Holiday washout at the Jersey Shore, but so far season has been going well

Rain and riptides are not making it a prime day at the Jersey Shore. So far this season there haven’t been many washouts.

Jack Brooks has been guarding swimmers at beaches in Ocean City, New Jersey on and off since 1974. He says he and colleagues are out on days like today just to make sure people don’t venture out in the riptides, which could be deadly.

“There’s a lot of rip current around obstructions it could be jetties, pipes things in the water and it moves as the tide moves,” Brooks said.” Where the rip current is at high tide can be completely different than where it is at low tide.  These things pop up most of the guards know their beaches they work there regularly, they swim it they feel it they touch it with the bottom of their feet and they know what happens.”

While remants of Hurrican Arthur went out to sea south of New Jersey, the effects are making for rough surf.

Fran DeVinney of Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania says even with the rain the shore was good to him this week.

“It was a great week until today I have no complaints five out of six days so far good,” DeVinney said.

Even with the stormy holiday, it’s been a good early summer for shore merchants. Chantal Smith owns a coffee shop in Sea Isle City on the Promenade. She says up to this point, 2014 has been so much better than last year when it seemed to rain all of June.

“I think everybody was so tired of the winter, and just regardless of what the weather was like they wanted to come down to the beach,” Smith said. “They were tired of the cold they were tired of the snow so they just had to go.” 

The weather has caused fireworks shows to be posponed.  Ocean City’s will be Saturday and and the show in Atlantic City will be Sunday.