Lots of churning, but no disasters

ATLANTIC CITY - If you were at the Jersey Shore yesterday, you were knee deep in the effects of Hurricane Bill.

And if you were a swimmer, that was about as far as you would have gotten.

While beach patrols up and down New Jersey's 127-mile coastline stopped short of preventing anyone from dipping a toe into the ocean, they did restrict bathers from going in any deeper than their knees. Surfers, who are afforded a bit more leniency than everyday swimmers in rough water, were allowed out as far as the nearest 10-foot swells.

Packing winds of 105 m.p.h. as it grazed Bermuda overnight and headed north toward the Canadian Maritime Provinces, Bill was still more than 400 miles east of the Jersey Shore yesterday morning, according to the National Weather Service at Mount Holly.

Its effects on beaches in Atlantic, Cape May, and Ocean Counties appeared to be limited to rough surf and rip currents. With intermittent sun and clouds and temperatures topping out at around 86 degrees by midafternoon, the humidity hung over the Shore like a wet beach blanket for most of the day.

Still, all eyes were on Bill.

"I feel a little cheated that we can't body surf these nice big waves today," said Angie Simone, 42, who drove to Atlantic City from South Philadelphia yesterday to sit on the Raleigh Avenue beach with two friends. "But we really came to see the hurricane anyway."

Despite being well out to sea, as forecasters had predicted, Bill had Shore officials nervous that he might get a little testy - in the form of beach erosion and tidal flooding - as he passed by the East Coast. They began Friday moving beach trash cans, lifeboats, and other equipment away from the shoreline.

A huge dredge that had been pumping sand for a beach-replenishment project in Strathmere and Sea Isle City this summer was moved from a spot a mile out to sea to a safe harbor in Cape May for the duration of the storm.

As the hurricane moved closer to New Jersey's beaches, ocean temperatures fluctuated - a phenomenon that was met with dismay on the oceanfront, where bathers had enjoyed 80-degree water the last couple of weeks. The rough surf from Bill was creating an upwelling effect, bringing colder water to the surface as the 10-foot waves hit the beach.

By afternoon, it was obvious that Bill's effects on the Shore would be minor. Predicted thrashing winds were limited to a light sea breeze most of the day. Low-lying and poor-drainage areas like the Route 30 corridor outside Atlantic City and Ninth Street in Ocean City - which fill up with water any time a high tide, a full moon, and a heavy rainstorm converge - saw the usual big puddles.

While emergency-management personnel waited and worried in Ocean City, surfers watched waves to predict precisely the best time to take the plunge.

"I think it's going to be better tomorrow as the hurricane moves into New England," said surfer Zeek Krause of Philadelphia, who has been surfing for 35 years. "I'll wait till then."

The frothy, churned-up ocean set Dino Tridente, 50, who owns Roma Pizza on the Ocean City boardwalk, to reminiscing about great storms past. He sat yesterday in his pizza shop talking about the trouble he had trying to surf a hurricane when he was a young boy on the beach just outside.

"I don't remember the name of the storm, but it was bad, and I just kept getting pulled over by the rocks, and I got so tired from just trying to fight the current that I gave up," Tridente told his drenched son, Angelo, 14, who has been a surfer for only a couple of years and gave up trying to beat Bill yesterday.

Whether those double-the-usual-size swells seemed crazy or merely a disappointing good yesterday depended largely on the skill of a surfer.

"It was really, really crazy out there," said Isa Betancourt, 19, who had come to Ocean City from Lower Merion with her family to participate in a surfing competition - which was canceled because of the rough water.

"I'm glad I went out there, because it's cool to be able to say that I surfed during a hurricane," said Betancourt, who has been a surfer for just four years.

Craig Basile, 58, of Somers Point, who has surfed all over the world, including prime spots like Oahu's North Shore in Hawaii, admitted feeling a bit jaded when he arrived at the Seventh Street beach in Ocean City to ride some waves.

"It was good," said Basile, who has been surfing for 48 years. "Now, I'm going to work."