There is a good chance that if SI's forecast didn't call for a late swell last nite, I may have started to drink and start in on the festivities. At 3:30 the waves were lackluster but then right on cue, the swell showed. Damn it was good here on island, hope you all got some. And lets give it up for SI on this forecast...
Good post Sniffer. Was thinking the same thing in re: SI Micah. Departed the Satanic lands of metro** at 0200 on Friday. Arrived a certain wild oceanic place 0500. 'Heavy Surf' the electronic sign kept blinking. Daylight comes, definitely surfable swell but the strong NNW winds (25 kts & building) made the nap in the truck the better option. All morning Friday: sheets of rain, torrential at times, flags pegged horizontally just whipping. Drove up to OCMD. Going across Rt 50 bridge into OC: impossible to see the bldgs north of 10th Street due to massive clouds & rain squalls. Bay raging, the tidal pull south of the bridge looked almost surfable unto itself. Scoped out 17th Street & other spots, pounding explosive shore break. Interesting to see the OCMD lifeguard crews posting up on duty at 1000 in the midst of heavy winds & torrential downpour. Good guys & gals keeping turistas safe. Drove back to the other place. Off road closed due to heavy surf / possible surge. More napping. Checking surf. Eating. Napping. Checking surf. Late morning: rain ceases. Sky starts to clear. Hard NNW wind over 30kts, gusts bigger than that. People start to drvie in to check out the ocean. Turistas trying to pull open doors of beach porta-bathrooms barely able to do so due to wind. Then turistas getting trapped inside said loos by said gale winds. Worth the price of admission to watch turistas come charging out of loos & tumbling across the boards. Take the amusement where one can find it. Mid-afternoon...sun appears, slowly. Harsh sand-stinging NNW continues. Late afternoon: glory glory hallelujah......NNW wind still over 30 kts....but...cleaning up. Bars lookin' good. *** road opens. Surf's up. Awesome late afternoon of great waves. Many rides. Hard to push hard to get over lip, needed big board to combat 30+ kts winds. Well OH on sets clean and green. Packed up & split approx 730pm. Saturday morning: NNW wind but diminished, clean and green small but fun on low. And then.....it's over. Micah you called it, all the way, from what time the wind would turn to correct swell heights ( a bit under-called on waves, actually) to wind speeds - -- - - many thanks.
Don't think it was necessarily under called. The swell just filled in faster, peaked earlier in the night and was gone a faster than anticipated. I was hoping to get a good DP yesterday, but it was knee to waist high in the AM.
