Surfing is a Trip

I heard this song on my way home from Tucker's first surf trip this weekend.
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Check out this forecast for next week. This may be some kind of blip in the model but it looks good.

Check out the place we stayed in Flagler for Hurricane Helene. http://www.suitesonthebeach.com/

Go Hero Digital

Waterproof and functional to 30' deep, the Digital Hero is so small and light that you will literally forget you have it on. Runs on a single AAA battery and has 32MB of on board memory that can store 260-360 640x480 resolution photos (depending on scene complexity) and/or 32 ten second silent video clips. Glass lens and highest quality sensor deliver big color images with zero blur. PC/MAC compatible via simple USB plug for driver-free downloads.

http://www.stolensurfboardsonline.com/

From Surf Station:

Gordon accelerating away to the ENE way out in the central Atlantic. Gordon's wind field was not nearly as extensive as Florence's was and he was further out to sea, so the long-period swells he generated filtered in much smaller than those we enjoyed from Florence last week. Hurricane Helene will be a different story... she is poised to produce sizeable hurricane surf starting the second half of the upcoming work week and continuing through the weekend. A classic, very large Cape Verde type cyclone, Hurricane Helene will maintain a fairly consistent NW/WNW track over the next 5 days while continuing to strengthen. If high pressure continues to ridge westward ahead of and to the north of Helene, it will drive the developing cyclone well north of the islands to a position favorable to generate a sizeable multiple day swell along the east coast starting the middle of next week, extending through the weekend. The Tuesday morning NHC discussion is backing me up on this one

Who's on this one? Jill and I may be headed to St. Augustine for the weekend.

Surfline Article 9/17....

Florida's swell of the decade almost didn't happen at all. As Florence moved north of the Bahamas Bank, Florida surfers were wishing they could lasso her and pull her closer to the coast, 'cause ideally, a storm will sit-and-spin somewhere between the longitudinal lines of the Outer Banks and Bermuda. Usually, if a storm with only 90-mph winds like Florence meanders east of Bermuda, the swells decay significantly before they reach Florida. Florence ended up crossing right over Bermuda, and the fun waves we scored early in the week came purely from her.

The first part of the swell came from the north side of the storm, east southeast. You could see it on the St. Augustine buoys. Spots from Fort Pierce northward got waves. Then, something weird happened.
The wind fields of most storms contract, like a ballet dancer contracts her arms so she can spin faster" explained Surfline Forecaster, Mike Watson.

Usually, we see the surf drop off quickly as the storm takes off to the north. Not so this time. With Florence and a1033mb high over Canada working in tandem, a solid ENE/NE/N fetch took hold over the Western Atlantic resulting in one of the biggest swells in recent memory for the East Coast and the Caribbean. We're talking thousands of miles of fetch, which kept juice of Aleutian proportions in the water all week. Watson says the swell, which peaked at 11 feet at 16 seconds, is the biggest swell that he can remember in Florida since 95/96. And at least Thursday, the conditions could not have been better.

Tuesday and especially Wednesday, the Treasure Coast saw really big surf, for Florida. Sets were to double overhead. But the north fetch had reached all the way down to Florida and conditions were bumpy. As a weak cold front approached the Florida Panhandle the winds went southwest and lightened up.

Watson explains: "Ahead of a frontal boundary you have two opposing winds, a cold side, the north wind, and on the south side you have a wind going the opposite direction. The way the front was draped across, we had southwest winds along the frontal boundary."

Translation: from Satellite Beach south, the waves were epic.
...

The huge wind field got autumn into motion. Ducks were flying south, and the mullet run (a baitfish migration) commenced. Between the incredible surges pulsing through the ocean, the conditions always threatening to cross the out-of-control threshold, and the feeding frenzies, the Atlantic felt so raw, edgy, and dangerous.

While waiting for a set Wednesday morning, a gigantic tarpon (picture a 100-pound sardine with silver, chain mail scales) leapt out of the water after two panicked mullet and missed landing on me by three inches. I guess there's worse ways to go, but at least two other surfers weren't so lucky. One kid landed like a cat on the Stuart beach sandbar, and broke his forearm. And, Florida Today reported that a Satellite Beach surfer died.

It looks like another storm is brewing off of Africa. After taking 3 storms on the head in two years, East Central and South Florida surfers are almost starting to like hurricane season again. Let's just hope they keep swing past us, between the Outer Banks and Bermuda.

--Terry Gibson

Oh boy

I saw Ben Harper on Friday night. Great show. Here is one of his videos with some surfing, including board cam footage. Based on the song Black Rain from his new album, Ben's not too happy with Bush.

 

From www.thewavecaster.com

Oh my God its going off!! This morning we have a huge ENE ground swell at overhead to double overhead to with bigger bombing sets taking everybody out, if your reading this report your missing it. By far the biggest best day of 2006.

So, did you guys score? Let's see it already.

V and Theo kayaking off the coast of Connecticut in Middleton.
One legged wave skiier at Whales Tale. This guy was good!
10 ft longboard... coming down! 

 

Davis is looking right. I hope he's not a regular footer. 

  

  

  

A quote from Allan Weisbecker:

“In waiting for a wave, in sitting out there between sets, bad thoughts, obsessive thoughts, will surface, but while actually riding, while standing up and searching for that rhythm, no matter how godawful the day I’m having, my mind is clean and clear and blank and therefore content. I have never, not ever, had a conscious thought, good, bad or indifferent, while in the act of riding a wave. On this day I needed that purity, that vacuum.”

From Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? A Writer's Memoir, and a Tale of a
Lost Surfers' Paradise.

The SurfLine write up on our home break here must have been written by a kook from Tampa. I take exception with the following items:

• "Better known as the county's only gay beach,..." - Only gay beach? Puleeze. Actually, it's the "better known as " part I take exception with.
• Also, in that same sentence, this phrase, "..during days of high surf Sunset belongs to the surfers." - During days of high surf? Sounds hokey to me.
• "...be mindful of the crowds, which can get heavy and sometimes protective." - Riiiight. It's true there are a lot of surfers in the water, but because it's just a spreadout sandbar people aren't bunched up in any one area. So you're not exactly jockying for every set. And trust me, nobody is overprotective. Everyone kind of knows their respective place in the world's surf scene, which is way down the list. Humility is way more abundant than attitude.
• "Bring your: T-back -- Sunset is the "alternative" beach." - Good one.
• "Local vibe: good, with the occasional punk" - This chick has obviously been burned by the occiasional "punk."
• "Hazards: Don't bend over for wax." - "Is this thing on? These are the jokes people."
• "PLACES TO EAT
  There are no obvious choices in any of the beach towns -- remember, this ain't exactly Surf City, USA -- but step over to Ybor City for a wide assortment. Located on the east side of Tampa Bay, near several colleges, Ybor is a welcome oasis of youth and one of the few places in Florida where the word "hip" is used without the help of modifiers such as "artificial" and "replacement."" - Um... all of it. I take exception to all of it. There are more genuine killer places to eat on the beaches here than any other part of town. PJ's Seafood owns!
  
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Found this sand dollar while scuba diving at Mexico Beach. 

Stream or download everything from my iTunes collection.
Link: http://70.127.217.32:8080
Password: wasted

I realize this is potentially dangerous, so this post will only be available for a limited time. This app allows you complete access to my 80+ GB of music, including downloading the actual mp3 files. It categorizes by playlists, and I don't have many of those setup. But click the "Browse Libary" link in the top right and it you'll see every artist paginated alphabetically. Of course, if you'd like, I can show you how to set this up... quid pro quo and what not.

You're welcome :)