Ocean beaches ready to go for summer season
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer
Beach Capt. Daniel Santaniello had his doubts about a Memorial Day opening after he got his first look at the damage caused by the recent nor'easter.

ERIC SUCAR staff Brick Beach 1 was practically empty one sunny morning last week, as Brick lifeguards readied the beaches for the Memorial Day crowds.

There wasn't much beach left at the township's three oceanfront beaches. Waves and wind washed in a large amount of debris, including a staircase and telephone poles, he said.

"If you had talked to me last week, I would never have thought we could open on Saturday," he said. "The guys did a great job. It was teamwork between our parks department and recreation department. We filled up about four Dumpsters, and we're not talking little Dumpsters, we're talking 20-yarders."

Fortunately, the recent storm was the first bad one of 2008. The Jersey Shore skipped most of the usual winter northeast storms.

The ocean water temperature late last week ranged from 48 degrees 6 feet down to 51 degrees on the water surface, he said.

"I've been lifeguarding for 13 years and this is the coolest Memorial Day weekend in a real long time," Santaniello said.

Some of the beach sand is still sitting 100 yards offshore. But the natural wave action will push much of it back soon, he said.

"Every day we get more and more sand back," Santaniello said. "It's starting to come back now."

There will be some changes this summer season. Lifeguards will man the beaches only on weekends from Memorial Day until June 15, township recreation director Andrea Zapcic said.

Brick beaches were traditionally open seven days a week from Memorial Day until Labor Day in the past.

"We were the only beach around guarding seven days a week from Memorial Day," Zapcic said. "It was costing us a lot of money. It doesn't really pick up until school gets out."

Santaniello remembers those seven-day weeks.

"We would be lucky if we had 15 patrons on the beach," he said. "We sometimes had more lifeguards than visitors. I think it was a smart move."

But the township will keep the beaches open an extra two weekends after Labor Day, Zapcic said.

"Typically, we get at least two good weekends past Labor Day," she said. "A lot of visitors have gone home. That's when the residents come out to enjoy the beach."

Brick has hired roughly 20 additional lifeguards to cover three private beaches in town. The beach associations, which include Curtis Point, Sandcastle and Osborne Sea Bay, will reimburse the township for the cost of the guards, Zapcic said.

"They are paying for the service," she said.

Brick will have 73 lifeguards this summer, which includes supervisors and captains, Santaniello said.

Twenty-seven candidates tried out for a lifeguard position this year and 16 were selected.

"This is the most rookies we've had in the last six or seven years," he said.

Every guard, veteran or not, will continue training throughout the season, Santaniello said.

"Every guard has to do 21 hours prior to anyone sitting on the lifeguard stand," he said. "The rookies will do more. The first three weekends they won't be sitting on the lifeguard stands, they will be training. We call it rookie boot camp."

The training includes a lot of classroom work, with a focus on cardio-pulmonary recertification, first aid and blood-borne pathogens, Santaniello said.

Brick also hopes to expand its dive team from six members to 10, he said.