So much fun, we'll DO it again.

Another event which falls under the DO/AC umbrella is the annual Atlantic City air show.  This usually takes place in August but this year the organizers bumped it up to the last week in June, for reasons which escape me, and so I was around to see it.  It's just my luck that this year is also the one where our Congress has decided that sequestration is better than compromise and so the Navy Blue Angles and the other service demonstration squadrons such as the Air Force Thunderbirds were absent from this year's program.  The one semi-modern jet which did participate was a privately owner Soviet era MiG.  That said the organizers promised P-51 Mustangs, Supermarine Spitfires and a host of aerobatic planes.  Not wanting to buck the traffic in AC and suspecting that one could watch from the south end of Brigantine, we packed the station wagon full of beach chairs and visiting relatives and headed for the rock jetty at the south end of the island.

The view from the south end of Brigantine towards Atlantic City .  The intervening water between the two barrier islands is Absecon inlet.

We arrived early to get good spots on the jetty but there's always some interesting traffic in the inlet.  Here we see the stern trawler Michael Jr. heading out to sea.  The concrete uprights seen just in front of the seawall are the supports for what's left of the inlet section of the boardwall

Looking to the southwest we see the causeway bridge which connects Brigantine to the rest of the world.  The dredge has been moved closer to the bridge this summer to deal with the sand deposited by last year's hurricane.

Zooming in on the dredge.  Don't know if I'd want to engage in stand-up paddle boarding that close or not.

The Absecon lighthouse was once the tallest structure in AC!

It's show time.  I was hoping that the planes would do more flying over Brigantine (there was a restriction on kite flying from Brigantine to Longport that day) and they did so toward the end of the show, but mainly they performed over the casinos on the Atlantic City side. 

I quickly discovered the limtations of a hand held "point and shoot" digital camera--lots of pix with either vapour trails,

or empty sky!

Well, if you botch a shot of the planes there's always interesting boat traffic!

Things got a little better as I experimented with the camera.  I think this is a pair of T-6 Texans but I can't be certain.  There was a radio station broadcasting the show but we didn't think to pack the radio.

How'd you like to casually glance out your condo window while having breakfast coffee some morning and see a MiG fly by?!

Chopper 10 from the local tv affiliate had to nose in for a closer view.  They were relatively easy to photograph compared to the war birds.  The building is the Revel Casino

For God's sakes man, pull out!  The condo owners must have had a wonderful view.

There was a lull in the airplane action but the dredge supply ship Candace helped relieve the monotony.  The low, red roofed building behind Candace is the Coast Guard station on Clam Creek.  Clam Creek was at one time the home of the old Evening Star Yacht Club which hosted Moth Boat Fleet Nr 1.  The old ESYC building lives on as Kammerman's Marina.

I think Olivia is also a dredge support vessel.

By this time a chop, driven by the afternoon sea breeze, was building.

The local tow company was having a busy day.

As was the Geico Insurance Company's sponsored speed boat.

To me this fisherman is being a bit foolhardy.  Along with fishhooks and other misc. fishing gear plus rocks to potentially tangle with, an eight knot currant runs through this inlet ( I couldn't swim against it--I doubt if Michael Phelps could swim against it).  The bay behind the Brigantine bridge is called "Mankiller" Bay for a reason.

Meanwhile, the next flight of planes arrived and I managed to get this group of pix while they performed a series of loops.

Here perhaps is my best shot of the afternoon. This group did fly directly at us and if it had been a strafing run we would have all been dead meat in our beach chairs.  Nothing quite like a squadron of vintage war birds diving down on you at 400+ knots.  A good day out!  Maybe next year we'll wander over to AC to watch but it sure was relaxing to laze away the day on the rocks!

DO/AC--Playing in the sand; signs of recovery on the Jersey shore

Back in June, your diarist took his annual vacation and as usual, this was time well spent on south Jersey shore.  One of several signs that the hard hit coast is coming back to life are the series of free to the public events in neighboring Atlantic City which fall under the comprehensive banner of "DO AC".  The next couple of posts will feature photos taken at a pair of events which we attended.  The first was a sand sculptor contest.

A World Championship right here in Atlantic City--who knew?

I don't know much about art but I'm all over the concept of "free".

Neptune looks slightly bemused by the proceedings.

"DO AC".  Several AC icons in this photo including Mr. Peanut (sadly, Planters Peanut shop is long gone from the broadwalk) and Uncle Pennybags from the children's game "Monopoly".  The original game featured well known Atlantic City street names.

This one was entitled Amazon's Pet, the artist was Karen Fralich from Canada.

"Watchers (privacy? What privacy)" by American Lucinda Wierenga

At first I thought he had his finger up his nose but on closer inspection (and after reading the sign) I discovered that I was looking at American Matt Long's entry "Shhh...The Gears'R Turning".

David Ducharme, down from Canada, puts the finishing touches to "Folded Memory".

Another view of Folded Memory.

One might wonder what artist Jooheng Tan (Singapore) is doing--spraying for weeds?  No silly, with strong afternoon T-storms in the forecast, he's spraying on a coating of Elmer's glue diluted with water in an attempt to protect "Ocean Symphony" from the expected deluge.

I'm amazed that this particular sculpture could some how support itself.  Jeff Strong (USA) works on "Dream Weaver".

I liked the wood-like details on the "planks" of Hemmingway's boat in this rendering of the old man and the sea entitled "The old sea and the man" by Belgian creator Enguerrand David.

Here we have the Biblical Eve offering us "The Last Apple" rendered by Karlis Ile from Lativa.

This enchanting wee beastie is "Pipistrellus (Madness)" by Bouke Atema from Kenya. I think the National Cathedral called and they'd like their gargoyle back...

This one was entitled "Russian Mermaid".  Apparently mermaids don't have tails where Nikolay Torkhov comes from.

Being something of a traditionalist, sand castles seemed appropriate to me and this one got my vote.

Zooming in on Stairs to Parsdise" by Brett Stocker from Mexico.

This looks like it was inspired by Easter Island's totems.  Canadian artist Damon Langlois called it "Unwind".

Here we see the back side of American Brian Turnbough's "Engine of the City".

I'll never complain about the awards at Moth Boat regattas again!  Well, the artists were also competiting for cash awards. 

Another look at "Amazon's Pet", the overall winner.

2013 BYC Classic Moth Boat Regatta

The 22nd Annual Brigantine Yacht Club Classic Moth Regatta was held on the 16th of June.  We had a low turn out of eight boats this year due in part to the uncertainty of the club being operational in time due to residual hurricane damage.  But by the end of the spring work day, postponed from the usual early April date until Memorial Day weekend, I was reassured that the event could take place and so the word went out and those who had not made other commitments came and raced.  What follows are a collection of random photos taken that day.  Although we had only eight boats we did have at least two boats in each of the three performance divisions recognized by the CMBA: Vintage, Generation I Classic and Generation II Classic.

Here Bob Patterson glides by the bulkhead.  Good to see Bob back in his Mistral for the first time since his Achilles tendon injury.  Bob went on to place second in Gen II.

Shane Boyle raced Memory Lane, the family Shelley.  He's using one of my sails, borrowed for the day.

Speaking of things borrowed, here's your diarist sailing Bill Boyle's Vintage division Ventnor. 

Bill Boyle sailed the other Vintage Moth in this regatta--his recently restored Abbott named Phoenix. 

Joe Courter came out to play in his Gen I Maser (Moth made from a Laser) design.

My son Erik sailed this new to us modified Mistral.  One can see in this photo how limiting the shroud position is for getting the boom out while sailing downwind.  There are a number of things which we need to change in an effort to get this particular boat up to speed but I think it will be worth the effort.

Like most coastal New Jersey communities, Brigantine took it's share of hits from last fall's hurricane.  Many houses are either undergoing extensive repairs like the white house to the left or have been torn down with a new home under construction.  This will include the BYC clubhouse which will be ripped down this fall and hopefully replaced in time for this regatta next June.

Waiting for the RC to blow the whistle.  Left to right: Ed Salva in his Europe Maple Leaf, Erik in our yet to be named boat and Mike Parsons in Revolution.

Look at that mast bend!  This photo was taken late in the day, after the starboard stay on the Abbott had popped out of the spreader tip.  The mast bend minds me of that of a DN iceboat!  Fortunately Bill was able to complete this race and safely make the dock without loosing the stick.

And it wouldn't be a Moth Boat regatta without a capsize!  Shane did recover from turtling the boat and carried on to the finish line.

Milling around waiting for a start.  Note how the blunt bow of the Ventnor, designed in the 1940s, contrasts with the sharp stems of the more modern designs.

Erik heading upwind.

Ed Salva had a good day, winning the Gen I division.  Here he's seen leading Bob Patterson's Gen II Mistral around the leeward mark.  A good day out.