It was kind of funny ,on the way home I saw a fire truck at the lake not to far from my break.Im thinking were we surfing in radioactive crap or something until I did a little research.Iv'e seen some cool things in the ocean but this was on top of the list.Just don't know if there are any repurcussions by being in the water with this stuff.
its definitely a cool experience but also real sketchy. i did it a few times but im not really a fan of it though hahah
i did it just a couple months ago. once a year or every other year is good for me. one year when some buddies, and i rented on the beach we did it every night for a few weeks straight. not always great surf those nights, but goof times. just be careful.
I had a similar experience in San Diego a while back. As the little waves barreled and closed out on the inside they glowed blue. And you could look behind you and your fins left a track....amazing.
I wanted to invent a buoy with like a bunch of LED lights or something, just bring it out with you and put it past the sets and turn it on. Could work right?
You can just get the LED surfboard lol- check it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqfWeV6MBZ0 (I hope that link works!)
It's there all the time. You only see it at night. I've been night surfing for years. My first time was a rocky point break in NorCal. I surfed it once in daylight and got freaked out because of all the rocks. Until then I had only surfed beachbreaks. Pissed at myself for wussing out, I came back at night and wouldn't allow myself to go home until I nabbed one. I finally did, and I was hooked from then on. Sure it gets spooky sometimes. But it's also damn fun. I've had some of my most amazing surf experiences at night... On South Shore Oahu I surfed Kaisers at night with a few others and heard whales singing, with the hotel lights off in the distance. It was pure magic being out there in the midst of it all. Another time I surfed the Washout in Charleston, SC around midnight on a full moon. Chest high and glassy, there's NOTHING like hitting the lip under the stars. After an hour or so, my mind wandered to bull sharks, and I got freaked out and left. As for the shark vibe, I personally think if you feel uncomfortable, it's best to just go in. It's no fun being out there afraid (unless that's because it's 8-10 ft barrels). All in all though, I've always had a good time surfing at night. I agree with the previous poster who talked about land-lighting messing things up. You really need to focus to see the waves coming, and big spot lights blind you every time you look at them. If you can set yourself up to catch the wave just after the peak, it's easier because the whitewash is far more visible. Have fun!
Surfed till around 8 at the CP just last night actually. Some guys set up some spotlights on the pier to help light things up. It was pretty big out (H-OH) so that and the whole shark vibe kindof made it uncomfortable once it got dark. I did manage to catch one after the sun had completely set, but after I got one i went in. The shark vibe was spooky (expecially since I cut my ankle on my fin just minutes before it got dark), but the lack of vision was the scariest part. I couldn't see a 10foot wave untill it was right in front of my face. After I caught my last wave I went to catch a wave in on my stomache and I tottally underestimated the size of the wave. Got tottally worked!!
No way bro. 10foot was the creeper set granted, but they were deffinitly out there. Maybe 8 or 9 feet at the very least. That would be 4' overhead for me. I rode one that was 1' overhead for sure yesterday. And that wave was certainly not the biggest out there. I hate how much scrutiny there is on wave size on this forum. If you are on the bottom of the face and can't see over the wave, it is atleast head high. <<Thats undebateable (yet so many are sure to try). Thats just how it is. There were guys claimin the biggest out was 6 feet yesterday yet I saw soo many guys surfin waves where the lip was definitly over their head. What are they all midgets?? I see that you are from shipbottom, so I'm assuming you surfed there yesterday. So you do know that the pier can hold much more swell then lbi right?? Point blank, the CP was comparable to the day after Irene, yesterday. Anybody(who was there!!!) back me up on that??
What would everyone mark that wave at? I would say 11 feet. There were deffinitly waves maybe 1' smaller then that out yesterday. And beyond that, I didn't surf the 1st point at the CP. It was a little big for me(kinda nervous), and there was a volcom competition going on, and i didn't wanna get in any of the pro's way. And anyone who surfs the CP knows that it can get alot bigger right next to the pier. So I would be willing to bet without a reasonable doubt that there were was a few waves that^^^ size out there.. I'm almost certain of it
In my opinion, that picture is a few feet overhead, not an 11 foot face. The guy is probably 5 foot tall from toes to top of his head the way he is hunched down a bit with his knees. It's hard to tell without knowing how tall that guy is though to be honest. If he was six feet then maybe it's pushing ten feet at the face.
ok so whats a few?? 2 feet, or 3 feet?? cause 3' overhead would be a 9 foot face. Thats pretty close to 11 if you ask me. I mean common'. That wave is atleast double his crouched height. If your saying 5 feet(I can believe it) then that wave is at the very least 10.
I just used paint to cut him out of the picture, and then moved him to right above where the empty space is(where he was before I cut him out). And still he was not higher then the wave. Unfortunatly I dont know how to put that image in this forum. It only allows me to uses images from the web. But paint is a common tool. I'm sure you have it. Do it yourself to see if you don't believe me.
Not to sound like a prick, but who cares about how many 'x' feet on a wave? The wave in that pic has some punch. If you've surfed anything like that at night, that's pretty damn hardcore. I personally don't like much more than head high at night. I feel like it's a lot easier to hurt oneself, so I prefer to play it more conservatively.
I just think that most surfers have no grasp on inturpreting wave height. For me, it has always been the highest peak of a wave that is measured. Why measure anything else when the peak is the most recognizable and measurable part of the wave. I wouldn't say i surfed that at night. More like survived it lol. The bigger sets were about that size on sunday. I did manage to catch one at dark, it was probablly 1' or 2' smaller then that I would say. But then again who knows. I could barely see the wave to begin with. All I know is that I was goin realll fast down the line before I smashed threw the wall to save my ass. It was no less then like an 8 foot wave tho. Pretty fun night. Got to surf OH with some pros. Gnarly if i do say so myselff.... which i do
Ironically this was on the CNN website. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/10/04/surfing-on-electric-blue-waves.cnn
Back in the day (mid seventies) when I was guarding in the state park at Assateague, Mike Macaboy (R.I.P) and I did some crazy sh*t , and we used to out on the island when the moon was full - from my experience as a young man, I wouldn't recommend it, but if you just HAD to do it, I would suggest: 1. only go out after 7-8 beers - you'll think about sharks, but you won't worry about sharks, and 2. go out WITH someone - Mike had a 1973-4 first generation twin fin that was painted like a "spin art" design, and it hummed or vibrated as it cruised through the water - swear to god - it was a loud kind of hum - so since his board made this loud noise, I always knew where he was after he took off, and I could keep an "ear" on him - how he kept track of me, I'm not sure, and I didn't think about it (7-8 or more beers, remember?), but I guess since we just kept laughing and hooting when we caught some decent waves, we watched out for each other. Amazing fun and sketchy at the same time - I don't know if I'd do it again (but who knows - I'm a lot older and wiser, but sometmes i just feel like I gotta go for for it) but anyway, if you're younger, and have some real cojones - it made for some amazing memories! Maybe it's good (for me) that Mike is no longer with us, cuz he talked me into doing some crazy stuff that might have gone too far! but, I do miss him!
