still remained. What has also re-
mained at the marina is the spirit
that Gren must have ingrained in
that very ground. That spirit of
community, cooperation and sea-
manship that has survived the test
of time, no small miracle these
days. It’s those long time boaters
that make a marina a place you
want to come back to as much as
it’s location and amenities. We do
have a great location in Edgewater
N.J., right across the river from
Manhattan, a small town feeling
where in the words of Cheers, “a
place where everbody knows your
name” and characters are wel-
come. I’ve never seen a boater in
trouble turned away or not em-
braced as one of our own.
These days the marina
operates under the skilled and
watchful eyes of our dockmaster
Thomas (TJ) Jacobson, that same
teen from the 70’s. A man for all
seasons, hauling and launching
the boats, tending the trees and
shrubs (his babies), as skilled with
a wrench as he is with a spatula
at the barbecue grill, and the best
you could ever call friend. That
nice kid I knew from the 70’s
grew to be a man any one would
be proud to call son, and a father
his teenage sons seem proud to
call dad. As an Edgewater na-
tive TJ has always had support of
family, uncle Ralphie, at 84 years
young, still works with TJ at the
marina. It’s not uncommon to see
Ralphie throw a couple of 2x6s
over his shoulder, grab a ham-
mer, hand saw and a bag of nails
in the other hand and head down
the docks to make repairs. I keep
telling him the carts have wheels,
he just smiles, keeps walking, and
says “Ok youngster”, nice at 67
to be referred to as “youngster”.
T-Bone, Ralphie’s 70 something
younger brother is here too, if
there’s a bottom to be painted
T-Bone is the man to see, always
ready to take care of business,
we’re all family down here.
Gary and Jimmy fill out the
professional marina crew from
the Department of Public Works.
Gary is the quiet indispens-
able guy behind the scenes that
catches whatever falls through the
cracks and the friendly face that
makes everyone feel welcome.
When it’s time to haul and block
boats or there’s a big job to do,
Jimmy T appears and makes the
work go quickly with a joke that
makes it all seem easy. The whole
crew is backed up by Thomas Q,
our DPW Superintendent, who
comes down to check on things
and always ends up working, I
think he likes keeping a hand in
and if you’re doing the right thing
he’ll have your back.
Sal, although not a member
of the DPW crew is an integral
and essential part of the marina
operation. Sal’s based at Edge-
water for Ed’s Marine Service
and is our resident mechanic and
wizard of all things boat. Always
a professional, willing to help,
and maybe that last honest man
Diogenes was searching for. Ever
since grade school a virtual Sister
Gertrude sits on his shoulder
watching and ready to strike if he
even has a wrong thought. His
son Julian works with him in the
summer and it’s an inspiration to
watch them together
It’s not a yacht club or fancy
private marina but a special place
with a great group of guys, gals,
and families that make you want
to spend time there. When hurri-
cane Sandy blew through Ralphie
told me, he built these docks
and wasn’t about to let Sandy or
anything else tear them up, very
reassuring because Ralphie does
not boast. We spent the day be-
fore Sandy moving boats to secure
locations,TJ spent the night on
site, and as soon as we could get
there the rest of us got back with
food, coffee, and tools ready to
pitch in.
Gordon, our very own Mister
Clean, 25 years here, is our resi-
dent “Marina Mayor” and go-fast
boater. Need tips on finishing
anything, he’s always on hand to
help and he’s got every imagin-
able tool, highly polished and
totally organized, we wouldn’t
expect any less. Capt Ed, another
veteran, diehard fisherman and
charter captain who has struck a
delicate balance between himself
and his lovely wife the ultimate
home maker, covers go on every-
thing whenever fishing is even
mentioned. Gentleman Mitch,
has been fishing and chartering
with Capt Ed since he’s 13, always
neat, clean, and pressed, cowboy
boots and all, while some of the
rest of us use boating as an excuse
to go native. Jimmy H is mister
fix-it, got a problem, Jimmy’s on
it, rope around your prop, before
you even say Jimmy, he’s in the
water with a knife and it’s fixed.
Your boat or your toaster oven, “
no problem we can fix that” and
the “we” means “he”.
We work on stuff here, our
boats, cars, motorcycles, what-
ever we have, we get into it, and
usually together. Alex, a relative
new comer, was a bit shy at first
but has begun to embrace the
Edgewater culture, I met him at
West Marine picking up a polisher
and some supplies to work on
his boat. Freeman is our newbie,
a beautiful heart but he’s in that
awkward stage of boating, mak-
ing all the mistakes in the first
few seasons, we try to be there
when there’s a problem, but it
doesn’t hurt that he has Sal on
speed dial. Tony’s another veteran
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