By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
It won’t be Powerball or Mega Millions, but there be a lottery in Sea Isle City offering a coveted grand prize.
Actually, there will be 112 prizes up for grabs.
Sea Isle is conducting a free online lottery to randomly select the winners for the 112 berths in the city’s new kayak storage facility. The storage facility is planned next to a new fishing pier and kayak launch site under construction at the city’s Dealy Field recreation complex.
The berths are free and will be awarded to Sea Isle property owners and year-round residents only. People who meet those qualifications may register for the lottery from 9 a.m. Monday, March 1, through 4 p.m. Thursday, April 15 at: https://www.seaislecitynj.us/KayakStorage. The webpage will not be activated until 9 a.m. Monday.
Lottery winners will be contacted by email. More information is available by calling the Sea Isle Recreation Department at (609) 263-0050.
Proof of residency or property ownership will be required when the lottery winners retrieve their “berth registration tags,” which must be displayed on all kayaks at the storage facility, city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said.
Those who aren’t awarded the 112 berths will be randomly selected for a waiting list. The waiting list will be limitless and will give kayak owners a second chance of getting a berth if any of the winners withdraw or simply can’t use the storage facility.
“We will take down every name not awarded a berth. We expect we will have a waiting list of 100 people or more,” Custer said, referring to the strong demand the city anticipates for the kayak storage facility.
Sea Isle is in the final stages of building a nearly $1 million combination fishing pier and kayak launch facility overlooking the back bays near 60th Street at the Dealy Field athletic and recreation complex.
The Boardwalk-style pier will extend 132 feet out into the water, giving kayakers, paddleboarders and anglers easy access to the bay. The kayak launch facility will be handicap-accessible.
Crowded with upscale homes, Sea Isle’s bayfront offers few places where kayakers, paddleboarders and anglers have public access to the water. The new fishing pier and kayak launch facility will give the public a prime location to enjoy the back bays, Custer said.
“This is just one more wonderful facility that we will be able to offer to residents and visitors in Sea Isle City,” she said. “No doubt it will be a feather in Sea Isle’s cap.”
The project will also have a “passive pier” featuring a covered pavilion that will offer nature lovers panoramic views of the back bays, marshlands, wildlife and sunsets.
“The covered pavilion will be a wonderful place to sit and relax and enjoy the views,” Custer said.
Sea Isle originally had hoped to complete the pier last year, but delays in getting construction materials caused by the pandemic slowed down the project. A grand opening for the pier is tentatively scheduled for April.
“We anticipate it will be very well-used. We’ve been getting a lot of feedback from people who are eager for it to open,” Custer said.
Complementing the pier will be the kayak storage facility. Construction has not yet started on the facility, but Sea Isle is preparing to go out to bid for the project.
The storage facility will be built just steps away from the pier. It is expected to be ready by May 1, the formal start of the kayak season.
Capable of handling kayaks of virtually any size, the storage facility will be available from May 1 to Oct. 31. After Oct. 31, owners will have to remove their kayaks for the off-season. Only kayaks – no other watercraft – will be allowed at the facility.
