Liquid Lines
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•July 6, 2023
Summer Waves Make for Happy Surfers; Beach Haven Council Can’t Land a Trick on Skate Park
Well, that was some weekend. Anyone see the line at Jeffreeze Old Fashioned Ice Cream in West Creek on Sunday night? Might have been a quarter mile. The line outside of Rich’s Ice Cream stretched…
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•June 28, 2023
Is That … Summer? Plus More Beach Haven Skate Park Saga and Tropical Surf
Some devilish news this week. Someone stole the famed Jersey Devil from in front of Lucille’s, a favorite eatery out in the Pine Barrens. That’s a bummer because it made a great landmark for anyone…
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•June 22, 2023
Possibility of Better Waves, Certainty of Great Music Festivals This Summer
My favorite observation this week was that of the C.J. Hesse Companies and/or the Ocean County Roads Department digging a 10-foot-deep hole into two lanes of the Ship Bottom Circle on the first week…
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•June 19, 2023
Savoring Those Tastes of Summer; Small, Clean Surf to Come
I am going to bet that in your beach bag, in the hold of your boat or stuffed at the bottom of your backpack is a half full bag of potato chips. Or at least there will be one within the next few…
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•June 8, 2023
New Jersey Gone Global Surf Star Ben Gravy to Visit LBI After Windy/Wintry Weekend
The global surf sensation who happens to be from New Jersey, Ben Gravy, is coming to LBI to hang out and surf on Sunday. All are invited to “Ben’s BBQ” at Wave Hog Surf Shop in Ship Bottom for a meet…
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•May 31, 2023
Coming Down Off Memorial Day Weekend With Waves and Warming Water
Waves were ridden; clams were shucked. And fashion officially dictates that women’s pants (jeans, joggers and bikini bottoms), which have been on the rise for nearly a decade, now be hiked up to…
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•May 17, 2023
Sandbars Are Excellent, All We Need Is a Wave
I’m going to start this week by saying that we live in some divisive times. Some politicians on the national scene have actually been teasing the idea of a second civil war.
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•May 7, 2023
Nicknaming Surf Spots; Beach Haven Skate Park Talk Goes in Circles; Gem of a Day of Surf
It was June 2007 and the weather was fantastic.
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•April 22, 2023
The Most Marvelous April Weather in Recent History and Updates on Skate Parks
The sun shone down gloriously from the heavens. Children literally pranced through the shallows of an unseasonable sandbar, each splash picking up the sunlight in a dazzling display. The dune grasses…
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•April 10, 2023
Wax Jobs, March Radness, Nuisance Tourism, Skateboard Park Saga and Less Surf Between Seasons
Take a look at the wax on your surfboard this time of year.
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•March 26, 2023
Looking at Your March Meanness Bracket and Possible Best Case Scenario for Beachfill?
Lots of upsets this year. Small New Jersey schools are looking sharp. Did you see that Surf City’s Lifeguard in Training Team beat Purdue? I’m picking Stockton’s Co-Ed Intramural Volleyball team to…
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•March 11, 2023
Oh, the Things You Will See in Bridge Traffic; Winter Keeps Sending Surf
There was an interesting headline on the cover of our SandPaper last week that read “Many Questions Over Highway Work.”
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•February 23, 2023
Pickleball Plot Thickens in Beach Haven Amid Welcome Winter Waves and Warmth
I heard something at a Beach Haven municipal meeting on Feb. 13 that I have never heard before. It was in response to Councilman Michael Battista’s statement in lobbying for six new pickleball courts…
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•February 13, 2023
Not Falling for a Skaters vs. Pickleballers Battle; After Short Break, Winter Waves Return
Last July, alongside a nice turnout of local surfers and skateboard families, I attended and covered the regular Beach Haven Council meeting. It was there that I witnessed the most lovely and warm…
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•January 26, 2023
Mild Weather, Good Pattern for Waves Make for Fun Winter
Figured I would start this week off with a bit of good news. And it has nothing to do with surfing, the environment or other watery pursuits. By now, most of Ocean County has heard about the horrid…
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•January 13, 2023
New Year, New Habits, New Waves
Does anyone else by January start to look at their Christmas tree like the corpse of a mob hit?
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•December 21, 2022
Do Families Really Get Cars for Christmas? And Gift Wrapping Up the Year in Waves
Well, in case you didn’t realize it, the holidays are officially upon us. You probably noticed when Old Navy started running Christmas commercials a week before Halloween, aka “The War on…
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•December 10, 2022
With Surf and Life, Timing Is Everything
Everything with surfing revolves around the conditions. And conditions are always changing. Therefore, surfing has a lot to do with timing.
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•November 24, 2022
Surf Has Been Running Hot and (Very) Cold With Great Gatherings on the Horizon
Does anyone else feel like they walked out of their house barefoot onto the green grass in the middle of November and Old Man Winter just came charging around the side of the house at full speed…
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•November 13, 2022
November Wave and Weather Pleasantries Amid Shifting of Seasons
“Last week felt like those days you longed for in high school, whether you were cutting class or waiting for the bell to ring so you could get to the beach. The water is warmer right now than it was…
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•October 27, 2022
Another Island Landmark Gone, Boardriders Converge, Uncooperative Winds
Here’s the sad news, folks: The 7-Eleven in Ship Bottom closed on Sunday.
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•October 22, 2022
The Day That Was Supposed to Be Good vs. the Day That Was Really Good
Has anyone noticed what’s been happening in surf shops the last few years?
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•October 15, 2022
Weather, Whales and Events Pick Us Up After Storm Punch
Sometimes I don’t know how we get through the day without positivity quote memes on Instagram.
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•October 6, 2022
A Breakdown of Nor’Ian’s Worst Possible Storm Track; Cantore Blowing in the Wind
Is it me, or are we all pretty much quietly wishing to see Jim Cantore get washed away during a live broadcast?
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•September 28, 2022
Places Enjoyed by Many May Now Belong to Few; Rocky Fling With Fiona, Mess of Hurricane Ian
It would seem that an awful lot of folks on Long Beach Island, and even those for whom this is a part-time home, are pretty upset at the news of the Long Beach Island Grade School being sold to a…
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•September 22, 2022
Writing Locally Inspired Screenplay; Lusty Eyes on Miss Fiona
I recently had an idea for a screenplay about Long Beach Island. I’m currently working on the script and wondering if you have any Hollywood connections?
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•September 14, 2022
Tragic News Amplifies Water Awareness This Time of Year
This is normally a pretty joyous time of year for the folks who gravitate toward the surf/beach/ocean/Liquid Lines community, yet we have to start the column with some terrible news.
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•September 8, 2022
Romanticizing September With Tropics on the Rise, Plus Levels of Hurricane Preparedness
We do a lot of romanticizing about September around here.
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•August 31, 2022
The Bag Ban That Didn’t End the World, Small Wave Repeats and Tropical Awakenings
Have you been checking the numbers? Have you been going to the stats every day to look at hospitalizations, seven-day averages and (gulp) even deaths? Figuring that the end of summer was a good time…
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•August 25, 2022
Driving Through the Deep for Coffee Fix; Small Swells Keep It Interesting
We needed the rain. Perhaps not all at once, though ….
