🌊 Erin is an unwanted guest | Down the Shore

The wind and waves were giving big hurricane vibes this week, as Hurricane Erin barreled her way up the coast before a predicted turn out to sea.

Beach patrols were proactively keeping people out of the ocean, with cautions about riptides and big surf. Margate Beach Patrol noted two recent drownings, one in Belmar, another in Seaside Heights, that made patrols especially cautious. Meanwhile, way off shore, Erin was kicking up 40-foot waves.

With concerns about flooding up and down the coast, Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian was warning visitors to move their cars, and asked locals to let the Shoobies know!

This will all be disappointing for some visitors, especially those who forked over some dollars for their week down the Shore. (We talked to a bunch of them!) But also, probably amazing to look at from the safety of a beach or a pier! From a climate perspective, Erin was concerning experts (and others) because of the storm’s unusually rapid acceleration over warm waters to, briefly, a Category 5 storm, a journey intensified by climate change. By Wednesday, Erin was back to Category 2.

Erin was projected to stay well out to sea (a so-called “fish storm,”) but high-tide flooding was already closing roads near the bay in towns like Ventnor, bridges near Avalon, and lapping up beach ramps in North Wildwood. Moderate to potentially major flooding was predicted through Saturday.

Shore weather expert Nor’easter Nick Pittman called the week’s weather “consistently blah.” Not every Shore week can be out of a postcard! Be mindful of flooding, especially at Thursday evening’s high tide, and take in the majesty of a roiling ocean and cooler temperatures. And move your cars.

In other news, Ocean City’s Council was scheduled to vote Thursday evening on whether to send a request to the planning board to advise on whether to declare the old Wonderland Pier site in need of rehabilitation. That would start a process for Eustace Mita to try to get them to agree to let him build a new seven-story resort. There will be lots of opposition, and one group is threatening legal action, but either way, there will be more votes to come. Stay tuned.

🔮 Predictions! We had them, and now we’re scoring ourselves. Click here to see how we did.

Programming note: This is my final newsletter for 2025! It’s been a very interesting summer! Next week, Jason Nark will finish the Down the Shore season. Thanks for reading!

Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Anything you’d like us to cover in the offseason? Send them to me here.

🏄🏾‍♂️ Surf and wind should settle in for big surfing days on Friday and Saturday. And the sun will be out!

— Amy S. Rosenberg (Find me @amysrosenberg, on Instagram at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me here.)

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🌊 Erin, Erin, Erin. Lots of talk about Erin!

🎤 Kevin Jonas joined the Gab Cinque Band at Bird & Betty’s in Beach Haven on Long Beach Island.

🎰 Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. had advice for New York about casinos.

🚧 A.C.’s Atlantic Avenue will finally be repaved.

🌿 Hip-hop group Onyx was at the THC Shop in Atlantic City for an exclusive after-hours smoke session.

🤯 Are Atlantic City’s cannabis shops cannibalizing one another?

🚨 The man known to many as A.C. Batman was arrested, accused of pepper spraying someone. Many are rallying to his defense. Lynda Cohen of Breaking A.C. has the details.

🧠 Try a new Stephen Starr restaurant at Ocean Casino, and read this amazing look into the mind of Starr by The Inquirer’s Michael Klein.

👟 Sole Scholars is hosting a Back-to-School Giveaway on Saturday in Pleasantville.

🎨 Check out a Shore gallery that has local artists while you’re not swimming, like this one.

☔ Check out this Inquirer guide to great non-beach activities.

🚢 Sea Isle City’s free concert this weekend will be, in the finest tradition of free Shore concerts, Yacht Rock Gold.

Stan Bergman was the legendary (and not at all trivial) chief of Ventnor’s Beach Patrol, of course. Tammi Pittaro was first with that answer. “Great guy!” she noted. We agree.

This week’s question: This winter storm in 2016 caught then-Gov. Chris Christie campaigning in New Hampshire while residents down the Shore were experiencing flooding that some thought was worse than Sandy. There was, let’s say, a bit of back and forth. Was this storm:

A. Ida

B. Jonas

C. Claudette

D. Fred

If you think you know the answer, click on this story to find out.

This week’s slam book comes from Amy Z. Quinn, writer, journalist, and creator of the fantastic Letter from Your Editor newsletter. Quinn is now living full-time in Cape May County in the Villas, on the Delaware Bay, finding happiness writing and managing the Cape May Peanut Butter Company.

Favorite beach: I love the Cove in Cape May, it’s got the best view of any beach in the state and the softest white sand. Diamond Beach is pretty darn near perfect, too.

Favorite summer breakfast: You can’t beat the Early Bird breakfast special at the Castaway Cafe in the Villas. Two eggs, pancakes or French toast, meat, potatoes, and toast for like nine bucks. It’s a great deal if you’re out early. Get the French toast.

Your idea of a perfect beach day: First, I get the good parking spot. It’s one of those crystal blue, no-humidity days when the water twinkles like sequins. The CoolCabana is in full effect (I like a nap in the shade) and I’m surrounded by my family. Cue the leaping dolphins.

Perfect night? After that perfect beach day, my ideal evening would be to go home and have a big dinner with the whole family. Oh, and a vanilla-chocolate twist cone with rainbow jimmies.

Best Shore sandwich: It’s a tie between the PBJ on banana bread from Cape May Peanut Butter Co., which is genuinely decadent, and the fried grouper sandwich at Harpoon’s on the Bay, which tastes like summer on a roll.

Shore hidden gem: Not exactly hidden, but maybe out of the way? The North Cape May/Town Bank bayfront, for a chilled-out beach day and that glorious sunset. It’s a whole vibe.

When summer nears the end, I feel: Like it’s almost time to get started on all those house projects I’ve been putting off all summer.

It wouldn’t be the Jersey Shore without: Oh, where to begin? Tacky boardwalk T-shirts. Cape May Salts oysters and just-caught fried flounder. The occasional rainy day meant for souvenir shopping. The Blessing of the Sea. People who partied at the Shore in their youth complaining about how the kids these days are out of control. The Spout Off section in the Herald.

Best thing that happened this summer: Seeing my nephew on the bench as a rookie lifeguard in Cape May. So proud.

Surfing or fishing? Crabbing!

Sunrise or sunset? Sunset over the bay at the end of my block.

Shore pet peeve? People who walk into the street without looking. It’s not Disney World, people!

The Shore could be improved if: There was a rolling iced coffee cart on the beach in Cape May.

Les Straw sends this sweet memory (and addresses the very Jersey practice of daily beach raking).

During the 1990s when my children were very young, we frequently stayed at the La Mer Beach Resort in Cape May where it was a short walk across the street to Pittsburgh Avenue beach. To keep my children amused we would hunt for treasures on the beach, however, the beach was raked clean every evening which made finding interesting seashells a challenge.

While shopping on the Washington Street Mall I discovered an amazing display of exotic, colorful shells, starfish and Cape May diamonds for sale at the Whale’s Tale. So, I bought a small selection and tucked them away for a little surprise. The next morning, before we headed out to the beach, I went ahead of them and carefully buried the shells in the sand. Encouraging them to hunt for shells in the sand they were enthralled to discover these unique and colorful treasures which provide joyful memories to this day.

Send us your Shore memory! In 200 words, tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space. Send them to downtheshore@inquirer.com.

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