Assateague Island

ASSATEAGUE ISLAND -- Beach repairs resumed yesterday in the state and federal seashore parks here after state highway officials determined that the weekend northeaster had not damaged the Verrazano Bridge linking the mainland to the barrier island."

Beth Schub started surfing with one of her uncles on Long Island when she was 13, but she went off to college in Pennsylvania and later settled there after getting married, she thought she was pretty much done with the sport. It took a move to Emerald Isle, N.C., with her husband Greg and their two young sons to get Schub back into surfing. "When they were young I stopped surfing altogether, there were too many things to carry besides the surfboard," Schub, now 62, recalled last week.

Three Naval Academy midshipmen were charged during the weekend after an explosive device was found on Assateague Island near a party, according to the National Park Service Police. The midshipmen were issued Code of Federal Regulations citations, supervisory park ranger William Reynolds said. One was charged by the park service with possession of an explosive device. The other two were charged with underage possession of alcohol. The midshipmen, all young men, were not arrested, and their names were not released.

— As the herd of wild ponies emerged on the horizon Wednesday morning, Robin Dodge looked across the water to see her childhood fantasy come true. More than 145 horses were poised at the Assateague Channel for the annual 75-yard swim, a tradition that has outlived most people on this tiny Virginia island. "This has been my lifelong dream since I was 8 years old," said Dodge, 55, who drove from upstate New York with her husband. Moments later, a voice crackled over the loudspeaker, assuring a crowd that would eventually swell to 40,000 that this was not a dream: "If you can hear me talking, you're here now. " Unlike petting Black Beauty, watching the Pony Swim of Chincoteague is a fantasy that can be lived in adulthood.

G. Howard Gillelan, outdoor writer, sportsman and conservationist who was instrumental in the creation of Assateague Island National Seashore, died of an infection Feb. 20 at his Annapolis residence. He was 81.As a journalist-photographer, Mr. Gillelan wrote hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles and 11 books, many illustrated with photographs he took, including his most recently published book, "Gunning for Sea Ducks."He also co-founded Eastern Bowhunter magazine, which later became Bowhunting, the leading national publication devoted to the subject.

"What's this?" my 5-year-old asked, picking up a square, black object she had found washed ashore on the beach."I don't know," I responded immediately (and automatically, as parents sometimes do).She shook the plastic-like object, which had a thin strand of thread sticking out from each corner, and heard something rattle inside."Maybe it's still alive," she said, hopeful but puzzled."I don't know," I said again.It didn't take long for me to realize I had come to the beach ill-prepared to handle a barrage of questions from my children, who were curious about shells on the shore, birds in the air and dolphins in the surf.

OCEAN CITY - Assateague Island, sand-starved by Ocean City's jetties and slammed hard by a pair of back-to-back northeasters, has been gravely damaged and stands in urgent need of restoration, say the island's government stewards.Storm waters washed over a section of the island's northern end, and a portion is still submerged, said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary John R. Griffin, after state and federal officials surveyed the island by air yesterday. "It's just absolutely flat.

For those who like to stretch a few muscles and listen for nature's cacophony of sounds in autumn, a world of adventure lies just beyond Ocean City's doorstep.Whether you like to bike, hike or paddle, walk through history, toss a line into the sea at dawn, rake the murky shoals in search of clams or just sit quietly on a sand dune, absorbing the beauty of a wild landscape as the birds flutter by, the perfect place to enjoy your time outdoors is somewhere within a 25-mile radius of Ocean City.

Judith C. Johnson, an environmentalist who was a leader in the fight to preserve Assateague Island, died Tuesday from stroke complications at the Broadmead retirement community. She was 91. The former Judith Montgomery Colt was born in Seattle and moved to Philadelphia in 1928. She was a 1933 graduate of St. Timothy's School, then located in Catonsville, and a year later from the Pierce College of Business Administration in Philadelphia. During the 1930s, she was a secretary for a bank and private school before working as secretary and later assistant to the manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association.

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. -- During this winter's storms, ocean waves peeled the veneer of civilization from Assateague Island. Tides surged against the walls of the visitors center. Man-made dunes were leveled.When the water retreated, 3 feet of shimmering sand covered the road and asphalt parking lots. The naked island had lost 100 feet of beach on the ocean side, but gained land in what formerly were bayside marshes.Assateague rolled over in the storms, reclaiming its wildness."It's almost like a living animal, the way it changes," said Marc Koenings, superintendent of Assateague National Seashore.

So as summer kicks into high gear, the crowds and traffic begin to rise to their summer peak on Coastal Highway. If you are looking for a different, and in many ways more tranquil beach experience, Assateague Island National Seashore might be the spot for you. Assateague has tons of open beach, salt marshes and of course the wild horses. Here are few tips on how to make your day trip to Assateague a unique experience that will make you feel as if you vacationed in two different places during your visit down the ocean.

The pony swim is a summertime tradition that's not to be missed. The wild ponies at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island — the Virginia portion of it — are rounded up for a swim across the channel to Chincoteague Island, where they will be herded down Main Street and auctioned off at the carnival grounds. The event takes place on the last Wednesday of July. The plan: The action starts at "slack tide," which can be any time between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m., as the ponies swim across the Assateague Channel, south of Memorial Park on the east side of Chincoteague Island.

My colleague Tim Wheeler, over at the B'More Green blog , reports that the waters near Ocean City may not be so fine after all. Here's what he wrote about a bay score card released recently: "The health of Maryland's coastal bays near Ocean City worsened slightly last year, according to the latest ecological report card. Driven by declines in the northernmost bays and in the southernmost bay reaching down into Virginia, the overall condition of the 175-square-mile watershed slipped from a C-plus in 2009 to a C in 2010, which advocates say needs improvement.

36th Annual White Marlin Open at Ocean City Where: : Harbour Island Marina in Ocean City When: : Aug. 3-7. Weigh-ins are nightly, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. What: : The White Marlin Open is the world's largest billfish tournament and will feature fishing contests for white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, dolphin, wahoo and shark. Anglers compete to catch the "million dollar marlin," while food, drinks, jewelry and official gear will be available for spectators. How much: : Free for spectators; $1,050 per boat for participants.

Frank N. Megargee, a former longtime Eastern Shore correspondent for The Evening Sun who was also a poet and an artist, died Wednesday of heart failure at Mallard Landing, a Salisbury retirement community, a day before his 91st birthday. Mr. Megargee, who was born and raised in West Chester, Pa., and attended West Chester State College, began his newspaper career working for a weekly in the late 1930s. During World War II, he served in Army communications and landed at Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Gary Stag of Severna Park is a surf fisherman. He is baffled by the cold water he feels while fishing at Assateague Island and the comparatively higher temperatures listed below for the island. "Where in the heck do they measure that water temperature for Assateague?" he asks. Our label is misleading. The sensor is at Public Landing, Md., on the west side of Chincoteague Bay. Calm, toasty bay water. For Assateague ocean temperatures, see Ocean City's, measured at an offshore data buoy.

National Park Service officials are advancing a plan to continue allowing personal watercraft such as Jet Skis in two small areas of Assateague Island, despite a temporary ban on the watercraft set to go into effect Monday at Assateague and seven other parks. The catch is that the summer season could be over before the Assateague proposal clears an elaborate federal approval process. The agency announced a permanent ban this week on the motorized watercraft at three national seashores and two national recreation areas, including Cape Cod National Seashore and the Delaware Water Gap. Temporary bans at eight other parks, including Assateague, could be reversed if individual parks adopt their own rules.

ASSATEAGUE ISLAND, VA. TALK TO THE SNAIL Ten Commandments for Understanding the French Bloomsbury / $14.95 It's not easy being French nowadays. In fact, it's downright maddening. They can't quite understand why everyone else on the planet is ganging up on them. And so author (and Englishman to boot) Stephen Clarke presents 10 (actually 11) commandments that try to explain the French to the non-French. He does a masterful job. The commandments are not only funny, but they also manage to capture the essence of what being French is all about.

ASSATEAGUE ISLAND, VA. TALK TO THE SNAIL Ten Commandments for Understanding the French Bloomsbury / $14.95 It's not easy being French nowadays. In fact, it's downright maddening. They can't quite understand why everyone else on the planet is ganging up on them. And so author (and Englishman to boot) Stephen Clarke presents 10 (actually 11) commandments that try to explain the French to the non-French. He does a masterful job. The commandments are not only funny, but they also manage to capture the essence of what being French is all about.

Judith C. Johnson, an environmentalist who was a leader in the fight to preserve Assateague Island, died Tuesday from stroke complications at the Broadmead retirement community. She was 91. The former Judith Montgomery Colt was born in Seattle and moved to Philadelphia in 1928. She was a 1933 graduate of St. Timothy's School, then located in Catonsville, and a year later from the Pierce College of Business Administration in Philadelphia. During the 1930s, she was a secretary for a bank and private school before working as secretary and later assistant to the manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association.