Surfer and trawler. Bob Bowné. Special to Blogfinger. © Click to see the surf rider. Re-post.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net—-maker of waves at Ocean Grove NJ. Re-post from April, 2022.
When the subject of a dog beach at the North End was proposed and denied by the CMA, attention was called to a special area of the OG beach, at the North End, which has been set aside for surfers.
Was this another example of favoritism in the Grove? Dog owners vs surfers?
Surfers in this town are like a fraternity, similar to the lifeguards and the firemen. They are protective of their privilege at the North End even though surfing around here isn’t as glorious as some places.
Once the public gets a whiff of favoritism (as in Mary’s Place zoning) the bar gets lowered for suspicion of more of the same.
We made some inquiries and learned that the decision to establish a surfer beach came from a desire to improve water safety. Some swimmers had been knocked over by surfers, and the surfers beach restricts surfers to that location while banning swimmers at the same place. Despite the lack of swimmers, a life guard station is posted there anyhow.
Ocean Grove’s beach popularity has been growing, and it gets pretty crowded at peak summer season. Some wonder if surf safety could be improved while making the north beach open for swimmers.
Once the lifeguards leave the OG beach, however, all bets are off for swimmers and surfers. Swim and ride the waves at your own risk from north to south.
BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL. From his album Simply Broadway. “The Impossible Dream” is from Don Quixote. The song is dedicated to the surfers who go out alone to challenge the ocean and dream the impossible wave.
Bob Bowné, whose photograph is shown above, is a Grover who used to make a profession of photographing surfers for magazines.
