Surf near Charleston SC / Folly Beach

[Ecsrfr26]

Alright so I might have to relocate to the Charleston SC area for a job, anyone know if there's enough surf there to go regularly. I've been surfing VA beach / obx for the last few years, and surfed mostly cocoa and Satellite beach before that. Anyone have any idea how it compares to those places?? I know it's not as good as OBX or Sebastion Inlet, but I'm hoping it's at least better than VA Beach... Would it be comparable to most of central / northeast Florida? I've seen Pictures of Folly firing but not sure about consistancy..

[South Bethany]

Alright so I might have to relocate to the Charleston area for a job for the next few years, anyone know if there's enough surf there to go regularly. I'm used to surfing crappy waves I know it's the east coast. I've been surfing VA beach / obx for the last few years, and surfed the cocoa beach / Satellite beach area before that. Anyone have any idea how it compares to those places?? I know it's not as good is OBX, but I'm hoping it's at least better than VA Beach... Would it be comparable to the east coast of Florida?

less consistent than VA beach, less consistent than Cocoa. But hey, Charlestion a cooler city than either one.

[pawley]

Alright so I might have to relocate to the Charleston area for a job for the next few years, anyone know if there's enough surf there to go regularly. I'm used to surfing crappy waves I know it's the east coast. I've been surfing VA beach / obx for the last few years, and surfed the cocoa beach / Satellite beach area before that. Anyone have any idea how it compares to those places?? I know it's not as good is OBX, but I'm hoping it's at least better than VA Beach... Would it be comparable to the east coast of Florida?

folly is prolly the best spot in sc. and the ladies in charleston are tops on the east coast.

[Ecsrfr26]

Is it really LESS consistant than VA beach? Omg I hope not I figured it had to be better than that. Damn I heard Folly could actually get pretty good, haven't heard much about how often there's waves though.

Keep in mind if you went to VB during ECSC those conditions aren't normal. Fall is the only reasonable season we get. And there's SO many surfers, it will get packed in the dead middle of winter if there's a swell in the water. Parking is a B#tch too.

[ecoastprock]

Check out this blog http://follysurf.blogspot.com/

Every swell in the past year and a half has been documented.

[Ecsrfr26]

Didn't see any swell documentation on the link, just photography... Is there any way I can get a history of surf over the last year or two. Anyone know?

[ecoastprock]

Every post is dated and has a detailed description of the waves and wave quality along with pics. What other documentation were you looking for?

[Sirius]

Charleston is really a legit place to live. Surf can be inconsistent but when it is on it's on. I've never been to VA but I can say Florida is deff more consistent than here as well as the OBX.

Folly is the number one spot to be if you want 'quality' and crowds. Two other beaches in the area provide some surf also. Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island are less crowded and mostly more mushy on the average swells.

When the hurricanes start firing surf our way things can get all time out at Folly.

Like ecoastprock said check out Folly Surf Photography. I'm the guy that runs it and takes all the pics.

I've been taking pics out at Folly for a good year and it's pretty easy to navigate through the blog. Just go on the right hand side click 2010 (107) where the months are listed and click on a month and browse the numerous posts.

We had some of the best waves I've ever seen this past hurricane season and I got a whole bunch of pictures. But consistency and quality is a problem here. On a monthly speaking basis this winter I'd say on average we've been getting only about 2-3 days of rideable surf. I don't remember it being this terribly inconsistent in a few years though.

Here are some stand out posts that I've put up:

Hurricane Earl

Hurricane Igor

Random Swell

Hurricane Nicole

November

Are you Kidding Me

That should give you a good start.

Mike C

[Ecsrfr26]

Yea thanks for the input, I heard this winter had been unusually bad for some reason. Also I would imagine since the stroms come from the north in the winter mostly it might be SC's worst season anyway.. Everyone seems to say the same thing "It's not always on, but when it's on it's really on." Guess I'm tryin to figure out if I have to work 40 hours a week if I can still make it work. BTW a good day in VA beach is a lot like a good day in central Florida, just less consistant. The thing that sucks is it's cold, with bad parking, lots of laws, and more surfers than water.

[South Bethany]

Is it really LESS consistant than VA beach? Omg I hope not I figured it had to be better than that. Damn I heard Folly could actually get pretty good,

yup...i've caught folly good as well. not saying it cant get good, just that it seems a little less consistent than VA Beach, probably due to the HUGE amount of outer shelf, and north swell blockage by NC.