Holiday Swell

All I really wanted for Christmas was swell, and the swell gods delivered with two fun days of chest to head plus, clean swell.  This swell was hollow!!  I mean Ocean City was temporarily renamed Barrel City...  I got more barrels then red, hanging monkeys... I was shacked more times then Britney Spears during a mental breakdown... Okay enough with analogies...  okay one more...  It was so hollow I could here the ocean... (Okay, I ran out).

 Sunday at South OC.

Ocean City didn't have a white Christmas, but OC did have a rainy Christmas and a rainy day after.  Thanks to this cold front we were once again blessed with swell.  Sunday was fun with head plus waves and clean conditions.  Monday, if you were lucky enough to have off Boxing Day, was chest to head occasional plus at certain breaks.

Sunday

Sunday morning in Ocean City was a fun day around low tide, which supported clean barreling swell.   Dead low was a bit heavy with a constant barrage of swell, which made the inside swirly.  The paddle out was a bicep burner.  As the tide began to shift the waves soften and began to organize.  The swell was setting up nicely with defined peaks pealing into hollow barrels.  At low tide many peaks where A-frames with a choice of left and rights.  The lefts where fun setting up nicely for barrels with long shoulders.  Rights were fun early, but faster.  As the tide moved in the majority of rights began to closeout.  I headed out around the Flamingo and was able to score a bunch of fun lefts and rights, which setup for some fun barrels and nice faces for cutbacks.  About an hour into the rising tide lines became spotty with many closeout sets.

 Nice A-frame.

The weather was phenomenal, fifty-six degrees and sunny.  There was little wind, 8 kts blowing out of the west.  I was in a 5/4 and was overheating.  I couldn’t really ask for a better winter session.

 

Around 9:30 am I checked 48th street.  48th street was insane, with a big peak sitting outside just south of the jetty.  No one was on it.  I heard one surf comment it was very difficult to paddle out there and he came back in to surf some of the peaks north of the jetty.  North of the jetty supported the same peak from last week.  This peak was firing with head high barrels setting up with a nice air section.  About twenty people where out here with another 20 on the beach as spectators.  A few photographers where out snapping shots of OC's elite.  One of the elite, Vince Boulanger, was spotted dropping in on overhead sets, getting shacked, and boosting airs.

 I got reports of great swell from the Naval Jetties to Indian River and all over OC, mid-town, south OC, and the inlet.  There where major bombs at Assateague if you where up for the paddle.  Thanks to Chauncey's, Tim, Harry, David, Galen, and Julie for the reports.

Around dusk I went back to the beach to check out the leftovers.  The tide was sitting on the bar producing smaller, softer sets, but they still looked fun.  I thought this was the sign of things to come for Monday... Waist to chest and clean?

 The sunset was stunning.

Monday

Given the typical progression of east coast storms and what I saw Sunday evening, I was expecting a nice chill waist to chest wave.  I was wrong...  Monday remained chest to head with plus sets, but was cleaner and more organized. 

I checked 48th early.  It was setting up nicely with peaks on either side of the jetty.  More people were south of the jetty, hitting the two main peaks, because of the better conditions then Sunday.  The crowd was 20 + strong south of the jetty and about 10 strong north of the jetty.  The fan-fair was significantly less then Sunday.

 

 South of the jetty.

I headed south to meet JD and surf the same break as Sunday.  It was an empty line up with the same left and right head high barrels.  As the tide began to shift out of dead low the waves picked up and became faster and heavier, but remained extremely fun.  Eventual, there was too much water sitting on the bar and it began to close out.

JD and I left the break and head back to 48th street where I thought it would still be setting up like it was earlier.  Again, I was wrong...  It got bigger and became peaky with nice barrels.  There were plenty of waves for the twenty or so surfers.  Everyone got a peak and was hooting and hollering.  We were all stoked.  Peaks where head plus drops with long chest to head shoulders.  Did I mention they where hollow?  Oh yeah, they where hollow…  Definitely one the better swells in my memory.  Well, since Bill. 

Sunday morning South OC

 

What did I think of Sunday?

Wave Height:  Chest to head plus

Wave Face Conditions: Clean

Overall Conditions: Clean, with a constant barrage of waves earlier, making the paddle out difficult in some spots.

Weather:  56 and sunny.  Very pleasant sitting in the line up.  Weather conditions made a 4/3 possible.

Wind:  0-8 kts South, South-west

Water Temp: 46 (4/3) full winter gear.

Sufing level: Intermediate to Advance

Wave Type:  Very fun at low tide with swirly conditions on the inside.  Heavier at dead low, barreling with nice lines.  As the tide filled in, the waves became slightly softer with nice setups.

What did I think of Monday?

Wave Height: Chest to head occasional plus at certain spots.

Wave Face Conditions: Clean

Overall Conditions: Clean, a bit swirl inside.

Weather: 40 and cloudy early going sunny.

Wind: 15-25 kts South, South West

Water Temp: 46 (5/4 or pushing a 4/3) full winter gear

Sufing level: Intermediate to Advanced

Wave Type:  Very fun clean, hollow wave.

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Additional photos are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/ryan.van.fleet/HolidaySwell#

Snowy Sessions

I was going to start The DC Surfing blog off with an introduction blog, but the snowy weather has brought us swell, and I decided to postpone the introduction for the first session update ever.  Snowpocalpyse generated phenomenal waves with fair to good offshore conditions.  However, due to the dropping water temperatures and the 20 mph NW winds, these waves were not for the beginner or even the seasoned amateur.  These where for the big boys.

48th street at noon thirty

I escaped the snowpocalpyse by leaving DC late Friday as the impending doom of the snow storm was forecasting to make the roads impassable.  I woke up Saturday morning expect to see the some flaky white stuff, but instead woke up to rain and 30 mph winds.  While DC was getting 18" of snow the low pressure system was generating a storm surge in Ocean City, which ultimately would clean up blessing the East Coast with overhead sets at 10 seconds. 

The Saturday Storm Surge

These waves looked fun, but super sets would sneak in making the line up treacherous and swirly.  In the morning the winds were more north with the edge of the storm system still close to shore.  This generated a surge on the inside and semi-clean conditions on the outside.  Only a few brave souls ventured out and quickly turned around as the unorganized conditions pounding them and the winds made it near impossible to stay setup.

Everyone in Ocean City was driving up and down the strip checking the usual spots and a few up-and-coming breaks, but nothing manageable to the average surfer.  However, the buzz was, as the day went on, the swell size would drop and the conditions would clean up.  It did... but it still wasn't for the faint of heart.

Around 2:30 I decided to venture out at a deeper break in hopes that the depth would soften the large powerful waves.  After suiting up in a 5-4, I walked up the dunes and looked out.  I spotted a decent section of lines that I could drift through knowing that the winds and current would make it impossible to stay in one place.  So I jumped off the dune and walked to the water's edge.  After waiting for the sets to pass I dove in and began to paddle out through the surge.  

 Dune erosion at 48th due to the string of storms.

The water temperature was definably much colder then I remembered from my last session 2 weeks ago, but it still wasn't too bad.  As I ducked dive through a minor set waves, water washed through my suit reminding me how cold it really is.  It’s funny how fast my feet numbed up since they were already burning after tromping through 1/2" of snow on the dune.  

After making it out pass the breaker I sat on my board to regain my composer and warm my face.  Okay it was time!  I turned back to the beach to paddle into the setup... Holy Crap I was far from the shore.  The North West wind had pushed me way far out and about a block south.  I was only sitting there for about a minute?  I paddle back in to the setup, which given my recent experience was surprisingly easy.  

Okay... here it comes.  I'm on! Pop up...  CRASH!  Okay that didn't go as planned, but I now realize who exactly these conditions were for.  Given the cold, conditions, and the lack of people it was time to get out.  I caught the next wave in and jumped in my truck.  

Still in the suit I stopped at 48th were I knew more people were.  The beach access road was packed with cars.  They were watching a sweet peak about 2' overhead barreling left.  Seven surfers were vying for the setup as photographers and spectators looked on.  No other surfers were surfing anywhere else.  The waves were nice, but too much for the average surfer.   

48th Street Jetty

So what did I think?

Wave height: 1-3 foot overhead occasional +

Wave face conditions: clean

Overall Conditions:  Disorganized, Semi-clean to Clean

Winds: NW @ 20 mph and offshore.  

Water temp: 43 degrees F (5/4 suit and thick boots and gloves)

Surfing level:  Advanced

Wave type: Barreling with nice long faces out of the barrel.  Still had to watch out for close out sections.