Boat traveling from LI to Florida runs aground, official says

Two men aboard an older, wooden cabin cruiser en route from Seaford to Florida had to be rescued with the aid of a New Jersey fire department aerial ladder after the boat ran aground off Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, on Monday night, police said.

The identities of the two men were not released.

Atlantic Highlands police Capt. David Rossbach said neither man was injured and that both were released after undergoing medical exams. It was not immediately clear if the boat was badly damaged. Rossbach said it was scheduled to be towed from the scene by Tuesday morning.

The boat, the 38-foot Jo-Lyn IV, is recorded as being registered to Karl Conley of New York City. It was built in 1958.

Rossbach said the two aboard said they were traveling from Seaford to Florida when the boat developed a mechanical problem — and they elected to anchor in Atlantic Highlands Harbor. However, Rossbach said, the anchor didn’t hold and the boat drifted up against a rock jetty alongside Seastreak Pier.

An Atlantic Highlands Fire Department aerial ladder truck was dispatched to the scene and photos of the grounding showed firefighters using the ladder to reach the boat, which was bouncing up and down in the chop alongside the jetty.

The two aboard climbed on to the ladder to make their way to shore, Rossbach said.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”