This is the first in a series.
Standing on the beaches of Long Beach Island today, it’s a rare sight to see a large ship close to shore. But in the age before radar and GPS navigation, it was common.
The Jersey coast in the age of sail was the Interstate 95 of its day. Dozens of coastal transports would pass Barnegat Lighthouse in a single day. The crowded shipping lanes were aided by a series of lighthouses stretching from Cape May to Sandy Hook, which had the result of ships staying close to shore.
By 1925 there was an addition to the problem, which was caused by Prohibition.
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