August 10, 2016 — A little before 8 a.m. a small group of fishermen resumed a ritual that was nearly lost due to a territorial war.
They formed their boats into a semi-circle two miles off the coast of Point Pleasant Beach to watch a 65-foot former New York Harbor crew boat be purposely sunk on a reef.
It was a perfect morning to do it.
The ocean Tuesday was as smooth as glass and visibility was such that the pastel colors of boardwalk amusements on shore and the tops of inland water towers could be discerned from the distance.
“Once she fills up with water she’s going to go down pretty quickly. The only question is, will she go bow up or transom up?” said Ken Warchal, a trustee of the Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club, the sport fishing club that purchased the boat.
The club was sinking the boat in the name of the late Jack Murray, a former club president and champion of marine conservation who served on various fishery management bodies. The goal is to have a site in his honor teeming with fish for anglers to catch.
“We’ll probably have a contest to see who can catch the first fish on it,” said Warchal, who expects black sea bass, tautog and summer flounder will inhabit the locale within a year.