In Memoriam: Alfred "Al" Ferguson

Al's son poses with the sign which lives at the beach named after his father. Photo: Vincent Troniec

The Surfrider Foundation is saddened to learn of the passing of Alfred "Al" Ferguson, a longtime surfer, a dedicated attorney, and a champion of the idea that the ocean belongs to everyone.

Al learned to surf in Hawaiʻi while serving in the military and brought that love of the ocean home to the Jersey Shore. In 1993, a Long Branch surf shop owner was arrested and fined for surfing off the Borough of Deal. Deal's ordinance all but shut surfers out. It banned surfing through the summer months and confined it to a single 200-foot stretch beside a jetty. It also required helmets and competency tests and limited access to residents and their guests. Al, then a partner at the Newark firm McCarter & English, took the case pro bono. In February 1994, he filed suit on behalf of Surfrider and our Jersey Shore Chapter.

After weeks of negotiation, Deal's commissioners voted on June 28, 1994, to lift those restrictions and open most of the town's mile-long beach to surfing. Al saw the fight as bigger than surfing. In his words, it was about "freedom of access to a natural wonder like our ocean." Surfrider celebrated the outcome as a landmark victory for East Coast surfers and counts Deal among its signature beach access victories.

Al went on to serve on Surfrider's national Board of Directors from 1997 to 2000.

Al was a busy attorney who took on the fight purely out of principle. He is remembered for his love of the ocean and is associated with the Sea Bright Anchorage Public Beach — now popularly known as Al Ferguson Surfing Beach. We are grateful for Al's generosity, his conviction that the coast belongs to everyone, and the waves he opened up for every surfer who followed. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

In remembrance, Surfrider Foundation’s COO Michelle Kremer stated, “It is not often that one of our board members get a beach named after them. It is a testament to Al’s commitment to the Surfrider Foundation's mission. Through his leadership and dedication, he helped open and preserve access to New Jersey’s beaches, ensuring that these treasured shores could be enjoyed by generations to come. We will remember Al not only for what he accomplished, but for the difference he made in the lives of so many.”