From the Press of Atlantic City:

Partnership creating haven for windsurfing at Lakes Bay

By MICHELLE J. LEE Staff Writer, (609) 272-7256
Published: Thursday, August 23, 2007

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - Down a sand and dirt road, secluded from the rest of West Atlantic City, there is a stretch of beach and wetlands that juts into the vast, clear Lakes Bay.

The reeds grow over 5 feet tall in some parts, and the shore is strewn with patches of sea lavender and the shells of mussels, clams and blue crabs. Purple martins sing in the trees and crickets chirp in the grass. This is Lakes Bay Preserve, a 24-acre parcel of land owned by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

Lakes Bay Preserve wasn't always this clean, said Petra Kanz, a windsurfing and kiteboarding instructor who taught at this site for 14 years. Previously, the preserve was covered in piles of construction debris, abandoned tires and broken bottles.

Last spring, two beach cleanups were organized by the Lakes Bay Recreation Association, a new environmental group made up of 90 windsurfers and other water athletes. They ended up carting away about 5.1 tons of trash, said Kanz, who is the chairwoman of the association.

Under a new partnership with the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the Lakes Bay Recreation Association have pledged to maintain the wildlife refuge and turn part of it into a haven for windsurfing, kayaking and other non-motorized water sports.

Vincent Mahoney, a timeshare salesman who lived in West Atlantic City for seven years, said a windsurfing haven and nature preserve is a terrific idea. Mahoney would walk down to the preserve three times a week with his toy poodle, Alexis Elizabeth.

"It will go well and this is the perfect area for it," he said. "It's quiet, peaceful. It's a beautiful area."

Egg Harbor Township Deputy Mayor Stanley "Jake" Glassey, who also helped set up the partnership, was also excited about the proposal.

Glassey, 62, grew up in the neighborhood, worked as a shellfisherman and continues to go boating in Lakes Bay. Glassey said the preserve would be an excellent spot for bird watching and teaching youths how to sail.

Laurie Walters, another association member and a science teacher at Eagle Academy, said she would like to bring her students on field trips to the preserve and conduct water research at the site.

The New Jersey Conservation Foundation, which is based in Far Hills, Somerset County, protects and owns more than 18,000 acres of land throughout the state, said Tim Morris, the director of stewardship.

The foundation saved the Lakes Bay site from development in 1998 when it bought the land for $100 at a sheriff's sale. Most of the preserve is marshlands, home to such wildlife as blue herons, ospreys, raccoons, muskrats and foxes.

Maintaining the property was difficult, Morris said, because the foundation was not local and it has dozens of other preserves to maintain at the same time. Forming a local partnership will ensure the property will be better cared for, he said.

Lakes Bay was rated as one of the hottest windsurfing venues in the United States by Windsurfing Magazine, Morris said, and it will be the first windsurfing haven to be owned by the foundation.

Besides being a scenic stop for nature lovers, wind surfers, kite boarders and kayakers, Lakes Bay Preserve also has a strong maritime history, Kanz said.
The bay was named after Simon Lake, a Pleasantville native who invented the first submarine, the Argonaut, in 1894.

The tip of Lakes Bay Preserve used to house the Ventnor Boat Works manufacturing plant. The company, founded in 1902 by Adolph Emil Apel, made wooden cruisers and speed boats.

During World War II, Ventnor Boat Works built air-sea rescue boats for the Army and sub-chasers for the Navy, according to the company Web site. The company continued to make various wooden boats until Fiberglas changed the business in 1968.

In November 1972, a fire destroyed the old manufacturing plant. While the company still exists and has a new owner and home, all that remains of the old plant is a layer of bricks, stones, debris and several wooden piling in the bay.
The next step in the partnership would be to create some nature trails and continue cleaning up the site, Kanz said. Plans are also being made to install a security camera.

"With kayaking and windsurfing, you're in the water. You're completely immersed," she said. "And that's why we want a clean beach, a clean nature."
The Lakes Bay Preserve is open to the public daily from dawn to dusk.

For more information about the Lakes Bay Recreation Association, visit www.lakesbayrec.org. For information about the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, visit www.njconservation.org.

To e-mail Michelle Lee at The Press: MLee@pressofac.com

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