CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT- Steve Tulevech, vice president of Town Creek 

 Marina in Beaufort, says attention to details helps achieve Clean Marina goals. 

 * Boaters are attracted to Town Creek Marina by its array ofsciviccs — and its 

 appearance. * Chuck Tulevech, president of Town Creek Marina, stands beside the 

 stornwater filtration pond that keeps the surrounding water bodies clean. * Full- 

 scale boat service sites require extra effort to protect water quality. * Wilmington 

 Marine Center dockmaster Miles A \acQueen, owner Skip Fry, and site manager 

 Dcbra I Napp say the Clean Marina program sets high standards for marinas. * 

 The center is a hidden treasure not far from the Wilmington port. 



and Gallants Channel, about 1 .5 miles from the 

 Beaufort Inlet. With 88 slips, the marina provides 

 waste pump-out service; showers and laundro- 

 mat; fish cleaning stations; dockside water and 

 power connections; a ship's store; and a full 

 array of haulout repair and dry storage services. 

 Marina services help clients obey the rules. 



It's a symbiotic relationship — clients who 

 spend a lot of money on their boats don't want to 

 jeopardize their investment in a nasty boat yard 

 or wet slip. 



"We are all connected to and by the Neuse 

 River, and it's our shared responsibility to protect 

 it," Tulevech points out. "We just want to do 

 things right." 



One obvious "right" measure is an 

 elaborate on-site stormwater filtration system, 

 designed to catch hazardous material from 

 repair operations — sanding dust, antifouling 

 paints, engine overhaul byproducts, oils, fuel, 

 fiberglass materials. An aeration device keeps the 

 6-feet-deep lagoon from becoming a stagnant 

 mosquito-breeding pond. 



"The nature of our business is messy," 

 he notes. To further protect water quality, the 

 messiest jobs are done at a satellite facility away 

 from the waterfront. 



Tulevech, a transplant from Port Jefferson, 

 N.Y., purchased the marina in 1996 and recruited 

 his younger brother, Steve, away from academic 

 life to serve as vice president of operations. 



Steve Tulevech is a marine biologist who 

 taught and helped develop the marine resource 

 management program at Richard Stockton Col- 

 lege of New Jersey. 



"A lot of people do business with Town 

 Creek Marina because of the clean appearance of 

 our operation," says the younger Tulevech. "They 

 don't necessarily see our attention to detail, such 

 as using waste filters to absorb oil or gasoline. But 

 they do understand the hazards associated with 

 runoff." 



There are industry challenges, such as pro- 

 tecting the environment from antifouling marine 

 paints. He is testing a water-based bottom paint 

 that will eliminate water and air contamination. 

 "It will be good news all around if it works," says 

 Steve Tulevech. 



A HIDDEN TREASURE 



When Skip Fry purchased the Wilmington 

 Marine Center in 1987, it was a diamond in the 

 rough — a far cry from the model Clean Marina 

 it is today. 



"It was a utility 

 yard, with a partial 

 basin," he recalls. 

 "But I saw the poten- 

 tial to transform it." 



By water, the 

 marina's channel 

 starts near Marker 

 #59 on the Cape 

 Fear River — about 

 seven miles north of 

 Snow's Cut on the 

 ICW, and three miles 

 south of downtown 

 Wilmington. 



In other words, 

 it's a hidden treasure 

 — a deliberate one 



at that. Fry purposely dug a basin on high ground 

 to create an enclosed marina — a "hurricane 

 hole" — that would be a safe harbor on the often 

 stormy coast. His plan works. From Bertha to 

 Isabel, no boat in his marina has been scratched. 



Seeking the Clean Marina designation was 

 not a stretch for Fry, one-time president of the 

 Cape Fear River Watch. 



"Conservation is a pervasive concept, from 

 tarps under boats being serviced to impervious 

 surfaces, and contracts to remove all waste prod- 

 ucts," Fry says. "The marina was designed so that 

 all runoff flows away from the water body." 



Fry also designed the overall marine opera- 

 tion according to function. The marina shares the 

 waterside address with Baker Marine Sales and 

 Service. Across River Road — well away from 

 the water basin — Fry sited an industrial area 

 that is home to DeMann Marine Power, Industrial 

 and Marine Fabricating and Welding, Cape Fear 

 Yacht Works, O.E. DuRant Ship Chandlers and 

 Sound Marine. 



Ken Trapagnier, who has been a "live 

 aboard" at the marina since last August, appreci- 

 ates the degrees of separation. 



The former deputy fire chief from New 

 Orleans retired early to enjoy life on board his 

 46-foot boat. In Dreams. 



"I really didn't know about the Clean 

 Marina Program until recently," he says. "But 

 I always look for a clean environment. I have 

 been to some places in the Caribbean that could 

 definitely use stricter regulations to protect the 

 water quality." 



Trapagnier will set sail in late summer for 

 his next adventure at sea. He plans to return to the 

 Wilmington Marine Center in the future because, 

 he says, he appreciates the high standards of the 

 Clean Marina program. 



Fry runs a tight ship and is a self-proclaimed 

 tough landlord — one who enforces strict rules 

 that protect the environment. 



"Our industry is predicated upon clean 

 water," Fry says matter-of-factly. "Without clean 

 water, we have nothing." E 



COASTWATCH 19 



