By MADDY VITALE
Sea Isle City is offering a lottery like no other. It isn’t for money, but the prize certainly has a lot of value to people who love water sports – especially kayaks.
Registration for the Kayak Storage Rack Lottery takes place March 1 through April 15 and is open to city property owners and year-round residents who wish to obtain a free storage berth at Dealy Field for the 2022 season.
To register for the lottery, click the “Kayak Storage” link on the “Departments/Recreation” page at www.seaislecitynj.us between 9 a.m. on March 1 and 4 p.m. on April 15.
Like last year’s lottery, 112 lucky property owners will be randomly selected for berths in the city’s kayak storage facility, which is near the city’s kayak launch pier next to Dealy Field.
“It is a great amenity for the community and is very popular, as is evident by the number of people who signed up for the lottery,” Sea Isle City Public Information Officer Katherine Custer said Friday.
There are roughly 900 entries for the 112 berths available.
“We will award the berths in May,” Custer said.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio noted in a statement to the community Thursday that the kayak storage rack lottery is a “true sign of spring.”
The berths can handle 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.
The combination fishing pier and kayak launch site was completed in May of last year and formally named in honor of former city commissioner and recreation advocate Jim Iannone, who passed away in 2020.
Since the site opened, throngs of kayakers, crabbers, anglers and visitors who just want to get out and enjoy the bay have made the launch site a popular attraction in the resort, Custer said.
“The pier is gorgeous. We have a covered pavilion for people to enjoy the views and the fishing pier designated for fishing and crabbing and the ADA-accessible launch system,” she pointed out.
The pier was in the works for several years, first with the planning stages, then construction.
Custer said she doesn’t know of a similar one in the region.
“I’m not aware of a municipality having one like this,” she said.
The idea came about around five years ago, when Custer and city engineer Andrew Previti were driving around town looking at locations for a potential kayak launch site and fishing pier.
“When we got to that spot, people were already walking to the bay on a path,” Custer said of the area behind Dealy Field.
Now, nearly a year since it opened, she said, it is quickly becoming what city officials envisioned from the beginning.
“We always thought it would be a great place for wedding proposals and family photographs because of the background,” she said. “It is just one more of the many wonderful facilities that our city offers to the residents. And with our Community Center on the horizon, our lineup of facilities will continue to get better.”
