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Brant's Beach ... A local perspective
1) No matter where in the state of NJ you hit tolls, you can thank atlantic city for that one. 2) If you were looking for waves, 58th street in Brant Beach is not the place to go, and brant beach is not the place on the island to go. holyoke ave in beach haven is most reknown, gracing the pages of surfer mag and SG mag several times. Having been a lifeguard in brant beach for 7 years I'll let you in on the beach culture here at home. 99% of the public we have to deal with are arrogant retarded new yorkers and north jersians that dont know their head from their ass let alone how to swim. Back in the late 50s/early 60s the state decided to install groins (the big rock/wooden structures) at every 600 or so feet of beach to cut down on erosion. Being a barrier island, the longshore current patterns create a garunteed permanant rip at the tips of each structure, making it a swimming hazard for the aforementioned a**holes. Therefore, not only brant beach, but a majority of beach patrols in NJ regulate swimming areas with swim zones, the length of it is at the discretion of each lifeguard individually, and changes daily with conditions. 58th street is extra anal because the big boss of the whole patrol is known to stalk that area pretty regularly, so you have to be a tight ass to keep your job. As for beach badges...the fees suck (when i used to beach badge check it was 2 dollars a day and 5 a week..man inflation) but it is what pays for keeping the beaches clean (after the aforementioned a**holes leave their trash all over) as well as our salaries to keep the idiots from drowning. Erosion is also a massive problem that does not receive full funding from the state, so excess sales are put in beach replenishment funds as well. Brant Beach is home and i hope that cleared up some misconceptions about it. - Courtesy of a Brant Beach Local |