Folks in Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach will face off across the water once again next weekend in a burgeoning tradition known as the Manasquan Inlet Intracoastal Tug.

The second annual staging of the fundraising tug of war will be held Oct. 12, when teams of 25 tuggers each will take hold of opposite ends of a 1,200-foot bright yellow rope strung across the inlet, then pull with all their might for bragging rights and a good cause.

Organizers say last year’s inaugural tug raised $29,000 for the recreation departments of the two communities, which once again will be the beneficiaries of this year’s tug.

“Last year’s inaugural event was truly special,” the event committee chairman, Geoff Brown, said on Facebook. “Seeing 50 competitors separated by the Inlet squaring off in a tug of war was quite the sight to behold. This year’s event promises to be even bigger and better.”

Manasquan triumphed in last year’s competition, taking three out of five heats, including a clincher pitting the two communities’ high school football teams against one other. Only this time, the line of scrimmage was a 400-foot wide inlet reinforced with bulkheads and jetties that links the Manasquan River and the Atlantic Ocean, separating Monmouth County to the north from Ocean County to the south.

Video of the 2018 event showed veins bulging and biceps straining, as teams pulled for glory and against humiliation. All the while, food and craft vendors, plus live music, kept things festive for hundreds of supporters on both sides of the inlet, which is considered the northern terminus of North America’s 3,000-mile Intracoastal Waterway.

This year’s event, again sponsored by Jersey Mike’s, will feature similar attractions, and last from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Organizers hope the event will become a Jersey Shore tradition, like one in Maryland that’s been staged for the past 20 years between Eastport and Annapolis across Spa Creek.

Dating back even further, another well-known tug of war across a body of water is a 32-year battle between Port Byron, Illinois, and LeClaire, Iowa, an interstate pull across the Mississippi River.

Manasquan Inlet, the northern terminus of the 3,000-mile Intracoastal Waterway and home to the Manasquan Inlet Intracoastal Tug of War, which will hold its second annual staging on Oct. 12, 2019. NJ Advance Media file photo

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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