Barnegat cop & marina owner rescue stranded boater

At the height of today's bayfront floods in Barnegat, one police officer placed duty before self to rescue a boater who couldn't reach land.

Facing water too deep to cross in a standard vehicle or even by foot, Patrolman Bryan Nogowski found out the value of one of the department's military surplus Humvees.

Police didn't identify the boater who became stranded on the island near the township's municipal boat ramp. Bayshore Drive and surrounding roads had been inundated with water as the nor'easter kept pouring steady rain and driving winds.

Nogowski plowed through in the Humvee to complete the solo rescue operation. Adam Sherer, operator of Sherer's Boat Basin, quickly organized associates James Sutter and Robert Kenney at the marina to recover the vessel.

The department secured their Humvees and a pair of five-ton transport trucks free of charge as part of federal post-Sandy recovery efforts.

Police are still patrolling the bayfront in the big rigs. They urge drivers to avoid flood zones and to turn back if the road ahead is under water.