped bring lawyers, scientists and future doctors “that are the most down to earth, ambitious and intelligent women you will ever meet” to their crowning glory. She coached the past three Miss New Jersey USA winners and the past two Miss New Jersey Teen USA champions.

“Each girl is unique on what made them a winner, but the qualities they have in common, I would have to say, are their hard work and determination. They all put everything they had into it,” Pezzotta Gray stated. “That being said, you can’t just win with hard work. Their beauty and charm were also key factors, and the judges fell in love with them.”

As the official coach for Miss New Jersey USA, Miss New Jersey Teen USA, Miss Delaware USA and Miss Delaware Teen USA, the local resident gets “to see lives change and help dreams come true.” The transformation in each of her clients and the skills they acquire go beyond the stage, allowing them to accomplish “great success” professionally and personally, she said.

“So many clients have reached out letting me know they just landed their dream job or got into their dream college using the skills we worked on,” said Pezzotta Gray. “I also see it improve their personal relationships and dating life, believe it or not. They gain so much self-respect and confidence, they tend to get out of toxic relationships and set the bar higher – which, I think, is pretty awesome, too.”

Pezzotta Gray’s pageant coaching typically includes helping clients attain presence from makeup and wardrobe styling to proper communication, fitness and nutrition. In essence, she helps them get to know their best self.

“The girl can have everything on the outside together, but if she does not believe in who she is and know herself, when she walks on that stage she will not be able to shine,” she said, noting that her husband, Jon Gray, is the official fitness trainer for Miss New Jersey USA and Miss New Jersey Teen USA in preparation for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.

To bring out the best in every client, Pezzotta Gray said they need to “cut the BS.” She does not expect her clients to be flawless; otherwise they wouldn’t need to hire her, she said. This sort of relationship, she believes, allows her clients to really open up.

“They get to be 100 percent real with me, and they know that I am always going to tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear,” she said. “I think the trust I build with my clients is what allows me to guide them to their best version of themselves. I never give a false praise, so when they get positive feedback, they know it’s real and something to build confidence upon.”

Pezzotta Gray’s largest following is in New Jersey, but her clients come from all over the country. The interest has been building since she’s had consecutive winners.

“I believe my ability to visualize someone’s potential, knowing exactly what they need to do to achieve it and directly but positively communicating it to my clients, is my natural God-given talent,” said Pezzotta Gray.

Her experience in the pageant industry, including becoming the first Miss New Jersey Teen USA to make the top five at Miss Teen USA, as well as her diverse background in the entertainment business from celebrity makeup and modeling to movies and radio, is also a valuable component many other pageant coaches cannot offer, she said.

Although Pezzotta Gray strictly works within the Miss Universe Organization since that’s where she has competed and she knows it to be an “extremely fair and well-run organization that offers many amazing opportunities for their title holders,” she is often hired by young women and mothers looking into the entertainment industry. Sometimes people need help getting their dream job, and others just want a makeover. She also helps younger girls who may be bullied or need a confidence booster. However, she does not provide services for kiddie pageants, which is a separate industry.

Along with her coaching services, Pezzotta Gray offers personal development and makeovers to anyone through her business, Jacklyn Beauty. The on-site company, which serves the tri-state area, specializes in large weddings, prom parties, runway shows and beauty events. The group is the official hair and makeup team for New Jersey, Delaware and New York preliminary pageants for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. She has worked with celebrities on the sets of “Entourage,” “House” and “Private Practice” as well as with Rusk Hair Products, Bliss Magazine, Island Bridal and Nordstrom.

Because of her experience, Pezzotta Gray encourages any young woman who is in the age range and wants to grow and learn life-long skills to compete in a Miss Universe Organization pageant.

“It is a life-changer. You don’t need to win for it to change your life,” she emphasized. “As a young woman who is an entrepreneur, a wife and new mom of a little, baby girl of 9 months, I always encourage women to go for their dreams and not to give up no matter their circumstances,” she said. “... I always wanted to be able to work for myself and put myself in a position that when I had family I was able to be present and work as much and as little as I wanted to. After years of work, I am there, and I also get to give many other girls the opportunities as well, which is extremely fulfilling.”

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.

Beach Haven students cultivated for next generation of activists through Barnegat Bay program

Beach Haven School students are at the helm of reviving Barnegat Bay as the first Barnegat Bay Defenders, a pilot program designed by Save Barnegat Bay to engage fourth- through eighth-grade students in advocacy and Barnegat Bay-specific issues.

The initiative combines conservation and sustainability with civics to promote responsible action in Ocean County environmental law. The local group of kids is being cultivated as the next generation of young activists.

Photo via LBI Garden Club
A kickoff event introduces school students and
staff to the issues surrounding Barnegat Bay.

“The reason this program is so significant is that part of the social studies curriculum from fourth grade onward focuses on branches of government, the legislative process and civics,” said Kimberly Belfer, education and outreach coordinator at Save Barnegat Bay. “Most students do not have the opportunity to get hands-on practical applications to what they are learning until they are able to vote. This program will engage them early on and assist them in creating advocacy campaigns around some of the bay’s most pressing issues.”

To get started on matters surrounding the bay, the students participated in a terrapin talk and a sea nettle craft during the program’s kickoff event, held at the school Wednesday, Oct. 28. Diamondback terrapins are a species of marine turtle native to the bay, and their habitat, food and nesting areas are threatened, said Belfer. The overpopulation of stinging sea nettle jellyfish is a large issue impacting Manahawkin Bay, she added.

“The staff of the Beach Haven School look forward to working with Save Barnegat Bay in becoming defenders of the Barnegat Bay,” said Linda Downing, the school’s interim principal. “Engaging future generations in advocacy creates a sense of accountability and responsibility for their communities. They become more invested in protecting nature, wildlife conservation and making a difference.”

School students were introduced to the importance of caring for the bay over the past couple of years when the school received a Sandy Relief Arts Education Grant from Young Audiences New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. With the help of school staff, Eloise Bruce, artist-in-residence, combined local ecology with the students’ art infusion curriculum.

“Barnegat Bay Defenders had already been in development at this time, so we decided to pilot the program with the entire school, engaging all the students in the development and commencement of this program this year,” Belfer said.

The Garden Club of Long Beach Island also contributed funding to assist with the program development.

As part of the continuation of their work, each grade level at the school is designing a “Defenders Badge.” Save Barnegat Bay’s board of directors will vote on the best design, which will become the official defenders badge as well as a symbol for any student throughout Ocean County who would like to become a defender, Belfer stated.

In the spring, fourth- through sixth-grade students at the school will continue their vocation by creating a small campaign around a current issue.

Save Barnegat Bay will also begin to reach out to fourth- and fifth-grade teachers as well as middle school social studies teachers in Ocean County to set up presentations about advocacy work. After-school Defenders Clubs will be established so other interested students can begin to develop an advocacy campaign or project.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.

Free shuttle gives pedestrians a lift through bridge construction zone

Individuals who travel to and from Long Beach Island by either walking or riding a bicycle over the Causeway Bridge can hitch a ride on a free shuttle when the north sidewalk on the east and west thorofare bridges closes for demolition and reconstruction early this month. To accommodate employees working on the Island, the bus will run from Manahawkin Plaza with stops at Cedar Bonnet and the waterfront park at 10th Street in Ship Bottom, and then return to Stafford Township with stops at The Dutchman’s restaurant and on East Bay Avenue at Manahawkin Plaza.

“NJDOT has worked closely with residents and local officials to create a shuttle schedule that will accommodate the needs of those utilizing the bridge,” said Kevin Israel, public information officer at the New Jersey Department of Transportation. “This is not for recreational use,” he stressed.

The service will end once the new pedestrian and bike access is completed and opened for use, which will occur sometime this winter.

Schiavone Construction Co. crewmembers began to shift traffic to the south side of the bridge in early October. The new traffic pattern includes a single lane in each direction between the two thorofare bridges. The configuration will remain until the spring.

The shuttle, which costs $1,200 a day, is being funded as part of the $350 million Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridges project. It will be operated by Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.

Manahawkin to LBI Shuttle Schedule

Manahawkin Plaza	Cedar  Bonnet*	Waterfront Park	Dutchman’s Brauhaus	Manahawkin Plaza
5:00 AM	5:05	5:10	5:20	5:35
6:00	6:05	6:10	6:20	6:35
7:00	7:05	7:10	7:20	7:35
8:00	8:05	8:10	8:20	8:35
9:00	9:05	9:10	9:20	9:35
This trip is available on Saturday & Sunday
11:00	11:05	11:10	11:20	11:35
12:00PM	12:05	12:10	12:20	12:35
1:00	1:05	1:10	1:20	1:35
2:00	2:05	2:10	2:20	2:35
3:00	3:05	3:10	3:20	3:35
6:00	6:05	6:10	6:20	6:35
7:00	7:05	7:10	7:20	7:35
8:00	8:05	8:10	8:20	8:35
9:00	9:05	9:10	9:20	9:35
10:00	10:05	10:10	10:20	10:35
11:00	11:05	11:10	11:20	11:35
12:00 AM	12:05	12:10	12:20	12:35
1:00	1:05	1:10	1:20	1:35
*Bus stop on Cedar Bonnet is at Schiavone’s construction office

AIDS activist rowing from Africa to New York takes rest at LBI

After navigating the Little Egg Inlet, Victor Mooney of Queens, New York – who said he is a week or two away from completing a 5,000-mile journey from Africa to New York City in a 24-foot rowboat with no motor or sail – docked at Surf City Marina Monday afternoon to rest a bit and wait for the tide to change.

Photo by Jack Reynolds
Victor Mooney stops in Surf City before
making his way north to New York.

“Prior to coming here, I was looking at my charts and I thought, ‘Where can I stop?’ And I said, ‘Surf City, that just sounds like a place that would be fitting for me to go,’” he stated, resting against the rails of his boat, gospel music playing from portable speakers. “The folks at the marina, of course, were surprised to see me.”

Mooney’s last port of call was the Frank S. Farley State Marina at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, which he left Sunday morning.

“Coming through the New Jersey seashore has been so uplifting, seeing how people are recovering from Superstorm Sandy,” he said. “To see construction guys working and painting, and the resiliency of it all, is a morale booster for me. That was that same resolute with me coming across the ocean: I’m not giving up.”

Mooney, who spent his “second birthday at sea” when he turned 50 years old this past October, left the Canary Islands just off North Africa on Feb. 19, 2014 he said.

Photo by Jack Reynolds
The trip is in honor of all those who
have lost their lives to AIDS.

According to the Queens resident, he first tried to cross the ocean in 2006, but the trip quickly ended when his boat sank off the coast of Senegal. He said he tried again in 2009, but aborted the mission when his water system failed. In 2011, his boat took on too much water to maintain, and he spent 14 days in a life raft before being rescued by a Brazilian container ship.

Now Mooney is on the last leg of his fourth attempt in 10 years to finish his mission, which is devoted to encouraging people to get tested for HIV/AIDS. He lost one of his brothers to the devastating disease, and his other brother is battling the illness as well.

“This is in memory of my brother, and all those who have died of AIDS,” said Mooney. “I thought if I rowed from Africa, I could show the parallel of AIDS in Africa and also the United States. Unfortunately, the new cases of HIV/AIDS in certain parts of the United States are the equivalent to AIDS cases in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Although Mooney believes a cure for AIDS is on the horizon, he said the first step until then is testing, “which is critical.”

“That’s what this mission is about. It’s not a fundraiser; it’s to encourage folks to go to the doctor, to be responsible, to break down the walls of discrimination of people living with HIV,” he stated, adding that HIV/AIDS tests can be picked up at a local drugstore and taken in the privacy of one’s home.

At the end of his journey, Mooney noted, his vessel will be donated to the United Nations for permanent exhibition as a symbol for the fight against AIDS.

Despite the many trials and tribulations he said he has encountered along the way – including getting circled by sharks, which he said left holes in his boat, as well as pirated off the coast of Haiti, which he noted left him boat-less for a few months after being taken to Miami for repairs – he emphasized that the trip is not a victory and there is “no personal world record.”

“I hope the message of this row is to never give up,” he stated. “I dedicated a large amount of time to complete this mission, and now I’m about 65 miles to Brooklyn. I’m just asking the Father to give me his blessings so I can continue. It’s not a race.”

Mooney said his next major stop would be at Manasquan Inlet, before he travels to Sandy Hook, then New York Harbor and, finally, the Brooklyn Bridge. Along the way, he will remain cautious of the weather.

“Obviously I’m not in control of the elements. Rowing across the ocean really gives you a deep sense of humility.”

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.