Atlantic City Weekly

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On any sunny summer Saturday or Sunday afternoon, the Absecon Inlet sort of serves as a liquid dividing line between two of the hippest social scenes in southern New Jersey.

On the Brigantine side is a public beach area affectionately called the Cove, where bathers and barbecuers come by boat or four-wheel-drive vehicle to spend the day in a less-restrictive beach atmosphere than you’d typically find out front. On the A.C. side is the waterway leading into Gardner’s Basin to the left and Trump Marina to the right, the latter home to the Deck, where many of those same Cove revelers find themselves on any nice night or day during the summer — not just on weekends. It’s a short trek over the bridge by car and an even shorter trip by boat, where slips at Farley State Marina are free to the Deck devoted.

Live music is a Deck staple every Saturday and Sunday afternoon and every night of the week in the summer, weather permitting, through Sept. 12. It then switches to a Friday-through-Sunday schedule leading up to the annual Deck Blowout Party on Sept. 26 before closing for the season. Typically guests can enjoy the live bands free of charge Sunday through Thursday (starting around 7:30pm), and a nominal cover charge applies to Friday and Saturday nights (usually $5 or $10). Saturday’s early band (beginning around 2:30pm) is a revolving slate of stellar locals like Jeremiah Hunter (Aug. 21) and Dane Anthony (Aug. 28), and every Sunday is the ever-popular group The Exceptions.

“[The Exceptions] are a huge draw — everybody enjoys coming out to see them play a variety of music,” says Trump Marina director of food and beverage Robert McNellis. “We call it Sweet Tea Sundays with a lot of nice beer and drink specials going on, and special events like an ice-carving contest and a Sweet Tea barbecue [both earlier this month] and a pose-off with the Captain Morgan girls on Aug. 29. That promises to be a big draw.”

Two other big draws, according to McNellis, are the Loud & Local Monday night series featuring standout local musicians, and B-Streets Thursdays with the highly regarded Bruce Springsteen tribute band. Last week’s Loud & Local focus was Billy Walton and this Monday (Aug. 23) will spotlight another guitar virtuoso, Danny Eyer. The Bubba Mac Blues Band is scheduled for the following Monday, Aug. 30. That band and another Eyer regularly performs with, Hawkins Road, headlines the Deck’s Tuesday night Kickin’ Country series.

“On Wednesdays we do a Key West theme with [the Jimmy Buffett tribute band] Parrot Beach, specials on Land Shark pitchers and Key Lime Surprise drinks with [Captain Morgan] Parrot Bay rum,” says McNellis. “It’s always a fun time. Any nice day there’s always something going on — drink and promotional specials, live music, special events. We do a happy hour from 5-8pm every day and two on Saturdays, including an early one from 1-3pm we call Get Happy Early. Every weekend we have our raw bar out there with oysters, clams, jumbo shrimp, and king crab claws that can be as big as your fist. Our Saturday and Sunday breakfast specials [8-11:30am] have been very successful too.”

Upcoming special events includes the “Evening on the Deck” fundraiser for the Alcove Center for Grieving Children and Families on Thursday, Aug. 19, from 5:30-8pm. The $35-per-person cost includes a complimentary hot and cold buffet, a full-service cash bar, a 50-50 raffle and chances to win other prizes. Funds raised will support the various programs of the Northfield-based Alcove Center.

“We receive very little in the way of grants and public funding, and we rely primarily on private donations and a handful of annual events to raise the money necessary to support or mission,” says Mindy Shemtov, the Alcove’s executive director. “Through the support and generosity of our community we’ve been able to take our program into area schools and expand our services into Cape May County.”

On Sunday, Sept. 19, the Deck’s Craft Beer Fest returns after a super-successful inaugural event last summer. A $25-per-person entitles event goers to sample several new brews from 2-7pm. In conjunction with the inaugural Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) “Lightning on the Water” powerboat race on Sept. 19 — being billed as September’s aquatic answer to August’s “Thunder Over the Boardwalk” aerial show — the Deck will also play host to a public viewing of the racing boats on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10am-5pm. Up to 50 racing powerboats will be on display.

“The event will attract boating enthusiasts, casino patrons, vacationers and — because it’s such a family-friendly event — countless others,” says OPA president Ed Smith.