Tragedy struck middle New Jersey, earlier this week, after seven people were caught in a rip off Webster Avenue Beach and swept out into the ocean. There were no lifeguards on duty but the fire department was alerted and sent out a ski. Six were saved but one was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead.
Seaside Heights Mayor Anthony Vaz responded by shuttering the ocean. The beach portion will operate as usual, open from sunrise to 7:00ish p.m. The water, though, completely off limits and dipping a toe into the brine very forbidden. “Our focus is the ocean. We don’t want anybody in the ocean,” Vaz declared adding that he’ll be sending enforcement down. “They’ll be there the rest of the season, chasing people out of the water at five o’clock,” he said. “If [people] refuse to get out, we’ll [give them a summons]. And if they get really arrogant — I hope not — they’ll be arrested.”
Surfers are, unfortunately, known for getting really arrogant and so I’d imagine a few arrests amongst that population.
Ocean closures are, unfortunately, not altogether rare on America’s eastern seaboard. In Escambia County, Florida, for example, if someone is rescued from the ocean when it is not open, they will be met with a stiff fine plus up to 60 days in jail and, worse, be banned from returning to the “Gulf of America” for 24 hours.
No word on how long they will be banned, if at all, from the Gulf of Mexico.
More as the story develops.
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