Columns
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•September 26, 2024
Giant Airships Finally Meet
The month of October 1924 would always be remembered in the history of the US lighter than air program as one of the most successful. As the month began, the U.S.-built Shenandoah had left Lakehurst…
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•September 23, 2024
It’s Hotter Than Ever as 2024 Moves Forth; Those Miracle Mullet Are on the Move
As much as we are loath to admit it, LBI is part of the world in general. As such, it is included in the latest alarmingly hot findings by NASA and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change…
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•September 20, 2024
Sea.Hear.Now. and Bruce Provide Memorable Experience for LBI Folks
Though it wasn’t on Long Beach Island, Jersey Shore history was made this weekend up in Asbury Park. Dozens of LBI folk were up at Sea. Hear. Now, the two-day festival that Bruce Springsteen…
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•September 18, 2024
Lakehurst Naval Station Welcomes ‘ZR-3’
Those who can remember the excitement caused by the Apollo flight to the moon can imagine the excitement of October 1924 as American dirigibles set world records.
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•September 14, 2024
Surf Perks Up, Hurricane Season Restarts and Sandmen Cometh
Well, how about that. We finally have some surfing to write about in a surf column!
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•September 11, 2024
Rating Island Protests in Anti-Turbine Terms; Cellphones Used to Enter Parallel Universe
Somewhat surprisingly, the Island has greatly quieted in a typical post-season manner, though there’s no quieting weekends from now through Thanksgiving.
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•September 11, 2024
Attention Shifts to the ‘ZR-3’
October 1924 is considered as one of the high points in the history of lighter-than-air aviation in the U.S. The USS Shenandoah was on the West Coast after a triumphant record-breaking flight from…
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•September 5, 2024
The Belmar Beach Badge Summer Slam and Its Ramifications
If you woke up in the 609 on Tuesday morning, there was likely a sense of relief. Obviously for those who work every day, it’s reaching the light at the end of a very demanding tunnel. Even for those…
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•September 5, 2024
The Long-Lettered Month Has Many Special Days; Sand Crabs Coming Into Their Own
Welcome to the most be-lettered of all months, even more so after achieving its doctorate. On letter count, it beats out February, November and December.
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•September 4, 2024
‘USS Shenandoah’ Begins Historic Trip
October 1924 was set to be a record-breaking month in the history of aviation, and Lakehurst, N.J. was to be at the center of the activity.
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•August 29, 2024
The Case of the Missing Paddler (Who Was Home Making Dinner); Small Waves to End Summer
The Island seems quiet. Not as quiet as it will be next week, but this weekend was pretty tame compared to the previous 10. On Sunday morning, at prime pickleballing hours, there was an empty court.…
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•August 29, 2024
FOBO Joins the Acronym Elite; Replenishment Draws Nearer; Turbine Builder Assures Access to Anglers
In a flash, summer bids a fair sayonara. If you blinked once, you missed half of it. I must have blinked twice since I missed the whole shebang.
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•August 28, 2024
Airship Passes Important Test
One hundred years ago many experts believed the future of aviation would be with giant lighter-than-airships and the New Jersey Pine Barrens would become the center of activity.
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•August 21, 2024
Earnest Ernesto’s Hurricane Swell; Swimmers Beware and Replenishment Might Not Be the Worst-Case Scenario
Well, it seems hurricane season and election season are once again intertwined. And there will certainly be a few readers who would insist that Liquid Lines “just stick to surfing.” But isn’t it my…
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•August 21, 2024
Heavily Viewed Jetty Rescue Saves Anglers From Battering; Horseshoe Crabs Up Against Turbine Times
The weekend saw a wow-ifed rescue of two men, possibly anglers, who became marooned on rocks next to the buoy monument at the far east end of the South Jetty at Barnegat Inlet. Their escape route…
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•August 21, 2024
US Enthralled With the ‘Shenandoah’
Memorial Day weekend 1924 saw the repaired USS Shenandoah make its first public appearance since it had been torn from its mooring mast during a violent nor’easter in January. Witnessed by over…
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•August 20, 2024
How Kangaroo Rats Stopped a Highway; Public Trust Doctrine Shines in NJ
It’s hard to say with certainty that the trickle-down effects of once-Hurricane Debby knocked some seasonal sense into the Island’s ocean water temps, but there has been a welcome influx of warmer…
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•August 15, 2024
The Race to Enjoy Shortened Summer; After Debby, Possible Coming Hurricane Swell
Exactly this week last year, I wrote in Liquid Lines about how summer’s days were numbered and we should all be making the most of them. To quote that column: “Just go surf; doesn’t matter how good…
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•August 15, 2024
Soul Project Returns With Brand New ‘Live From Norway’ Record
About once every summer, the Lizzie Rose Music Room opens its doors to a rip-roaring New Orleans act, the Soul Project NOLA, and this summer is no exception. The five-piece funk sensation is set to…
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•August 14, 2024
Lakehurst Takes the Spotlight
Most stories about airships end in disaster, but the year 1924 was the exception as it became one of pride and the hope for a brighter future.
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•August 8, 2024
Wind, Water, Waves Feeling Like Endless Bummer; What Will Tropical Storm Debby Do?
My family came here for our a week vacation. We spent a lot of money on a shore house and the water was soooo cold!
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•August 7, 2024
Tropical Visitations as Man o’ Wars, Small Bigeyes Arrive; NMFS ‘Potential Biological Removal Level’
August is the most schizophrenic month, more so than even March with its lion/lamb syndrome. It’s a mental mess, bursting on scene, all deep-tanned and cocky, teeming with midsummer energy. But in…
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•August 7, 2024
Deadhead Deep Dive Into ’Days Between‘
The first day of August marked what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 82nd birthday and the beginning of a nine-day celebration of life that Deadheads call the Days Between. The Days Between references…
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•August 7, 2024
Shipwrecks Meet Explosive Conclusion
The normal story for wrecks along the Jersey Shore involves a storm causing a ship to be beached, followed by its destruction at the hands of pounding waves. The story of the 1890 collision of two…
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•July 31, 2024
Orcas Make Boat Crushing Everyday Fun Affair; A Lousy Story Too Gross to Believe
Those wild and crazy orcas are making headlines again, continuing their now patented boat-sinking moves, highlighted by throwing their entire killer whale body weights down on hapless vessels. It’s…
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•July 31, 2024
‘Graveyard’ Claims Third Victim
For many years the ocean just east of Barnegat Light has been called the graveyard of the Atlantic. As 1890 drew to a close, at a site just east of the lighthouse, the masts of two ships that had…
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•July 31, 2024
Review: The Soft Top Not To Buy; Tropics Shake off the Dust
The other night we were surfing some tiny little onshore waves at low tide. The sandbars are amazing right now.
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•July 26, 2024
Surfing in the OIympics This Week, You Might Actually Care; Water Warms, Summer Is Replenishment-Free
When the Summer Olympics’ opening ceremonies are held on Friday, there won’t be any surfers in Paris. Now, that’s not because surfing is shut out. It’s just that the Olympic surfers will be on the…
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•July 25, 2024
Lice by Any Other Name Still Itch to Hell and Back; Virtual Trip to Micronation of Molossia
Lest I jinx it, I’ll mention in a nonchalant manner, i.e. in a whisper, the ocean water has finally warmed to the summer task. Nothing balmy just yet, but last weekend saw many bathers hitting the…
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•July 24, 2024
Dealing With the Gruesome Aftermath
In the age before wireless communication, when two ships collided near Barnegat Lighthouse, nothing was known of the incident until the next morning, when passing ships saw survivors clinging to the…
