Jersey shore beaches were packed today despite red-flag swimming conditions and surfers enjoyed 10-foot waves, some of the highest in recent years.
Beach patrols and shore communities meanwhile prepared for possible beach erosion and rip tides with the onslaught of Hurricane Bill.
A pair of male adult jet-skiers were rescued in the ocean at Manasquan Inlet just before noon. They were rescued by three lifeguards in the water and four lifeguards pulling a rope, said Marilou Halvorsen, marketing director for Jenkinson's Boardwalk.
"They shouldn't have been out there. (But) they were out there, they got caught in the waves, they were going real close into the jetty, and they fell off," Halvorsen said.
The jetskiers lived locally and were not injured, she said. One jet ski mangled from hitting the rocks was retrieved, she said. The other is still in the ocean.
Soaking rains from an unrelated weather system also were expected in many areas of the Garden State during the day, with flood watches and warnings already in effect in many areas. But no major problems had been reported as of early this afternoon.
The powerful storm swirling in the Atlantic Ocean was not expected to strike anywhere near the state, but the rip currents it spawned were expected to keep most beachgoers out of the water during one of the final weekends of the summer vacation season.
High surf advisories are in effect along the New Jersey coast as Hurricane Bill swirls in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm, located about 435 miles south of Nantucket and headed northward, is stirring up the surf all the way down to the Carolinas, according to a meteorlogist with the National Weather Service.
Waves of 8 to 12 feet have been reported along the New Jersey shore, and 6 to 10 feet off the coast of Long Island, said meteorologist Gary Conte. Waves will be even higher tonight: Surf of 10 to 15 feet is expected as the storm draws closer to New Jersey tonight, headed north to where it is expected to skirt the Canadian provinces.
Flash flood watches are also in effect throughout the New Jersey-New York Metropolitan Region, and the NWS is monitoring heavy showers and thunderstorms, Conte said.
While the surf was causing mishaps along the shore, it is also good news for surfers like Joe Buono, 20, of Brick.
Buono, a surfer who works as a sales associate at Brave New World surf shop in Point Pleasant, headed to Manasquan Inlet before work this morning, riding 8- to 10-foot waves with a crowd of about 50 other surfers.
"Obviously if a hurricane was actually hitting it would be a different story, but when the storm is off the coast, and the weather's not bad, it creates swell for us," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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