Today, Saturday Aug. 9th is National Marina Day and is being celebrated down at the Shark River Marina over on South Riverside Drive. Here is an excerpt from The Coaster article:

Neptune Township and the Harbor Commission are hosting the town’s first National Marina Day event Sat., Aug. 9.

Both groups are promising a celebration of water activities, free refreshments, free fishing lessons (bring your own rod and reel) and an inflatable basketball hoop.

The festivities begin at 1 p.m. at the Shark River Municipal Marina on South Riverside Drive.

Adding to the day’s festivities, Vessel Safety Check Examiners will be on hand to conduct courtesy safety checks for free.

So, walk or bike on over to the marina (don’t forget your fishing pole) and enjoy the festivities this afternoon!

Found this video showing the Shark River Hills Fire Company over the years. House fires, commercial fires, car fires…even a boat on fire! These guys handle it all. They’re an all-volunteer force, and I’m glad we’ve got them close by. Thanks guys!

Don’t be alarmed. The subject of this post is the headline of an amazing article I recently discovered that was published in the New York Times on August 21, 1892! It talks about how people were alarmed, even back then, at how low the Shark River was getting at high tide and how this was affecting the oysters, crabbing, and boating. It mentions how the river was filling up with sand and being choked with grasses, and the fears that the river would eventually be completely filled. Another interesting fact in the article — the Shark River used to be 10 feet deep! Hard to imagine that these days, when you can practically walk across the river from Shark River Hills over to Belmar at low tide. Fast forward to 2008, and this same article could almost be printed today, as we’re still waiting for the river to be dredged once again.