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For starters, boat ownership is a hey commitment that involves a large investment of time, and boat rentals oen leave us wanting much more in terms of quality, aesthetic, and reliability. Fortunately, the future of boating seems to be changing, and we may just be able to break-in our sea legs a bit more this summer season. Bridge Marina, with its flagship in Lake Hopatcong and a brand new location in Highlands, New Jersey, is taking steps towards making boating more accessible. Since 1956, Bridge Marina has been a focal point of the tranquil Lake Hopatcong. Family owned and operated since its humble beginnings, the marina prides itself on exceptional customer service. e current president of Bridge Marina, Ray Fernandez, has not been around since the '50s, but he certainly knows a thing or two about life on the water: "I guess I was born on the water—not phys- ically, but my mother and father owned a small marina. I was born in upstate New Jersey, and I assume very soon aer I was brought to the marina where we lived. I lived my entire life around the water; it was always second na- ture," Fernandez explains. While his friends were asking for toys and video games for birthday and Christmas pres- ents, Fernandez was asking for fishing lures and spending his free time playing around boats and the marina.. Given his long history on the water, it came as no sur- prise that Fernandez took over Bridge Marina in 2003. He had a new vision for boating and for Bridge Marina. He wanted boating to become more accessible for those with a love of the water but a distaste for the nuisances oen involved in the sport of boating: "Boating loses a lot of boaters because it has barriers to entry as well as barriers to continue: the cost, the time, waiting on the weather— it's a hard sport to be involved in sometimes," Fernandez says. To remedy this problem and jump the hurdles that keep boaters out of the water, Fernandez launched an in- novative boating club in 2006. V U E N J . C O M 96

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