It was a week of black flies and rainbows. Saturday evening’s rainbow on the bay. (Photo by Jon Coen)
Welcome to the annual “How the Heck Is It Labor Day Already?” column. If you are concerned about not being within germ-shot of people but still want to get some beach time this summer, I sure hope you took advantage of last week.
Heck, if you’re the beach etiquette monitor who spends their day citing parties setting up close to your blanket, it was Valhalla for you. If you’re that self-righteous local who proudly announces that they don’t go to the beach until September “when the shoobs go home,” then last week was a festival.
The beach was gorgeous, the water warm; it was heaven for the anti-social beach lover. There was just one teeny tiny issue.
Actually, there were hundreds of teeny tiny issues. Thousands? Millions?
From Tuesday to last Friday, the beaches of LBI were absolutely swarming with black flies.
Black flies are a common beach nuisance in the summer. The wind blows west and these annoying buggers come off the marshes to feast on the flesh of beachgoers. What’s not particularly common is three or four days of offshore wind in August that caused their prolonged beachfront vacation.
The wind will sometimes blow offshore when a front come through. It will often blow light offshore on calm mornings. It blows offshore when a thunderstorm passes. But it doesn’t simply go west and stay west for days like that in the summer, subsequently rendering the beach uninhabitable, or at least unenjoyable or perhaps a new word: “unumbrellable.”
If you looked at the surf cams at any time from Tuesday to Friday you saw clean conditions, the kind we relish as surfers, even if most of Wednesday and Thursday the surf was all but flat. But you may have noticed the absence of any people. It was just unbearable up there. Well, not a total absence of people. There was always one guy running up the beach, doing a crazed dance that involved smacking his legs and head with a lot of flailing.
Actually, it was rough in some spots all the way to the Boulevard. Getting bitten by these guys is bad. It’s not the same tiny dagger as a greenhead, but the pure number of them is unnerving, and the constant landing on any part of your body can freak out even the most hardened veteran beachgoer. Spying 25 sitting on the surfboard you’re carrying or a few dozen swirling around your head may be more unsettling than the actual bite. But some beach patrols actually sent their beach checkers home as it was cruel and unusual punishment to leave them as bait near the dunes. Not like anyone was buying a day badge anyway …. Surf instructors had a hell of a time, and much respect to the lifeguards who had to sit there and take it while most patrols are currently short staffed. And when you left the beach to the safety of your own home, you found their cousin, the fruit flies all over your kitchen. I heard similar reports both north and south of LBI, and with each successive day, it seemed to get worse.
You have to imagine that record black fly days (does anyone keep records of this?) are pretty standard for 2020. Guess we just have to be thankful that they weren’t all carrying some brain-swelling virus or humming Justin Bieber songs.
The wind came onshore Friday afternoon, and the flies were gone in an instant. In reality, it was more of an inconvenience when you consider the thousands of people affected by Hurricane Laura, another American city torn apart in racial discord and the fact that we’re still in the midst of a pandemic.
This is some year, man.
WAVES OF THE WEEK: The surf hasn’t been much to brag about, especially considering that we’re approaching the height of hurricane season in a relatively active year. Things just aren’t going our way this season. Nevertheless, there was still some fun to be had.
Most of the last week was fairly uneventful after last Tuesday’s fun little bump. The same offshore wind that brought the flies didn’t do much for the surf. We finally saw a tiny clean line again Friday. But even that swell got swallowed up as the tide came in. And although it seemed the sandbars were coming back after the mid-August storm, they’re still not where they should be for summer.
On Saturday we had the remnants of Hurricane Laura come through. The leftovers of former hurricane mixing with a low coming across the country could have been a potential solid wave maker, but the track didn’t really allow it to set up solid fetch in our swell window, and winds were pretty light. This was never forecast to be all that significant, but at one point, it did look like at least some shortboard waves for the weekend. Sunday was 1- to 3-foot at the very best and again, the sandbar was anything but ideal, just not offering that punch to ride a shortboard at any tide. There was however, a very fun wave for the bigger boards and the kids. In many spots, it was feathering outside and re-forming all the way to the beach. And while you weren’t flying down the line or laying into turns, these conditions are conducive to families riding together and still a whole lot of fun when you change your perspective.
Early forecasts didn’t show the weekend being all that exciting for surf, but I feel like that could change into something more significant. After all, when do we not have waves on Labor Day?
WE’VE GONE SOFT: A longtime surf shop employee recently reached out to me feeling a bit guilty for selling so many soft top surfboards this summer. If you’ve spent any time in the water, you know they’re everywhere. On Sunday, they may have outnumbered the traditional fiberglass boards. He was grateful to be doing business in the COVID summer, but as he put it, “I love that everyone gets to feel the stoke, but it’s strange that there’s a whole generation that doesn’t want to get good at surfing.”
It’s an interesting thing that has happened. If you’re over 35, soft top boards didn’t exist when you were a kid. The first ones appeared 15 years ago, as a safe alternative to hard fiberglass boards, marketed toward beginners.
At that time, no one with even an ounce of experience wanted to be seen on one of those boards. There was already a stigma against riding the new “China boards,” mass produced in Asian factories, over boards handcrafted by surfers who shaped. In essence, surfers were a bike gang of 10-year-old kids, and soft tops were about as cool as training wheels. If you’re still not making the connection, imagine how serious anglers would look cross eyed at a Zebco setup from Walmart.
Every surf shop on the Island will tell you that soft top surfboards sales have seen growth, and this year, they absolutely crushed it. Between the demand and production slow-ups in Asia, you actually can’t find one anywhere right now.
“It is the microwave food of surfing. It’s as if they don’t want to get good at surfing, but just participate,” my bud added.
The truth is some young surfers probably needed to spend more time with training wheels. For decades, surfing had been marketed for its performance aspects. You wanted to ride a performance shortboard like Martin Potter, Andy Irons or Dane Reynolds, depending on your era (or Slater, in any of those eras). The boards were often too short, too thin and/or too narrow, not necessarily great for catching waves. Less waves meant slower to progress. I’ve watched kids of my own family and friends catch countless waves on their floaty “foamies” (everything in surfing has a nickname that usually ends with the long “e” sound) in the last few years, probably far more than we caught when learning to surf on chippy boards in the ’90s.
But today, kids are no longer drawn to the performance shortboard. There was a time when you might have been made fun of for putting a rubber nose cone on your board, but now, the masses of kids are content on pool toys. While we’re seeing a handful of pro riders and social media influencers get paid to push the limits on these softees in the name of fun, there’s only so far you can go with them. But that seems to be OK with these kids, and the companies making them have done a very good job of marketing them. I see what my shop bud is talking about.
We’ve both seen surfing’s ups and downs in the last 30 years, and it’s odd that newcomers to the sport don’t want to progress. There’s something to that. There’s no feeling of wanting to move past the training wheels. The line-up is a lot less serious, less competitive than it used to be, at least in the summer. Paddling out as a kid or beginner used to be intimidating. There was a palpable sense of territoriality.
On one hand, it’s good that surfing has mellowed out. It’s more inclusive and irreverent. There were certainly guys who took summertime surf too seriously in the past. On these 1- to 2-foot days, kids and newbies should be catching waves without a care. On the other hand, it can lead to chaos in the line-up when there’s real swell and suddenly the water is full of surfers who lack experience – but more importantly, awareness.
The line-up of soft top surfboards for summer fun. (Photo courtesy Catch Surf)
I surf with my niece, nephews and their friends on those tiny days, having a grand ol’ time. I’ve encouraged them to get on hard boards, either long or short. They’re slowly starting to, and they have style. Their Lifeguard in Training summers have certainly made them capable in the ocean. But when I watch them surf with friends, every wave is a party wave or a crash-up derby.
On second thought, they should stay on the foamies for now …
But what if we stay on this track? Will they ever progress? Will they surf in the winter when soft tops are completely inefficient? What if they don’t want to get barreled or do a rail turn? Or maybe the future of surfing is just silly.
LAURA: This isn’t local news, but since many of us find tropical weather to be fascinating and relevant, I think Island folks are curious. Hurricane Laura didn’t seem to be a huge national news story after making landfall in Louisiana early Thursday morning, which is interesting because it tied for the second strongest storm to ever hit the state and was a Cat 4. Keep in mind that Louisiana is a very hurricane-prone state and Cat 5 is the highest you can get on the Saffir Simpson scale.
To be fair, it’s hard to compete with the current climate of America’s zany politics. But the key seemed to be that Laura made landfall in a very sparsely populated area of the Gulf. Actually, most of the coastline of Louisiana is pretty unpopulated on account of it being marshy delta. Most of the damage reported was in Lake Charles, which is actually about 30 miles inland of the Gulf, and caused by tornadoes that were spawned. The death toll as of now is under 15, and many of those were related to generator accidents/carbon monoxide in the aftermath.
That doesn’t minimize the communities that saw loss, but it wasn’t the same level of disaster as if it were to have hit New Orleans. It’s also a reminder to be prepared for the upcoming peak of hurricane season on our own coast, and do it safely.
It’s also interesting to weather nerds that the National Hurricane Center, which is part of the National Centers for Environmental Predictions, accurately predicted the track and timeline of Laura almost four days in advance. The NHC is just one of the institutions that put out tropical forecasts, and they completely nailed this one, a very good sign for American meteorology.
LOOKING SOUTH: The peak of hurricane season is upon us and if the seasonal predictions are accurate, September will be a very busy month in the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately, the closest one is off the southeast coast and set to move northeast, so we have low chance of landfall and good chance of waves late week, although nothing huge. You can thank your nana if you get tubed.
Tropical Storm Nana formed on Tuesday and is forecast to head east toward Central America. And then there are a third and fourth wave coming off the coast of Africa to keep an eye on. While neither looks like the banger we’ve been waiting for, that could start the Cape Verde train.
YOU MUST HAVE BLINKED: Because summer is over.
Hey, in a normal year, LBI summer is known to fly right by. You hardly have enough time to do all the things you want to do and see everyone you want to see. But this year, following those stay-at-home months that felt like three years, summer was a quick flash of heat, wacky storms, waiting on line 6 feet apart and a few swells.
The Selection Party for the 14th annual Clam Jam is this Thursday, Sept. 3, at the Jetty Flagship Store in Manahawkin. This will be an outdoor event, and the names on clam shells will be picked out of a hat starting at 4 p.m., part of Jetty’s Back-To-School event. There will be food for Clam Jam surfers. This year’s Clam Jam slots are full, but if you want to get on the alternate list, email Anna@Jettylife.com.
The actual Clam Jam could be any Saturday or Sunday after Labor Day, starting Sept. 9 or 10, the earliest it has ever been. This is the statistical peak of hurricane season, so it would be in your best interest to be ready. It will again be held at the 68th Street beach in Brant Beach, and the same social distancing protocols set forth by Jetty and Long Beach Township for the Coquina Jam will be in place.
Fantasy Island will do a firework display to end the season this year on Sept. 6, at 9 p.m. Don’t ask me to explain how, but the fireworks are going to be shot higher this year to allow for folks to see from all over the area, allowing proper social distancing. Hey, those guys have been making extra magic the last few years, so if anyone can do it …
South-End Surf N’ Paddle is looking to run the Barnegat Bay Challenge after Labor Day. This is the annual race at Bayview Park in Brant Beach that brings paddlers of all levels. It will be both virtual and in-person this year. The date is TBD and is working around the Jetty Clam Jam.
And now Labor Day is upon us. In any given year, locals would be breathing a big sigh of relief, wiping their sweaty brows, cleaning up and regrouping after a hard battle. This September, no one is sure what to expect. But clearly LBI rose to the occasion and gave folks a fantastic summer. Air hugs and virtual fist bumps to the businesses that worked so hard and the folks who came to support.
And despite a lot of talk, our COVID cases were minimal. Everyone deserves credit for that. Let’s see if we can keep it going one more weekend and into Local Summer. For those who will head west over the bridge and not return until Memorial Day, let’s hope we’re all up in each other’s space by then.
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