Ragland Mansion

By

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May 9, 2023

The Ragland Mansion, the luxurious B&B where I stayed on my weekend trip to Petersburg, Virginia, is a testimony to antebellum Italianate beauty, and one of several both Italianate and Greek Revival homes its wealthy builder and owner had constructed along the road within a few years of the start of the Civil War. Today, it is a magnificent B&B with an owner, manager and chief housekeeper and chef Claudia retaining the charm of yesteryear with the modern conveniences of today. Blend that in with Claudia’s efficiency and unending desire to ensure every guest has a spectacular time and you simply cannot go wrong.

The Ragland Mansion is located in the historic Poplar Lane district, 205 Sycamore Street was a fashionable street address in that century and features a hip roof and cupola for its four-story construction.

Reuban Ragland was a descendant of high Welsh nobility linked to the Tudor monarchy and was a wealthy entrepreneur who built this 10,000 square foot home in the 1850s. Through the years, it later became home to Alexander Hamilton, a railway magnate, not the first Secretary of the Treasury. During World War I it was the first Officers’ Club for the nearby Fort Lee installation, and it has been said that many fascinating and well-known people slept there at varying other times since its construction.

It fell into difficult times in the 20^th century and in 2001 was restored as a B&B by Claudia’s mother. And it is now in Claudia’s capable hands.

Every nook and corner of the Ragland mansion is magnificent. The first-floor level includes a huge ballroom, on one side of the main foyer, now designed as a spacious and sunlit filled living room with a fireplace and period furnishings at one end, and a dining room table for groups traveling together for breakfast meetings and refreshments at the other. On the opposite side of the main entrance and stately staircase to the second floor are twin parlors, a solarium filled with gorgeous plants of all sizes and species, along with a working table and sink to keep the plants decorating the entire house healthy and brilliant in their varying shades. The library is on the first floor and is now the bedroom where I stayed, a hallway or two away from the buffets of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate always ready for each guest. There’s also a neat buffet in the parlor loaded with glasses and buckets for the supplies of wine, beer, and soft drinks also available for guests at their leisure.

The center hall staircase has more than 200 hand-carved balusters leading to the cupola which offers a great view of the city that suffered so much through not only the Civil War but was the scene of the Battle of Petersburg during the Revolution as well.

Each of the rooms has a private bath and marble fireplaces, along with the carved woodwork and embellished décor that makes this mansion a standout.

Breakfasts are served at the guest’s desire for time over several hours in the morning, and each guest has a menu of numerous items ranging from toast and coffee to waffles, some of the best bacon ever cooked, and fruits, cereals, and more.

The Ragland Mansion, built next to a church with a spacious yard of its own, there is off-street parking available near the Solarium and a walk around the exterior continues to show the care and constant attention made to maintain a historic building in a historic district.

Public transportation isn’t readily available in Petersburg, but that wasn’t even necessary for an Amtrak arriving guest because of the generosity and thoughtfulness of Claudia. Not only does she recommend a series of restaurants in the area, but she drives you there and return at your call to bring you safely back to the mansion for a late-night glass of wine, some conversation with other guests in one of the couches in the living rooms, and a discussion on everything Petersburg has gone through in its lifetime. Bookshelves and magazine racks are filled with fascinating literature on everything from Virginia to architecture, to history and modern up to date news.

The Ragland Mansion survived the Battle of Petersburg, a battle known as the Battle of Old Men and Young Boys, when Northern Major General Benjamin Butler dispatched 4,500 cavalry and infantry against the city’s defenders, numbering about 2,500 Confederate troops. Butler’s troops demonstrated against the outer line of entrenchments east of the city, while a cavalry division attempted to enter from the south. The home Guards repulsed them, Butler withdrew, but some days later, the Siege of Petersburg began.

It was all this scenery, beauty, comfort and history I absorbed and enjoyed for an hour or so after my late afternoon arrival. Then Claudia recommended I go for an early dinner because of the crowds and popularity of the little Irish Pub I had selected for dinner.

Dinner at the Brickhouse Restaurant halfway down a cobbled street was another exciting and unforgettable adventure where I was joined by two gentlemen for a wonderful dinner sharing stories, laughter, ideas, and excellent food.

But that’s another story.

Why did I go to Petersburg? Read that story HERE

Ready Go Bags

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 8, 2023

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Local residents have the opportunity tomorrow, May 9, to receive free Disaster Preparedness Ready Go Bags and Emergency ID cards in a program at the Senior Citizen Center at the Municipal Yacht Harbor.

Sponsored by the Monmouth County Division on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Services along with the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, the program will be from 10 a.m. to noon for all interested persons who qualify.

Sheriff Shaun Golden is urging all residents who qualify to take advantage of the distribution to ensure greater safety in the event of any emergency.

Persons qualifying for the Ready Go Bags and Register Ready Emergency ID cards, are anyone who considers himself frail, seniors aged 60 and older and persons with disabilities of any age who may feel or foresee the need for assistance in evacuating during a disaster.

In addition, caregivers of any age caring for anyone of any age are also encouraged to attend and receive a Ready Go Bag for a care recipient.

All participants will have the option to enroll in Register Ready that will provide police with specific needs during an evacuation.

Those interested in attending are requested to bring ID and an emergency contact phone number.

Get Past Plastic

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 8, 2023

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Environmental groups reflected on the one-year anniversary of the full implementation of New Jersey’s “Get Past Plastic” law (P.L. 202, c.117) last week, lauding officials who sponsored, supported, and eventually passed and signed the law, as well as the public for shifting behaviors to adapt to the law. The law bans all plastic bags from stores, paper bags from large stores, foam plastic (e.g., Styrofoam) food containers, and limits plastic straws upon customer request.

In the first five months of the law in effect, the New Jersey Food Council estimated that 3.44 billion plastic bags and 68 million paper bags were eliminated from the waste stream. This spring, Clean Ocean Action’s 2022 Beach Sweeps Report, which provides information about items collected by thousands of volunteers from New Jersey beaches and along waterways, shows bags, foam items, and straws declined in 2022:

Plastic Shopping Bags decreased 37% and were not in the top 12 most collected items (called the “Dirty Dozen” list) for the first time since 2007.
Foam Plastic Takeout Containers decreased by 29% from Spring to Fall 2022; an overall decrease by 38% from 2021-2022.
Plastic Straws/Stirrers fell to #6 on the Dirty Dozen list for the first time since 2016, decreasing 39% from 2021.

“We are grateful to the Legislature and Governor Murphy for making national history with the law’s passage, and we are proud of New Jerseyans and visitors who switched from single-use plastic bags, foam, and straws,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action. “We have made a huge dent in single use plastic use and abuse with the elimination of billions of bags, foam items, and straws. However, there is still more work to do, especially with implementing plastic straw limitations and compliance. This law, and New Jersey’s response, proves that we can live without single-use plastics.”

“Today marks a historic landmark for plastic reduction in New Jersey. Our comprehensive plastic reduction law has been able to tackle the menace of plastic pollution in New Jersey. In the past year, we’ve seen a major reduction in single use plastics. This is an incredible step towards protecting our environment and our public health,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, New Jersey Director of the Sierra Club. “Today we celebrate an important one-year anniversary for New Jersey’s plastic law, however we have a lot more work to do when it comes to enforcement, reductions in plastic straws, a strong EPR bill and more.”

“One year ago, New Jersey made a tremendous leap forward in the fight against plastic pollution by implementing the bag ban law.. Instead of bringing New Jersey to a halt, the law that banned bags and polystyrene foam (aka Styrofoam) has been a smashing success,” said Amy Goldsmith, NJ State Director for Clean Water Action. “In order to achieve more sustainable solutions and create a cleaner, healthier future for all New Jerseyans, regardless of their zip code or color of their skin, New Jersey must now pass a robust packaging reduction bill.”

Environmental groups have set sail to support several key bills to help further reduce plastic waste, including an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bill, a bottle bill, “Skip the Stuff,” among others. For more information, visit http://www.CleanOceanAction.org or citizens@cleanoceanaction.org

Prayers on the Porch

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 8, 2023

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Atlantic Highlands – The monthly Prayers on the Porch, an informal group who invite all to join, will meet Tuesday, May 9, on the porch at 60 Ocean Blvd. at 6:30 p.m.

The Prayers on the Porch group meets monthly for half an hour for an informal prayer session during which all are invited to ask for prayers for any need or thanksgiving.

No need for any invitation, reservation or advance notice, nor are there any attendance records or roll calls, simply a way local residents can meet and pray together for whatever anyone desires or is in need of. Persons of all religions are invited to participate.

The Honeymoon that Never Stopped

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 8, 2023

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When we married May 7, 1955, Jimmy was in the Army and could not get a furlough. That meant we did not go on a honeymoon but rather settled down to a life of him reporting for duty at Fort Eustis Virginia late every Sunday night after coming home every weekend. He promised me then that since we did not have a honeymoon, he would take me away to celebrate May 7 every year thereafter.

He did that. So, for the next for 51 years, we had a honeymoon every year. Sometimes they were weekend trips, sometimes a week long, sometimes they were in the United States, sometimes in Europe, or an island or Mexico.

But he kept that promise of a honeymoon for 51 years. When he died 18 years ago this Thursday, I felt I should keep up the tradition alone. Only, since he had been an engineer on the railroad for 40 years, I thought I would take all my “honeymoon trips” by train.

Which is exactly what led me to a wonderful, full of fun, lots of learning, incredible conversations, laughs, meeting some mighty nice people and staying in an elegant historic 19^th century mansion in Petersburg, Virginia. It was a weekend that started with a great driver getting me to Metropark for my Amtrak trip, included sharing dinner and great conversations with two strangers when we all learned we shared lots of commonalities, another day shared with another 15 men doing a reenactment of a six mile march by members of the 44^th and 47^th regiments of the Virginia troops in the civil war, comfortable evenings surrounded by other B&B guests sipping wine and trading stories of what brought us all to Petersburg, and another day of a private tour with a historian who knows just about everything about the Civil War in general, Virginia’s role in it in particular, and has a provocative and easy to understand way of sharing so much information.

With the honeymoon coming to a close, it was back on the train for the ride home and the start of what will be a series of columns to highlight some of the highlights of a great weekend trip.

Not able to drive at night, and knowing I was coming home late, I called that great standby driver, Bill Osborne in Highlands, to arrange for transportation to and from Metropark. As dedicated and dependable as Bill is, he regretted that while he could not meet my schedule, he had a partner who could. And when Maura Richardson showed up bright and early Friday morning to get me to the train on time, I met that second driver.

I think everyone in the Bayshore and beyond should call for either Bill or Maura for rides. Both Bill and Maura not only leave plenty of time in case of traffic build-up, but they’re so dependable you don’t even think to worry for a second that they’ll be there for a late-night pick-up at the station on the way home. Besides that, they’re both great drivers! Happy to give you their phone numbers or check them out on Facebook. Don’t see how they keep their prices so low considering parkway tolls and fuel prices, but they’re a bargain!

Amtrak is so easy, comfortable and convenient leaving from Metropark, the Iselin NJ station heading south. Traveling through New Jersey, Philadelphia, Delaware, Maryland and Washington before hitting Virginia, and my destination about half an hour past Richmond takes about six and a half hours of comfort and on time performance. A dining car in the middle of the train is amply supplied with both hot and cold snacks, appetizers, or full meals, plenty of liquid refreshments of all kinds, and friendly staff that really like their jobs and the people they serve. Traveling on Northeast Regional train 185 terminates in Norfolk, so there’s no need to change in Washington, though other south bound trains can get you to the Richmond area as well, simply by switching at Union Station in Washington.

Once in Petersburg, it was the gracious owner of the Ragland Mansion who met me for the five minute drive to her magnificent 19^th century B&B, showed me through some of the beautifully furnished public rooms, pointed out the coffee, teas, and hot chocolate always available and showed me to my room, the former first floor library, now a beautifully decorated and comfortable private room and bath with a huge four poster bed, great décor including live plants, and solid comfort.

But that’s a story for tomorrow…

Like to travel … or at least read about travel … Click HERE for more stories

Dotting the I’s and Crossing the T’s

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 4, 2023

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Not sure what the Council-Women meant by dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s since it will be two weeks Friday, May 5, since the representatives of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, together with their administrators, attorneys and financial consultants met with a mediator overseeing, as the borough administrator explained it at the last council meeting, the discussion of school regionalization. They all promised to keep it all hush hush until they had it resolved. All they agreed to say is that the meeting was very upbeat and positive.

Atlantic Highlands Councilwoman Lori Hohenleitner did venture to say a few more words, explaining that the discussions were at the point of dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s, the point she said is “exactly where we’re at now.”

Still the Atlantic Highlands administrator did not respond to the question and the Highlands administrator said he is still working on getting a date set with that borough’s attorney. when asked whether another meeting has been set to follow up the “very positive meeting.”

Exactly how do 11 people dot the I’s and cross the T’s if they aren’t even talking with each other?

The other idea is that the next meeting to complete the whole petition might be delayed until after May 5. That’s the last day they say that Oceanport or Shore Regional school districts could file an appeal of the state Commissioner of education’s dismissal of their first action, when they filed against the petition because of Sea Bright wanting to split from them and regionalize with Highlands and Atlantic Highlands in the first place.

Are you confused yet? Or do you just think this entire matter has been handled poorly, delayed unnecessarily, cost, and continues to cost, taxpayers in all towns involved tens of thousands of dollars and running the risk of the school districts losing state aid, and missing an election date everybody used to say they wanted so the issue could be resolved “as soon as possible.”?

Maybe looking a bit more closely at the entire disaster created by highly paid and elected personnel will make the current issue more clear.

Think about this. Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright, together with the three boards of education, all unanimously agreed they want a K-12 regionalization to go before the voters to see if that’s what the people want.

But Highlands and Atlantic Highlands had a difference of opinion on splitting the millions Sea Bright would be bringing into the mix with the regionalization. Atlantic Highlands wanted the percentages of monetary distribution settled now and forever; Highlands wanted to get it settled now but reviewed again every few years … Dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.

So, the petition they had all agreed on was going to the Commissioner of Education still needed a couple of blanks filled in. It has never gotten to the Commissioner of Education. As of today, it has still not gone to the Commissioner… Dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s

But Oceanport and Shore Regional jumped the gun. They knew the petition was not before the Commissioner. Yet they filed their own action, paying their own attorneys, to challenge a petition the Commissioner had not even seen. … Dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s

Of course, the Commissioner dismissed their complaint. Why? She had to, because she did not have any petition in front of her, so how could she deny something she had not yet seen? Seems the Commissioner dotted her I’s and crossed her T’s

So, absent the petition, what could Oceanport and Shore Regional possibly be appealing? Do they really think the Commissioner could change her mind if they challenged her dismissal in the first place?

People. The Commissioner of Education STILL DOES NOT HAVE PETITION! And time is wasting while the two towns take more than two weeks to dot the I’s and cross the t’s, tell the taxpayers what they’re doing, and fill in the blanks on that petition everyone agreed to but has not yet been sent to the Commissioner.

This must be real life. Because it seems too fanciful and far out to be make believe.

The longer Highlands and Atlantic Highlands stall on getting that petition completed and put on the Commissioner’s desk, the longer it will mean for Oceanport and Shore Regional to file action against it, if that is their intent.

Which also means, if you want to look at more insanity in the entire story, Sea Bright is paying on both sides; they are actually having to pay for the very attorneys in their two school districts that are opposing their desire to leave those districts. 0

In addition to Highlands and Atlantic Highlands paying more money for their attorneys, financial consultants, AND the mediator to try to get their problems resolved, this would also cost the taxpayers in Monmouth Beach, West Long Branch, Oceanport, and Sea Bright more thousands of dollars to have the attorneys for their two school districts oppose a law created last year specifically to have communities form large regional school districts.

Atlantic Highlands resident Chris Longo told council at the last meeting that “Time kills deals” Yet still there does not seem to be any action of any kind since the very secret mediation all attendees have apparently promised to be mum other than to say it was very positive.

If they’re crossing the t’s and dotting the I’s, why can’t the public know if there is another meeting set? Why can’t the public know what this is all costing that they cannot know anything about?

It has been said by an Atlantic Highlands councilmember that the date of the next meeting was May 10 or so, certainly after the May 5 deadline they say is the deadline for when Oceanport and Shore Regional could file an appeal of the state Commissioner’s dismissal of their original complaint.

Taxpayers. Think about that! At least eleven people were at a meeting discussing terms for the petition that will be placed on the ballot whenever they get it done and approved. Of those eleven, seven are highly paid professionals. They met two weeks ago. But we’re still crossing t’s and dotting I’s?

Or are we waiting to see what two other school districts want to do?

Are we ever going to get the opportunity for the residents of Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright to vote on whether they believe what those two studies highlighted many months ago? Or are they just going to continue to stall, delay, stay secretive, and pay thousands of dollars to professionals to keep the issue delayed. If the question ever gets to the ballot, I’d bet the voters will dot their I’s and cross their T’s

William Porter – First New Jersey Calvary

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 4, 2023

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Although there are not many records of the heroic actions of the men in the First New Jersey Calvary during the Civil War, the history of the Regiment proves they were all brave and valiant soldiers who fought numerous battles during the War.

In the end, the Cavalry Regiment alone lost 12 officers and 116 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded in that war between the states. Another 185 enlisted men died of disease. Some came home and reestablished their lives in the new and changed United States of America.

One of these was William Porter, a Sergeant in Company H with the unit when he received his citation for actions on April 6, 1865, just three days before General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia.

The first New Jersey Cavalry Regiment was organized in Trenton in September 1861 and served until the end of the war, participating in 97 different engagements The regiment was organized under the authority of the War Department Aug. 14, 1861 and first known as Halsted’s Cavalry. It left Washington D.C. ten days later and was attached to Heintzelman’s Division in the Army of the Potomac in March the following year. It came under the command of Bayard’s Cavalry Brigade in 1862.

After the Union army broke through a Confederate stronghold at Petersburg, Virginia in early April 1865, soldiers on both sides knew the war was near an end after it was learned General Lee had lost nearly one quarter of his fighting force in three different engagements around Sailor’s Creek, a tributary of the Appomattox River.

Despite the great losses that had preceded, Confederate commands under Richard S. Ewell and Richard H. Anderson made a final stand at Sailor’s Creek. Their flanks were crushed and both Southern generals surrendered on the field to the Union Army in their final effort to uphold the tenets of the South.

Sgt. Porter was born in 1842 and was one of the New Jersey men in the Battle of Sailor’s Creek, one of dozens of battles, skirmishes, and reconnaissance missions the Cavalry completed before that final stand when the Southern generals surrendered. The state is credited with his Medal of Honor since he enlisted in Trenton, most likely because he moved to this state sometime after his birth in New York.

Sgt. Porter survived the battle and the war, and received the Medal of Honor July 3, 1865, two months after the surrender at Appomattox Court House Virginia.

His medal of Honor does not detail any of the anguish he faced during the Battle at Sailor’s Creek, whom some refer to as Saylor’s Creek. It reads simply.

Among the first to check the enemy’s counter charge

He was one of five soldiers who received the Medal of Honor during the final campaign at Saylor’s Creek.

Here is a memorial to the New Jersey Cavalry at the Gettsyburg Civil War Museum.

Read more stories of New Jersey Medal of Honor Recipients

Locke

Benfold

Watters

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Haik Kavookjian

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 3, 2023

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Kavooklian — From left, Dadour Dadourian, coordinator of the Cathedral Project, with Haik Kavookjian, its director and treasurer, review architectural renderings of St. Vartan Cathedral, May 3, 1967

He was 101 years old, just three months short of his 102 birthday, when Haik Kavookjian died at his desk in the Armenia Prelacy in New York April 26, 1977.

A long time resident of Highlands, Mr. Kavookjian donated the land at the top of South Peak Street where Henry Hudson Regional School was built. His daughter, Kathleen Mendes, was instrumental in the transaction and was later chairman of the school’s Board of Education. Her father also donated the land on Route 36, Middletown, as a playground and field for Highlands ‘residents. He made the donation to the Highlands Lions Club in honor of military veterans and stated it was to be used for recreational activities for children. The property is owned by the borough of Highlands although it is within Middletown adjacent to Monmouth Hills.

Mr. Kavookjian was born in Constantinople and fled from that country to the United States in the midst of the Turkish massacres in 1917. He summered in Highlands that first year before moving there year round the following year. He remained a resident until 1951 when he moved to United Nations Plaza in New York. He also maintained another home in Darien, Connecticut.

Active in his faith, the philanthropist was also largely responsible for the construction of the Cathedral of Saint Vartan in New York as well as being active in the Armenian Prelacy and the Order of Saint Gregory.

In addition to his widow,, at the time of his death, Mr. Kavookjian was survived by two sons, two daughters, including Kathleen, 13 grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, and one great great grandchild.

Other “Keeping History Alive” stories here

Document – Mystery or Missing?

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 3, 2023

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It seems it’s long overdue for residents of Atlantic Highlands to pay attention to what’s going on with their Mayor and Council and the business of the borough.

Not only does the borough attorney accept a document from a resident at a public meeting, but she apparently keeps it, and assures him she will look into it.

But where is the document now? As of last month, members of the governing body said none of them has seen the document. At the April 13 council meeting, two weeks after she received the document and promised to look into it, the borough attorney said she had not had a chance to review it yet.

The attorney then could not attend the April 26 council meeting; that meeting was changed last January to accommodate one member of council. That apparently conflicted with another commitment the attorney had on that Wednesday night. So there was another attorney from her firm, present to take her place, said she could not report anything about the document.

And this week, in response to an OPRA request from a local resident, the borough’s keeper of records responded.

“In response to your OPRA Request, dated April 28, 2023, the document you are requesting is not on file with the Borough, and therefore is not subject to OPRA. This fulfills your request.”

So where is the document? Who has seen it? Who is reviewing it? Six weeks after it was accepted by the borough attorney at a public meeting, the residents of Atlantic Highlands, including the resident who gave the document to the attorney, do not know what it is all about.

The matter started at the March 23 meeting of the borough council when the mayor or one of the governing body’s contractors, accepted two of three documents that were offered to them during the meeting, with the Mayor indicating she would accept the third after the meeting. The one not accepted concerned an undated letter the Superintendent of Schools had sent to the Commissioner of Education indicating she had the full authority of the council and other officials to send it. While council members first said they had not seen that letter either prior to the meeting, at least one council member later said he had seen it but did not read it completely.

Concerning the letter given to the attorney, Peg Schaeffer, resident Joshua Leinsdorf spoke during the public portion and presented to her, at the attorney’s request, the document he said was dated 1940 and was concerning a deed for property within the Municipal Yacht Harbor. Leinsdorf indicated the information he had from that document could have a serious impact on how the Harbor conducts business and has conducted it in the past.

It is that deed which was handed to the attorney and not read by the council that is still the subject under review by the attorney,

Yet there is no record of a reported deed presented in March to the borough attorney at a public meeting maintained on any file of official borough records. Or even a copy of it.

Flares

By

Muriel J. Smith

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May 2, 2023

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With safety its priority, the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club recently conducted an onshore demonstration and education session with safety flares to ensure all boaters are familiar with safety measures in the event of any emergencies aboard either motor or sailing craft.

“Most boaters have never actually activated a flare,” said Chuck Parker, who spearheaded the demonstration and lesson session. “Standing knee deep in water in a boat is not the time to read the small print instructions on the flare explaining how to ignite it,” he continued explaining to the crowd on the secluded beach at the eastern end of the Municipal Yacht Harbor.

Close to 50 voters took advantage of the unique safety program at the Harbor, with many ship captains also bringing crew members so all the people sailing on their craft had the opportunity to learn how to react in an emergency.

The US Coast Guard requires emergency signaling devices as part of boat safety equipment. Most boaters meet this requirement by carrying hand-held flares. However, flares are only valid for three years after their date of manufacture to meet Coast Guard regulations; Flares are also difficult to dispose of in a safe manner after their expiration date and many boaters keep them aboard. Instruction on proper safety measures for both retaining or disposing of outdated flares and other signal devices was also included in the demonstrations on the beach.

Parker pointed out the importance of checking flare supplies annually to ensure not only safety but conformance with navigational regulations.

Vice Commodore Joseph Patsco also pointed out that Monmouth County Hazardous Waste Facility offers proper disposal for Monmouth County residents for all hand-held road and marine flares, although it does not accept aerial or shotgun type flares. He recommended that those boaters living outside Monmouth County check with their own municipalities or counties regarding flare disposal.

While many flares operate long after their expiration date, another fact that was also demonstrated during the safety program, many do not. Once again, the time of the emergency is not the time to find out, the safety instructor said.

The Yacht Club’s Continuing Education Committee addressed all these issues during the demonstration session, using outdated flares to exhibit the proper means for holding them to prevent personal burns or fires aboard the craft or its sails. In some cases, flares as old as ten years were still able to be ignited, in other cases, flares five years old could not be ignited.

Instructions, which were held on wet sand rather than on floating craft to ensure more safety, enabled boaters to learn the most efficient methods of striking the flare, and the proper way to hold it to ensure it was best seen from a distance with protection from wind. Attendees also got to recognize how long a flare lasts, which are best for both daylight and nighttime exhibition and tips on how to attract the attention of passing aircraft should emergencies occur in the absence of other sea craft.

In addition to common, handheld emergency flares, SOLAS emergency flares and white collision warning flares were demonstrated.

In all demonstrations, instructors ensured slag from the burning flares would not be disposed of on the beach by providing buckets of water so participants could conduct their practices over water that could be disposed of properly after the session.

Yacht Club Commodore Lou Melillo noted the flare safety project is in addition to other programs the Yacht Club conducts to assist the local boating community. He also cited the club sponsorship and operation of the AHYC Special Olympics Sailing program for special needs people interested in sailing. The Club also sponsors the annual Ms. Sailing Regatta during which all the boats are captained and crewed by female sailors. All funds raised by supporters of the boats is donated to the New Jersey 180 Turning Lives Around project.”

Further information on the Yacht Club’s activities and educational sessions is available at https://ahyc.clubexpress.com .

Veni Vidi Scripto

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Veni Vidi Scripto

Veni Vidi Scripto

Ragland Mansion

Ready Go Bags

Get Past Plastic

Prayers on the Porch

The Honeymoon that Never Stopped

Dotting the I’s and Crossing the T’s

William Porter – First New Jersey Calvary

Haik Kavookjian

Document – Mystery or Missing?

Flares

Veni Vidi Scripto

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