NJ’s ‘Sandy Angels’ attempt to break Guinness World Record

The beach was filled with "angels" Saturday as more than 1,500 people gathered in Seaside Park in an attempt to break the Guinness Book World Record for “Most Sand Angels Made Simultaneously” while raising money for hurricane relief.

Big Joe Henry's live broadcast on NJ 101.5 served as a backdrop for the event. Organizers say at least 1,500 people registered to be part of the attempt to break the current world record of 1,387 sand angels, held by Ludington, a western Michigan city.

One hundred percent of the more than $15,000 raised will support disaster relief and recovery for those impacted by Superstorm Sandy as well as the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Both OceanFirst Foundation and New Jersey Natural Gas also agreed to donate $10 each for the first 1,500 registrants. All donations will equally benefit Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group and The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services.

Although the number of participants exceeded the number of sand angels needed to break the record, it won't be known for about six weeks if the "Sandy Angels" were successful, since the record has to be certified by Guinness. The attempt came with very strict guidelines and participants were briefed before the event began.

There were strict rules regarding the space between sand angels, the number of seconds participants had to move their arms and legs in the sand, the shape of the finished angel and whether or not there were footprints left behind. As a result of the rules, the beach was divided intro quadrants with captains in each section who, at the end of the attempt, helped the Angels stand up without compromising the shape of the sand design.

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Toniann Antonelli is digital managing editor for programming at NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.