nah man that few extra feet is so much more exhilarating I love it, when swell that size comes through all I think about is dropping in under the lip and catching a stand up tube when I go to sleep. OH doesn't do the justice anymores
ive gotten them before in Rincon, various places in Barbados, and few spots in cali and I still prefer Jersey cold hollow dark madness
As you say, people need to experience it at home before going elsewhere. It's a good learning experience that is needed as a surfer. The problem for me is that I'm at the point (old, jaded) where you've surfed those waves for years. You start getting done with the cold water but I still push myself to go out there when there are better conditions. It's really a time thing. Time for kids, work, house with less time to get out there and I don't live too far from the ocean. Finding time for working out is another ballgame which you need for a big day. A trip makes the family happy and allows me to surf bigger waves with a fairly easy paddleout. Wow, I sound like an old timer now. Maybe need to get my fat ass back in shape.
Head high to slighty overhead as salt was saying is great in an empty lineup in winter but not for crappy conditions if you mean sideshore/onshore winds. No thanks there. If that is fun for you, more power to you.
No need to be cryptic. Everybody South of Belmar knows about the Wooden Jetty. There used to be a huge sandbar waaay down in the bird sanctuary that would of held this size at high tide but Sandy removed it. I thought about going up to the jetty on Wednesday but I'm going to stick with my local break since I have to work Wed. PM.
Yes Mr. Chavez you are correct and that same sandbar used to break on days when everthing else wasn't...and before that....anyone who's been surfing there for a long time knows that Cedars had the best bars back in the day! You know clam alley hasn't been to bad this fall/winter either.
I dunno man, that's not necessarily true that everyone knows...But who gives a fook anyway? There are no secrets in NJ anyway. The "secret" spots are so fickle or such novelty spots that you're gonna get crap waves 75% of the time anyway. Better to get your local spots wired-down and drive less.
should have reworded it, I meant crappy as in ,cold, possible snow, rain..stuff in that sense compared to the tropics
Yeah Laze. Folly is super tucked away so it's never to almost never going to be double o'er head here and it can't handle it anyway. There was one hurricane swell four years ago I think it was. I had just gotten back from a 2 month Nica trip. The hurricane was sitting 100 miles off of our coast moving quickly north . For a short period there were solid 2 OH bombs cracking and it was holding...probably because the period was super short. I remember thinking, wow this is crazy. This is as heavy as anything I surfed in Nic. But that was one day. I would say I have maybe only seen 1.5 head here 5 times if that. Now Florida on the other hand, quite a number of spots that can get DOH but it is still super rare. I have surfed some Brevard spots and NSB (on the beach not the inlet) that were DOH but it was not top to bottom but rolly....hurricane swells. As far as today's swell, I could have told you it would be tiny here 5 days ago. Anything with that much of a Northern flow will pass us right by and go to Florida. Some spots in Fla look to be PUMPING for the next few days. For the rest of you guys, I have no problem doing DOH+ surf in all kinds of conditions. Rolly, hollow, reef, beach, whatever.....done it all over the world.....except freezing. Ya'll up north are on some different $hit. Props to you . I don't know if I would be out there in those freezing arse conditions. I go out in the dead of winter here....and it's cold.....but c'mon, never need more than a 4.3. You guys are crazy. Giant cebollas! --HAVE FUN!
If it's clean, definitely will charge it, regardless of water temp/time of year. When the water's warm, my judgement about what's make-able tends to be on the poor side, and I have paddled out into stuff that I wouldn't have had it been winter. I get real selective real quick when I'm in a 4/3 or thicker. Only been in surf that big a handful of times, and it's been a blast each time. Then again, I'm one of those who thinks it starts getting really fun at the overhead mark.
12' @ 10sec out of the East with North winds over 30mph is not a rideable wave around here. But by the time it cleans up and I'm able to get out on Wednesday, it's predicted to be 5' at 12sec. That translates into some thumping sets... maybe still overhead... so I'm all over it.
If I weren't working or if it was on the weekend I would be paddling out but I just had two vacations (one in Oct. and one in Nov.) so i'll be watching this from the cams. Looks like 8-10ft at it's peak though, maybe a tad larger but won't know till it happens. If wind holds it'll be light to moderate NW switching to W. I see lots of spots closing out but a few that will hold it and those who know, know where to go for that. I personally have been in waves of this size and it's no walk in the park, but it's doable if there is enough lull between sets. If it's non-stop pulsing it can extremely difficult and down right dangerous though. Like others have said, there is a big difference between 8-10 East Coast Beach Break and 8-10 Caribbean Reef / Point Break.
DOH EC beach breaks? Not for my old kooky arse... That point where your body says "we're done here" and you're still in the war zone ain't a happy place.
Just remember that the mind will usually give up before the body. I've tucked tail and paddled in when things have gotten too overwhelming or my body just feels too taxed to keep on going, but that was my mind telling me that I believe.
Agreed. But I'm also a stubborn idiot and have paddled out for "just one more wave" and got worked badly. If you spend enough time in the ocean you will at some point emerge either humbled or dead.
