It's been foggy several days in town when the surf is good. Had a couple friends talking about doing dawn patrol, but woke up to real dense fog. When driving to work, i saw several cars heading the other direction with their boards strapped on their cars. I've always thought surfing in fog is equivalent to surfing at night - it's a no no. Just curious what everyone's thoughts are on it. Have you guys had great or shtty sessions in foggy conditions?
One of my most memorable surfing days was a foggy one. My buddy and I went to Jupiter Inlet for a DP sesh. The surf was small but there was nobody else there when we arrived. It was clear at first but there was a heavy fog bank just off the coast that quickly rolled in to envelope us. Pretty soon it was like we were surfing at dusk even though the sun was high. The fog got so thick that it obscured the cam which apparently kept the usual weekend crowds away as they couldn't see whether or not there was any surf. We had the place to ourselves for well over an hour (a true rarity, believe me) when we were joined by a few others. The fog finally lifted a few hours later, the hoards arrived and we left having gotten the best part of the day in uncrowded conditions. I love seeing fog as I'm heading for a surf. Fog means no wind means glass.
Fog isn't something that stops me from surfing around here. Might be a different story if it was extremely big, but I've never experienced that. I've had many memorable sessions in the fog... two stories in particular come to mind, but I've told them here before.
Thanks. I shot it with my iWatch 17. That's the approaching fog bank at the horizon. 15-20 minutes later you couldn't see the sun.
Some of my best sessions have happened in the fog. Dense fog too. Like, maybe 5 feet visibility. It adds a whole new element to the game. Can't see anything from the sand? Just paddle out dude, It's calm and eerie out there, but you'll discover sweet glassy / juicy waves if you just keep paddling out, and then, and once you start catching waves it's awesome and different than surfing with no fog, and you'll remember it forever.
word, i'll give it a shot then next time. i've surfed in the fog before, maybe twice, and it was super eerie - of course your mind will ponder about sharks. both times tho i didn't recall any memorable waves, just more annoyed that the waves snuck up on me
I surfed in fog many times but if it's so thick you lose sight of land it can get a little scary. I lost all reference points once and only knew directions because of the incoming waves (absolutely no sight of land). I got spooked and paddled out (instead of catching one out) and ended up about 500 yards from where I expected to be.
Lol Like you said, just pay attention to the direction of the waves and you'll know which direction to shore. I did this just the other day. I stayed in the sweet spot catching waves but I didn't realize how far I had drifted. Almost got lost walking back not knowing which direction to go until I noticed a landmark.
