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A Shore Dream Comes True

All my photos from the event are now online.
Check them out on www.SharkeyMarine.com Click on "Photo Links"

A Shore Dream comes true in Seaside
Published in the Asbury Park Press 07/17/05
BY NICHOLAS CLUNN
STAFF WRITER

SEASIDE HEIGHTS — The people came in buses and vans from across New Jersey to spend a few hours at the shore. Volunteers served hamburgers. The dunk tank was popular, but the power boats generated the most excitement.

The rides left slowly from the municipal pier, but quickly picked up speed once in open water. At 50 mph, hair flew behind heads and wakes from other boats easily jolted the passengers. The motors made noise that almost blocked out all other sounds.

It was a new and thrilling experience for many of the physically and mentally disabled people — many of them children — who sped across Barnegat Bay on Saturday. And a gratifying one for the boat pilots who donated their time and fuel to make it happen.

"It's knowing the memories these people will be going home with," said Pete Genardi, a 36-year-old plumber from Long Island, N.Y., who donated the use of his boat during the four-hour carnival held by the Shore Dreams for Kids charity.

About 400 came for the annual event, which essentially allowed them free rein over a fair put up in the grass of a municipal softball field.

Jade Alston, who is 17 and uses a wheelchair, said she enjoyed socializing with various types of people, which isn't a regular experience for her.

"It's different because it's a bunch of different people having a good time," said Alston, who lives in East Orange.

Alston said she usually interacts with the same people through Friday Night Fever, a social program coordinated through Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside.

The 10 or so people in the program go to the movies together and recently had a prom. But the hospital's therapists wanted them to experience the rush that boating can provide, so they left for Seaside around 8:30 a.m. in a hospital van.

"A lot of them have never been on a boat before, so this is really a great opportunity," said Michele Krosnick, a physical therapist with the hospital.

Adorned in several beaded-necklaces, as if she had just returned from Mardi Gras, Alston spent part of the day threading beads onto fishing line to make yet another piece of jewelry. In one hand, she held an ice-cream cone topped with soft-serve vanilla.

Despite this moment of indulgence, Alston said she loved the boat rides most.

Members from the New Jersey Performance Power Boat Club provided that part of Saturday's entertainment.

Some burned between $200 and $300 in fuel, at their own expense, but Genardi said the cost is worth seeing a child on a power boat for the first time.

"It's an exciting day that you walk away feeling good from," he said. "It's not a sacrifice."

Nicholas Clunn: (609) 978-4597 or [email protected]

Thank you all who came out and volunteered with your time and your boats! With the smiles on these kids faces and a memory they will all cherish forever, it just doesn't get any better than that! :drink:

Enjoy the photos from the event online.
Check them out on www.SharkeyMarine.com Click on "Photo Links"