Today, myself as well as several dozen NJPPC members, along with members of the marine trade and offshore racing scene ventured to the NJ State Police HQ for the NJ Boating Regulation Commission Meeting.

Chairman Roger Brown started the meeting by announcing that the Commission WILL NOT RECOMMEND SPEED LIMITS FOR INLAND TIDAL NJ WATERS!! After a nice round of applause, Mr. Brown continued to say that it was due to the huge out cry of phonecalls, letters to the editors, emails, etc..... as well as the INABILITY TO ENFORCE such a regulation. He stated that they will recommend to Sen. Ciesla to create a Bill requiring all boaters (power & sail) to be required to take and pass a Safe Boating Course. This will become the "Safe Boating Bill". He also stated that they will look to expand some no wake zones in a few critical areas. Official "Licensing" will not take place.

Mr. Willie DeCamp of Save Barnegat Bay spoke during the "discussion period" of the meeting and did a wonderful job of making an absolute ass out of himself. He called Poker Runners LAW BREAKERS and was totally appalled by the fact that we get the State Police to escort us during our events. He said this means that the State Police condone the LAW BREAKERS! Well.....needless to say he was shouted out at this point (he also made friends with the State Police that were present as well..hahaha) The only nice thing Willie DeCamp did was come over and shake my hand after the meeting and congratulate us on our victory. (it must have killed him!)

So - is the fight over? Absolutely NOT!

We're about 80% on our way to total victory. A few things we need to follow up on over the next 4-8 weeks.
1) Confirm the verbiage of the Safe Boating Bill when it is presented to the Assembly
2) Make sure that Bill #A3003 is recalled and shelved
3) Make sure that the Slow Speed No Wake areas are adequate but not ridiculous
4) Make sure that Sen. Smith and Assemblyman Moran do not put forward a Bill of their own that could include speed limits.
5) I have a meeting setup for this Friday with Patti Applegate. She is the Commodore of the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association. This Association is consists of 13 sailing clubs. We have agreed to sit down and review each other's schedules for this summer and discuss how we can live together on the bay without interfering with each other. Setting up a line of communication with this organization will be huge!!

Lastly - A big thank you to everyone in NJPPC, on OSO and in the Marine Trade that took the time to make your voice and opinion known. This is living proof that the environmentalists do not have a free reign on imposing their will on others!!!

It would also be a nice gesture to email Mr. Roger Brown and thank him for listening to our side and making a decision based on the facts we presented. His email is:[email protected]

We hope to see everyone at the Atlantic City Boatshow Feb 5-9 for a little Celebration!!!

YAY !

YAAAAhoo !!!!
You just made my day a little better !

I just sent my thank you to the man also .......

Good Job Dave!!!!!

Remember, We can't stop here!!! It was a great meeting yesterday, but we need to dig in for the long haul on this one.

You can can the newspaper articles here: SPEED UPDATES CLICK HERE

Thank you to all that showed up yesterday including the Jersey Anglers.

Congrats

Dave,good to see everyone,you and the guy's(and ladies) did a great job,CONGRATS! Smitty and I are looking foward to meeting with you,Thanks again...Regards Augie

Way to go! Keep it up.

"As a sailor, I think we can be as arrogant and rude and disruptive as some of the powerboaters who don't know the rules," (Fred) Slack said. "I think it's about fairness. Power-boaters and sailboaters have to live together."

Impressive that DaveP and the NJPPC could elicit that kind of response. Shows what a good, organized, diplomatic effort can do. Great job, guys - keep it up.

..let's raise a glass for Dave & all the folks on the front line for us!!

thanks all....

Marty