Thunder on the Shrewsbury Returns

Boat lovers, mark your calendars and start your engines! On Saturday, September 29, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Long Branch Ice Boat & Yacht Club will once again host its renowned Thunder on the Shrewsbury event, featuring New Jersey Speed Skiffs and other fast boats not just from this area, but from all around the country.

Members of the Long Branch Ice Boat & Yacht Club, located at 235 Renwick Place in Long Branch, NJ, enjoy maritime life on the Shrewsbury River with activities like fishing, cruising, sailing, ice boating, and building skiffs and ice boats. It’s no surprise that the club’s busy season is summer, but it also boasts an active winter fleet for ice sailing, as well as a collection of historic ice boats, artifacts, and photos. Throughout the year, the club hosts events such as crab and clam feasts and a fishing contest, but it is the popular Thunder on the Shrewsbury that offers the most thrills for participants and spectators alike.

This family-friendly event, first established in 2006, offers the opportunity to watch an historic fleet of Jersey Speed Skiffs racing on the Shrewsbury River, admire the classic vessels in an antique boat show, enjoy musical entertainment, feast on food, and perhaps take a ride in one of the racing boats.

For those who don’t know, the Jersey Speed Skiff is considered the most authentic Navesink River craft. They originated in the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers area and were built by those who were experienced with constructing Sea Bright skiffs, which were working rather than racing boats. According to the Navesink Maritime Heritage Association, based in Red Bank, NJ, the speed skiffs are 16-foot, V8-powered fireballs totally unsuited to go as fast as they do – which makes them one of the big draws at major boat racing events. The association’s website wryly notes that the boats are each raced by two people, with each person handling two jobs: “One drives and scares the other person in the boat half to death. The other person basically just hangs on for dear life and, if they dare to open their eyes, watches the gauges.” Until the 1980s, the speed skiffs were primarily raced on the Jersey shore, particularly on the Navesink River, with the last speed skiff race held in the mid-1990s. At that point, the cost of organizing ongoing events for power boat racing became too much to bear. Today, there are still a good number of Jersey Speed Skiffs in this area, with many of the early models being restored by local enthusiasts, some of whom happily attend racing events throughout the United States and Canada. No doubt, they will have a proud presence once again at this month’s Thunder on the Shrewsbury celebration.

Until the 1980s, the speed skiffs were primarily raced on the Jersey shore, particularly on the Navesink River, with the last speed skiff race held in the mid-1990s. At that point, the cost of organizing ongoing events for power boat racing became too much to bear. Today, there are still a good number of Jersey Speed Skiffs in this area, with many of the early models being restored by local enthusiasts, some of whom happily attend racing events throughout the United States and Canada. No doubt, they will have a proud presence once again at this month’s Thunder on the Shrewsbury celebration.

For information and updates, look on Facebook for Thunder on the Shrewsbury 2018 or for Long Branch Ice Boat & Yacht Club. You may also visit www.lbibyc.org.