Its too f%&^$ big

[rodndtube]

Md-Delaware Forecast
FAIR-GOOD
SURF: 5-7 ft. - head high to 2 ft. overhead and fair-good conditions
SE/ESE swell from Bill continues; swell begins to fade in PM

As of noon today, the NWS is still calling it small for MD-VA
http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtb.../an/anz650.txt
COASTAL WATERS FROM FENWICK ISLAND DE TO CHINCOTEAGUE VA OUT TO 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CHINCOTEAGUE TO PARRAMORE ISLAND VA OUT TO 20 NM-
1221 PM EDT WED AUG 19 2009

TONIGHT
SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD
OF 10 SECONDS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN THE EVENING.

THU
SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF
10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN THE AFTERNOON.

THU NIGHT
S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS
AND TSTMS IN THE EVENING.

FRI
S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
TSTMS IN THE AFTERNOON.

FRI NIGHT
S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER
MIDNIGHT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS.

SAT
SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...DIMINISHING TO 5 TO 10 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...THEN BECOMING W AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 5 TO 6 FT.
A CHANCE OF TSTMS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

SUN
NW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 5 TO 6 FT...SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 4 FT. A
CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING.
WINDS AND SEAS HIGHER IN AND NEAR TSTMS.

The late afternoon DE coastal waters forecast has bumped up a little.

[Swellinfo]

someone is sleep on the job over there at the NWS.

[austin]

i talked to one of the ocpb captains today and he said its a possibility that pending on the wave size/ currents that they might not let people out in the water...he said people could go in up to their knees. . .

Any thoughts?

[Swellinfo]

Hudson canyon to baltimore canyon including the waters w of
39.3n 71.9w...sw to 37.7n 72.9w
1100 am edt wed aug 19 2009


this afternoon
w to sw winds 10 to 15 kt...except winds to 30
kt possible in tstms early. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Scattered showers
and tstms.

Tonight and thu
s to sw winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft.

Thu night
sw winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 4 to 5 ft.

Fri
s to sw winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas building to 5 to 7 ft
with se swell.

Sat
winds diminishing to variable 5 to 10 kt...then becoming
nw 10 to 15 kt late. Seas building to 10 to 16 ft with se
swell...highest e.

Sun
n to nw winds 15 to 20 kt becoming 10 to 15 kt. Seas
subsiding to 4 to 6 ft late.

[Swellinfo]

i talked to one of the ocpb captains today and he said its a possibility that pending on the wave size/ currents that they might not let people out in the water...he said people could go in up to their knees. . .

Any thoughts?

did they said that this is for surfers or just tourists without equipment?

[JeepThrower70]

Finally my prayers have been heard!

[B1ll]

Arf Arf Arf. Here I come!

[Huck]

Double overhead is my limit for beachbreak, been in bigger, but know ur limits. 6' foot leash will snap. If were lucky ther will be peaks, if not, huge walls of oppression. DO NOT ditch ur board around other people, nothing wrong with ditching in big surf, just as long as ur stick does not become a weapon to others. If you see someone loose their board, do the right thing and make sure they make it to the beach.

Hate to sound like the group Dad here, crew, but Norcal Transplant is right. Anyone of intermediate skill level or less (like me) ought to think hard about paddling out if the surf is really as big as they say it's going to be.

I'm a NJ surfer and can handle the 5-6 foot Jersey Juice just fine, but when I tried to surf 10-12-footers in Laguna, CA last fall i got my A*S KICKED. Watched an ambulance haul off one guy who got caught in the beach break and broke multiple bones. Take it from someone who learned the hard way- surfing 10-foot-plus waves is a whole different ballgame.

[austin]

The guy I talked to I didnt get his name but he said pretty much for anyone, he said if for whatever reason something went wrong out in the lineup it would be dangerous to put one of his guards at "risk" swimming into well OH to DOH, he said it would be more like a major rescue effort rather than the normal one guard swimming out to help someone..

[rodndtube]

did they said that this is for surfers or just tourists without equipment?

Letting swimmers/vacationers go in "just up to their knees" in the forecasted conditions is highly negligent. Nothing like the power of storm surge long period swells combined with an incoming tide... 3 to 4 inches of flowing powerful water that becomes 4 to 6 inches that becomes larger and larger. And the freak sets that come out of nowhere.