A change of venue

Wanted to let everyone know about the changes occurring on the dc surfing blog.  We have been moved to
http://oceancitysurfreport.com/.

I'll be feeding links back over time.

I hope you enjoy the new site.

2010 March 6th & 7th

This has taken me a while to write, but the Mid-Atlantic had some great surf last weekend, 2010-March-6^th & 7^th.  After some bad conditions on Friday and Saturday morning the swell was beginning to cleaning up.  So I decide to hit the surf Saturday evening, during the falling tide.

Saturday Evening

Given the conditions, I figured 48^th street would offer the best options for waves and wind protection.  I wasn’t the only one who had that thought.  There were about 25 total people spread out among the peaks, North and South, of the 48^th street jetty.  It was obvious from standing on the beach that the current was strong and south.  So, I walk a few blocks north of the crowd.  I finally found a rip and paddled out.  Despite the soupy conditions and the disorganized swell, it was an easy paddle out.  Once out there the disorganized waves made it a bit difficult to find a decent setup and the south current made it painstaking to hold the lineup.  The first wave I took was a thick, over head left.  It was fast!  My 6’4” mod-fish had difficulty holding the edge through the bottom turn and I got walloped.

Surfer North of the OC Jetty.

After I recovered, I paddled back out.  The south current was so strong it carried me farther south then I realized and lineup was a few yards farther out then before.  This is one of the perils of drifting though multiple sections.  After another thumping, I final got to a more consistent part of the 48^th street breaks.  This lead to a few great rights.  Eventually, I couldn’t fight the current anymore and decided to continue drifting south. 

I was now south of the Jetty and the tide was beginning to back off, which cleaned the waves up tremendously.  However, the next wave I took looked about head high before the take off, but it jacked up to overhead and sucked out the bottom.  I was now flying down a thick, grinding face.  I dug in and shot through the steep section.  Having made it clear of certain shallow doom, I straighten out to avoid the close out.  That was a fun adrenaline pumping wave, the kind that makes you feel alive.  As I ventured farther down the beach the waves were a bit smaller, but definitely a lot fun.  I was able to take a bunch of fun lefts and rights to close the session. 

48th Street

As night began to set in and I walked north I could see some clean line breaking around the jetty.  The wind had calmed and the swell was definitely cleaning up.  Tomorrow would be fun.

Sunday

It was an early tide in the morning, but I didn’t manage to paddle out until around 10.   The swell still looked fun and there were a ton people.  The two main peaks were mobbed at least 15-20 per peak. 

I met up with Perry, Scott, and Xavier for a fun morning session.  We sat just south of the North peak, which closed out mostly, but if you were patience a nice left would sneak in and could be caught uncontested.  I had some great rides. 

After a fun session, I debated whether to stay and hit it again in the afternoon.  I was fatigued and my muscles were screaming.  This was after the 3 hours Saturday night, 3 hours Sunday morning, and hard upper-body workout Friday evening. 

Saturday Evening

I sucked it out and with a smile on face I suited up and headed out again.  This time Harry joined me.  We hit a fun empty spot I found on my drift the previous night.  Because of the tide the waves closed out a bit, but some nice peaks would popup and bestow you with a fun charging left.   As night began to set in, so did fatigue.  Harry and I decide to get out, but not before I got out, I was able to sneak in and out of a quick barrel to end the weekend.

The sunset Saturday evening looking east.

As I crossed the route 90 bridge, the sunset draped the sky in magnificent reds and oranges, which were reflected by the bay as it raced by my windows.  As the gallon of serotonin pumped through my body and a sense of euphoria set in, I began to realize that life is the search for those truly perfect moment.  Yeasayer’s “Madder Red” and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ “40 Day Dream” assure me that this was one of those moments.  

The sunset Saturday evening looking west.

What did I think of Saturday?

Wave Height: Chest to Head +.

Wave Face Conditions: Soupy and disorganized early, cleaned up as the tide dropped

Overall Conditions: Semi-clean.

Weather: 45. 

Wind: 10 mph NW

Water Temp: 45 full winter gear (Could push a 4/3).

Surfing level: Intermediate +.

Wave Type: Fun a bit disorganized

What did I think of Sunday?

Wave Height: Chest to Head in the morning and waist to chest+ in the evening.

Wave Face Conditions: Clean.

Overall Conditions: Clean with close out.

Weather: 45. 

Wind: 10 mph WNW

Water Temp: 45 full winter gear (Could push a 4/3).

Surfing level: Beginner +.

Wave Type: Clean.

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A long wait for great day of surf.

It’s been a while since I’ve been out and it was definitely starting to show in my attitude and demeanor.  Unfortunately this is the plight of the surfer.  After the incredible Christmas swell, we had a lull during January.  The current month (February) has picked up giving the Mid-Atlantic some chest to head and clean surf.  For those of us that work 9-5 and live in the metro area it’s been unfortunate, because it has occurred during the work week.  So we grit our teeth, fight back the “no-surf anxiety”, smile, and continue to live our lives.

 48th Street

What do we do?  Some immerse themselves in work and family, while others take a surf vacation to San Diego, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Hawaii, etc.  Most turn to the “Mountains” and “snow-surf”.  Those of us otherwise distracted, myself included, turn to the gym and the pool to stay in shape for the next swell, which is a topic another post.

 Barrels everywhere! 

Well my friends, all the waiting paid off.  Today, Sunday 2010-Feb-28, was a good day to surf.   The surf was stomach to chest with an occasional head high and clean.  So how did we get here?  Monday, the weekend was looking dismal with clean, ankle high surf.  Wednesday, the reports showed knee to waist and clean.  As the week progressed it was upgrade to waist to stomach.  Finally Saturday, it was upgraded to waist to chest and clean.

A fellow in a barrel north peak at 48th street.

 

After seeing the upgraded report I split DC and shot back to OC to get a jump on the surf, despite the evening’s plans.  Low tide was at 12:30 with cleaner and bigger sets in the morning.  I decide the falling tide into dead low would be the way to go.  The winds were 10-15 mph out of the west going northwest.  As I approached the beach the sky turned dark and sleet began to fall.  Great start…  This only lasted a few minutes.

 

48^th street was nice with the two main peaks, one north and one south of the jetty.  About 20 total people scattered between the peaks.  After snapping a few shots, I went south and checked the swell.  It was nice with no crowd.  After a fight with the suit I headed out.  The paddle out was easy and surprisingly the suit didn't feel too restricted.  I was so glad I’ve been hitting the gym.

Nice A Frame -- 48th

As I sat and waited for the next peak I began to wonder how I would perform on the first wall.  After all it has been two long months.  Alright, here it comes.  Paddle!  Paddle!  Pop!  It was a beautiful chest high left, which setup with a nice barrel!  The session produced a bunch of fun rides.  Some with nice barrel sections, other with good shoulders, both lefts and rights.  Towards the end of the session as the wind picked up and the tide went slack the waves began to close out.  However there were still a few standout peaks up and down the beach.  At this point the cold was setting in to my extremities and it was time to get out. 

What did I think?

Wave Height: Waist to chest, occasional head, at certain spots.

Wave Face Conditions: Clean

Overall Conditions: Clean.

Weather: 43 very cloudy with spots of sun. 

Wind: 15 mph west going northwest

Water Temp: 40 full winter gear

Surfing level: Beginner to intermediate.

Wave Type: Very fun and clean


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