Small waves vs. Big Waves

[LBshredneck]

anything above waist on the east coast can be a fun day... chop, slabs, even some baby peelers, but conditions overall are still everything. ex: last night it was about thigh high with offshore winds and i took my lil fish out. my buddy, who logs, and i had a ball, along with some other loggers, on thigh to waist high peelers... nothing special but it was top turns and long rides the whole sunset. days when it gets to over head are a blast too. on the east coast we aren't too blessed, but we're lucky enough to have a hurricane season and a few good spring ground swells. depending on how good you shred, you can make a good day out of anything...shaka

[Gfootr]

When I was younger, I used to prefer big waves, but now I just want waves and don't care if they're big, small, or anything in between. Any time there's waves and I can surf, I have just as much fun. I guess if anything, it's quality over size that matters to me most these days.

Ditto, as I get older. The only time I take less chances is when the water is 39°F. I'll avoid a good thrashing those days whenever I can. And the most fun is when you score it without the crowd.

[Sloop John B.]

Waves are like breasts—shape is much more important to my taste than size.

[DawnPatrolSUP]

Waves are like breasts—shape is much more important to my taste than size.

Great analogy, agreed

[Stranded in Smithfield]

I Don't know what it is but I get nervous on even 4 foot 3 foot waves I dont know what it is? Did any of you guys run into this in your younger teens. I already talked about it but I still get hesitant than I go over the falls and get this...

With experience comes confidence Zman. Its been a long time since I can remember having the east coast jitters. 2003. Hurricane Fabian. Askins creek (that was a long time ago) Hatteras. The hurricane passed slow and right off the coast. The 3/4 mile out sand bars were going off...every sandbar closer to shore was FAST almost dumpy and freaking large... pushing DOH on the sets. I believe someone drowned that day. Gnarly. My board snaped. Followed by a Loooonnng hold down. I think I almost made it 2 drownings that day. Going out the second session was tough but I knew I had to and with the tide, waves were less death at the lighthouse and a memorable session went down... Trust your instincts. Your doing just fine. If you don't get the occasional injury your not pushing it and progressing. We all get injuries just look at the surf injury thread... speaking of going over the falls check this one from last year landed on my fin......

[live aloha]

With experience comes confidence Zman. Its been a long time since I can remember having the east coast jitters. 2003. Hurricane Fabian.

Great memories, thanks for sharing! My first hurricane swell was Fabian. I couldn't really even surf yet, but I paddled out with some buddies in OC MD and got royally thrashed. I really love the big days. DOH+ scares me, but I did it so often in Hawaii that I learned it's ALWAYS worth it. That feeling after a bigger wave day, even if you didn't surf well...there aren't too many other things on Earth that compare.

[DawnPatrolSUP]

Great memories, thanks for sharing! My first hurricane swell was Fabian. I couldn't really even surf yet, but I paddled out with some buddies in OC MD and got royally thrashed. I really love the big days. DOH+ scares me, but I did it so often in Hawaii that I learned it's ALWAYS worth it. That feeling after a bigger wave day, even if you didn't surf well...there aren't too many other things on Earth that compare.

Hurricane Floyd i believe was my 1st true Hurricane swell I can remember, i'm sure there were other storms, but Floyd sticks out in my mind. Floyd and Bill are the two most memorable that come to mind when I think of hurricanes, although there have been many...

[Stranded in Smithfield]

Floyd! Another good one! Was that '99? Buckroe beach....Stand up barrels in the Chesapeake bay! Crap or was that '98 Danielle? I'm getting too old....

[njsurfer42]

since we're reminiscing about past hurricanes, does anyone remember hurricane bob back in '91? that was my first real hurricane swell. i was 10 & got my ass kicked. good memories of surfing w/ my dad...

[cepriano]

i like a medium size wall to carve up.most waves that iv seen in jersey are all hollow barrels with a thick lip,from 3ft to 6ft,which is all my beach can handle.iv surfed down south near lbi and barnegat and they have a nice mushy takeoff most of the time.some days tho u cant even pull off a successful ride,taking off on a 2 ft barrel or should i say closeout.iv wiped out in all different sizes and i look at it like when u get sucked over the falls and spin around underwater and crash into the sand,thats the worse its going to be.its not like a reef break where u can lose half your face.once you have accepted your holdowns as the worst that can happen,you stop being afraid.the biggest day iv surfed on the east coast was hurricane bill in 09,i believe it was a sunday and i scored from 6 to 9 am.the waves were breaking a half mile out.i was hoping to run into the new smyrna boys like alek and cory but they were on the jenks side,which i found out looking at surfer mag a month later...
jersey is no california,but when we get a nice low pressure or a nice groundswell and its clean offshore,theres nowhere else id rather be.