I Hope all is well with you and your loved ones. Sandy has been a very devastating storm.
I grow up surfing in NJ had a small shop on Long Beach Island NJ. Saw some photos this am of Freedom Surf Shop 1/2 underwater. The few reports I have gotten are pretty dismal. beach front Homes destroyed. Sand and debris covering the roads making them impassable. Power outages and who knows how much property loss there is.
So all you in The North East. take care and let us know how you are doing
The people there probably can't get sways right now. Power, internet, and cell service are likely gone.
We can certainly send them all the positive thoughts we can, though. They're going to need them.
I am about 20 miles inland in NJ. Most homes don’t have power and I am connected via generator. It’s pretty bad around here. Nearly every street has multiple downed trees and power lines. But this is nothing compared to what’s going on at the beach. Casino Pier is no-more. Saw photos of the rollercoaster sitting in the water. I have the feeling that place is going to be the “Dogtown East” with the whole POP Pier vibe going. I think the devastation on all of the barrier islands is unprecedented. LBI, Ocean City, Atlantic City…outlook is not good.
I am about 20 miles inland in NJ. Most homes don’t have power and I am connected via generator. It’s pretty bad around here. Nearly every street has multiple downed trees and power lines. But this is nothing compared to what’s going on at the beach. Casino Pier is no-more. Saw photos of the rollercoaster sitting in the water. I have the feeling that place is going to be the “Dogtown East” with the whole POP Pier vibe going. I think the devastation on all of the barrier islands is unprecedented. LBI, Ocean City, Atlantic City…outlook is not good.
Jamie I have Family in Absecon NJ they are without power yet we are able to send tex messages. They are are all fine Yeah Mike at least we can send are good vibes.
Pretty bad here. I am right outside Ocean City, NJ and as of this Tuesday evening there is little or no access to the barrier islands, some of which do not have power. There are roads between the islands that are inpassable because the ocean literally disintegrated the pavement. Flooding has left many businesses with severe water damage to clean up. It’s gonna take a long time to recover.
We will definitely need the good vibes, thanks!
Not that it matters at this point, but we may not even see a decent day of surf from this ordeal in South Jersey. Happy to see the guys to the south of here scored some really great waves from Sandy, the pics from North Carolina to Florida were impressive.
My home is in Ocean City. Pretty much right where the eye came ashore. We evacuated and are still waiting for government officials to let us back on the island. Friends and neighbors checked our house and sent pictures. My house had chest deep water inside it. Quite a mess to go back to. Won’t have heat, hot water, electricity. Nost of my tools are toast. I’m crossing my fingers that my Skill 100 survived. I had set it up on top of a roll top desk that I had put up on blocks. It was definately up high enough so long as the desk didn’t float and tip over. My Makita planer, router, drills, sander and all my other tools toast for sure. Never expected the water to get so high. We have seen plenty of flooding in our 20 years in this house but this beat the worst flooding by over a foot.
My house relies on a sump pump to pump water out. Had we not lost power I probably wouldn’t have had any damage. Lost power around noon yesterday and the second tide got us.
When I evacuted in 1999 and 2004 the only thing I took from my shaping room was templates, I figured I could buy a new planer, etc. if need be. It's funny what goes through your head when you start prioritizing your possesions to put them in a truck and drive away.
Glad you're OK and out of there. I returned the day after our 2nd storm in 2004 and had to go 8 more days without power. Then when they fixed my power drop they backed a 10 ton truck through my yard and crushed my sewer line. I had electricity but no toilet lol. Houses all around had their roofs torn off, so I still felt fortunate even if I did have to borrow the neighbors bathroom for a few days.
The recovery after the storm is hard, but there's a community spirit that arises and shines. I wish you well and hope you get to experience that.
I got several texts from Brian at Greenlight. He said his family and home were fine. Shop had minor damage. I hope things work out for the rest of you guys as well. Tough thing to go through. I grew up in central Florida and my family lost quite a bit during Hurricane David, things were never the same again. Thankfully we lost no family members or friends. Stuff is just stuff. My thoughts and prayers are with you guys!
I’m located in Virginia Beach. We got minor flooding, and a hell of a lot of debris, two piers were broken, so the water was pretty unsafe.
I’m praying for you guys up north of us. we got it off easy. please let me know if there’s anything I can do.
I had booked a house in Hatteras for a couple weeks from now and they took heavy damage as well. One of the s-turn houses fell in the sea and the road is washed out on Pea Island and up near Hatteras Village.
As I said I have friends on LBI and they were also hit hard. most of the beachfront homes are gone or being condemned. Most of the sand dunes that protect the Island are wiped out. At one point Atlantic City had 80% flooding.
Tonight there will be a Telethon concert to raise money for those in need. I plan to watch and give what I can.
Does anyone know if Surfrider foundation has any plans or events to help out?
I was on Long Beach Island for the entire storm, was finally able to get out yesterday when the road was just makable in my truck plus my food started running out. The entire island is beyond devastated as well as the entire coast, I cannot describe how bad it is. I almost puked when I got out and saw the beach front and adjacent areas. The dunes that protected us through many storms are completely gone. Island was cut in a few sections, lots of houses lost, many damaged beyond repair, insane amount of flooding, debris and sand, boats stacked like toys in the street, broken gas lines leaking everywhere. Most of the business along the blvd are destroyed. We got lucky at our place, water come up to our door but not in. Lost some stuff but nothing compared to many, such a sad event and I have such an ill feeling for all who suffered. This will take many years to come back and if we get hit again in the winter there is no protection.
It’s like a war zone with the National Gaurd everywhere, humvees and military vehicles all over and blackhawk choppers flying around. Just an armageddon type feel with the destruction, no gas, water or power. A truly eerie feeling when you know there are no police, firemen, emt’s or ambulances to save your ass plus dealing with a dwindling food supply. Maybe stupid but I was not going to leave, strange to say but I had this morbid curiosity to see the destruction and be there when it happened. No matter how horrific and devastating I’m glad to have witnessed this in person, I will never forget it.
The entire state of NJ is a disaster. I’m up north now and lucky to have power, most towns don’t. Gas is running extremely low all over the state and it’s getting hairy out there on the streets. If things don’t improve it’s going to get real ugly. Everyone out there count your blessings and to the assholes arguing over stupid shit give it a break, it makes this place unbearable sometimes.
My brothers boat was found 5 miles north and across the bay on the mainland heres a pic of it and a few others from my area, I’m in Beach Haven Crest.
Thanks for the report and photos johnny k3, That is far worse then the 1962 storm that cut LBi in 3 places. Far far worse then i imagined. I started a Surf Shop in Beach Haven in 1969. Ken Scott took it over a few years later. I just saw some photos of the new incarnation of Freedom with water mid way up the door. My old friend Ken Gallant has a paddle board store in Beach haven said he has a lot of water damage but he still has inventory to sell. Another old friend Jesse Frank was also hit hard. A lot of good surfers came from LBI some made it big in the Surf industry as well Tom Simms, Chuck Barefoot, and Bob Hurley all started surfing on long Beach Island. There is a strong surf culture on the Island and people with resilience. It may take years but the Island will come back.
Yeah it’s beyond belief what happened. Hey Artz yeah I know Chuck, he was back on LBI with a shop last year but didn’t come back this season. He’s been so busy with his skateboards in Ventura. When I was a kid I used to love going to the Freedom shop by the causway and then the bigger one in Brant Beach. I used to love to watch Skip Miller shape his Line Drive boards at the shop in Beach Haven. He had a window at the back of the store into the shaping bay, I’ll never forget those experiences when I was a kid. LBI has a rich surfing history like you said, I hope all the local buisnesses can rebound from this.
I have a house in Lavallette and the roads to the island are impassable. Yesterday we borrowed a boat to access the damage. Heading south from Pt. Pleasant the ocean and the bay breached the island and formed a new "inlet"at the base of the Mantoloking bridge. My nephews house is in Mantoloking and when we arrived The National Guard was stationed at the dock and turned us away. There are gas main leaks and the Guard won’t let anyone onto land. Further down into Lavallette I managed to get to my place and dock. I only suffered water damage, but by the time we are able to do any work the mold will have taken over. I managed to take some personal items…pictures and art work. The rest of the contents will probably end up in a dumpster. In just two short days the house has taken on an odor. I don’t know the future of the house, but it can always be rebuilt. After we loaded the boat we headed south to Ortley Beach to check on another house and were stopped by NJ Marine Police. They thought we were looting, but luckily the boat we borrowed belonged to one of there fellow brothers and There was no problem. Some houses looked as if a bomb went off and other houses looked as if they were finished yesterday. The place is pretty well policed, but I was told by a neighbor that Ocean Hut Surf Shop had been looted. Some people are lower than scum. It take a long time to rebuild the place.
My house is a wreck. Been cleaning up the last two days. Just got electric back about two hours ago. Long way to go. Lot of damage and the house had an inch of sludge on the floor. On a good note though most of my board building tools including my planers survived.
First time I’ve had a moment to breathe since the event (we evacuated to the mainland). Got in by boat to salvage some of our stuff and do my best to shore up the house. First floor flooded but structure still standing strong. My town got hit hard but actually did (relatively) well; neighboring towns got absolutely f*(king SMOKED- houses lifted up and blown down the streets, vehicles thrown around like matchbox cars, bridges compromised, sinkholes everywhere, new inlets formed, etc. Have to relocate my family, figure out where the kids are going to school, how we are getting to work (bridges out), and considering a second job (might be able to get in on a night/weekend work-crew cleaning up the mess in my hometown) to pay for all of it.
To add insult to injury the looters have moved in by foot and boat and we have a noreaster bearing down on us later this week.
Sak, good to see you check in, glad you and your family are OK. I thought about trying to call or email but figured you had more important things to do. As I watched the approach of those nasty bands Monday, I couldn't believe it was drawing a bead right on the one area of NJ that I'm familiar with; where I caught great surf a long time ago and have fond memories of.
As much as the hardship hurts now, one day it'll be a source of great stories for you, your wife, and kids. This was a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime event that you will get through.
to those of us that are not directly effected Please donate to The Red Cross or some other worthwhile Relief effort. Our sway brothers and Sister need help. Millions of people need help and we need to pay it forward