JetStar Regatta Sailboat Race Honors Sandy Recovery Efforts

BRICK, NJ — Boat races have long been a part of the Jersey Shore. For years, the Benihana powerboat races enthralled visitors who watched the cigarette boats fly past along the Ocean County coastline.

In a couple of weeks there will be another boat race off the coast: the fourth annual JetStar Regatta.

The race, set for Saturday, Aug. 13 and hosted by the Metedeconk River Yacht Club in Brick, was founded soon after Superstorm Sandy to both pay respect to the communities of the barrier island and demonstrate the resilience of the Jersey Shore sailing community, the yacht club says. The race's slogan: "Storms Don’t Stop Sailors.”

The regatta also supports the ongoing recovery of the Shore, raising money for the Visitation Relief Center, which has helped thousands of Ocean County residents as they continue to rebuild their lives after Sandy.

The regatta features auxiliary sailboats, which sail under wind power most of the time but have internal engines for use in adverse weather or tight maneuvering situations, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica website. The race course is from Manasquan Inlet to the spot off Seaside Heights where the JetStar roller coaster came to rest in the water after Sandy, then back to Manasquan Inlet, hugging the coastline the whole way.

The first race, in the summer of 2013, involved just members of the Metedeconk River Yacht Club. But it has grown each year; this year organizers expect more than 25 boats to take part in the regatta, according to Mark Connell, the race director.

The second regatta drew 17 auxiliary sailboats and had the added goal of honoring those whose lives were changed by the storm, Connell said. To help in the continuing relief effort, proceeds of the regatta were donated to Visitation Relief Center.

Last year the race attracted 20 sailboats and raised $2,000 through a raffle for Visitation Relief Center, Connell said.

This year, Connell said, the regatta course includes the Mantoloking Gate, a place just offshore that compels the racers to hug the coastline, making for a spectacular view of the boats from the beach.

Information for the event can be found by clicking here.

Sailboats, by Derek Tsang, via Flickr under Creative Commons license