Image of the Week: The Meaning of Shore Dreams

That Shore Dreams for Kids even happened this year is a medium to large miracle. That’s because Super Storm Sandy didn’t just devastate the docks and site for the annual event, which provides powerboat rides and a day of fun for mentally and physically challenged children and adults, in Seaside Heights, N.J. It wreaked financial havoc on many of its longtime supporters.

But that didn’t stop Joe Nasso, the organization’s new president, his dedicated board of directors and a small army of volunteers from making the event happen last Saturday. From building a ramp between the boardwalk and the new municipal docks to cleaning up a ballpark that had been used as dump site for debris after the hurricane, Nasso and his team never stopped working. They heard the word “no” many times. They just didn’t accept it.

The meaning of Shore Dreams—the chairs are empty because the boats are full. Photo courtesy/copyright Tim Sharkey/Sharkey Images.

“There were a lot of hurdles to overcome,” said Tim Sharkey, who captured the image above. “Had it not been for Joe’s extraordinary commitment to this event, it would not have taken place.”

The image above is not a “big-air” V-bottom shot. It doesn’t showcase an exotic catamaran screaming down a pretty waterway. But with empty wheelchairs in the foreground and go-fast boats behind them, it does capture the essence of Shore Dreams and what it means.

The chairs are empty because the boats are full. And the boats are full because people such as Joe Nasso and so many members of the New Jersey high-performance powerboat community don’t take no for an answer.

Editor’s Note: Look for a full story on Shore Dreams for Kids later today on speedonthewater.com.