On a dry, sunny January morning, there are few individuals thinking about the thunderous winter storms, like the one earlier this month, that blow across Long Beach Island, bringing winds, tidal flooding and damage to beaches. There are fewer yet who brave those same conditions to take to the water near the north bar of Barnegat Inlet.

Enter Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light personnel, who trained in conditions that saw 12- to 16-foot swells, 1st Lt. Nick Elliott said of the Jan.