In the Asbury Park Press on July 31st, the US Sailing Jr. Olympics Regatta at Island Heights Yacht Club was featured, what Junior sailing means to the Jersey Shore community at large, and how sea nettles, algae blooms, and boat trafficing is affecting the love of the sport in the Bay.

Last Monday and Tuesday in Island Heights, NJ was the US Sailing Jr. Olympics festival for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Hundreds of Optis, 420s, Laser Radials and 4.7s, and Sunfish came out for this regatta to compete on a more competitive level than the Barnegat Bay has seen all summer as far as Jr. Sailing is concerned, but the sea nettles invading the bay are changing the attitude of sailing for Juniors. As Molly Scholes, Island Heights Yacht Club Head Sailing Instructor, puts it, “[The junior sailors] are terrified of flipping because of the jellyfish…there are jellyfish everywhere, and they are huge”.

Read more about the event and the jellyfish in the Asbury Park Press article and video below!

A Lifetime on the Water: Sailors chart future, past of Barnegat Bay