south carolina barrier island outter sandbars.

I must have missed that one. I think these guys are talking about shoals that form outside of inlets. The outer bars at Hatty are much different--they are the remnants of where the Banks were years upon years ago. OBX is constantly moving inland... albeit very slowly. The outer bars still exist because they are also where the ancient maritime forrest was and they are held together by all the root systems and tree trunks--they make for great fishing. Not too sure how much they have been surfed....

There is also a big shoal off the North end of Masonboro that will break when it's macking--more of a novelty wave since it rarely has good form and there is a LOT of water moving around when it is breaking.

Frying Pan Shoals will break in areas almost all the way out to the tower 40 miles offshore. Benny B and some others have surfed out there in the past to name a few, not too sure exactly how far out they went though. You'd have to have a safety crew, at least 1 pwc and a boat to make it even remotely safe between the crazy sporadic currents, unpredictability of the waves and the incredible amount of sea life that hangs around the shoals. Let's just say I've had some of the craziest fishing experiences of my life in that area...

 

That's from the early days of the Republic of South Carolina, 1860 by James Petigru, the SC Attorney General at the time.

 

Just a kind of sketchy blow out of a wave. It is bigger than the main breaks, but it's pretty far offshore and I think it would have to be almost dead calm to come close to 'working'.



July 2009, this was a fairly calm day. That shoal seems to magnify chop.

 

This thread is awesome,
The islands are where its at but you have to have a boat. Georgia has loads of uninhabited islands with east facing beaches and there are waves but you have to be really dialed in to know the when and where. The shipping lanes and channel entrance at Tybee will break, looong ride but you have to have schedule for the ship traffic or know the pilots.

There's an outside bar off of the north end of Hilton Head that runs around 3 miles paralleling the coast that might be surf-able? If you want to surf all day by yourself hhi is the place but guard gates can be a factor.

I surf Tybee a lot, working on a degree in Savannah, its a fun wave with some punchy sections. The pier is good but "simple minds are drawn to strange objects" and we'll stop at that. It's a weird old beachtown and quite possibly the most redneck/ghetto beach in America, a strange combo so expect an adventure culturally.

The shark issue, like a buddy from Volusia county said " just don't think about 'em".

 

The real benefit of shoaling offshore/near any beach break is in how they tend to focus swell into more peaks, creating longer lines and more barrels.

 

On Hilton Head, there is that really long sandbar that shoots off the north end of Port Royal Plantation. You can see if from Folly and Burkes. It goes out about a mile off the beach there. I've never gone and surfed it, but I would assume on a NE in the winter that may swing in at the right angle would hit that bar very nicely and create a fisherman's island kind of effect. And yes, it is the Black Tip breading ground, as well as where Mary Lee was pinged when she was hanging out on the island.

Would love to hear from someone that has been out there, but it definitely has potential. It has to break. It has all the factors you need.

There should be the same sort of thing on Hunting Island right across the waterway on the South End. I would assume that it would be better on HHI so its not breaking out in the boat channel or anything.

 

I have surfed infront of Capers awhile back, it was good and fun but you had to find a section where you didnt get taken into the dead trees that are still in the water from hurricanes. Hence, they name it the boneyard. At low tide you can also see oysters grow on the beach in between the trees, so that makes it super sketchy. I also tried surfing an outer sandbar between capers and bull but there was to much tide and it was a crumbly and then back to swell kinda wave. Very sharky feeling too, probably in the water for a total of 3 minutes there. Everywhere off Edisto sucks, its like 10 feet deep 3 miles out, but like everywhere it gets its day here and there.

 

I also have heard from the coastguard helicopter pilot that if you saw what he has seen, you wouldnt step foot in Edisto waters, and he travels the whole coast, saying it is the sharkiest island by far. Great fishing though

 

Very interesting. We go to Capers and Bull fairly often, and I have thought about bringing my board someday. However, the trees you speak of make me a little nervous. I swim in that surf every once in a while, and there are a ton of trees under water. I didn't notice the oysters, but it is good to know they are there. I have heard there is a spot somewhere around there that seems to be pretty impressive, but it seems like you would see similar surf on parts of IOP. You mention Edisto off-shore. Have you ever been to that little sand island that forms between Seabrook and Botany Bay? It looks like it could work with the right swell. Probably shark heaven out there.

 

Yeah its called Deveaux Bank, never surfed it though. I do believe that it could work off the right tide and swell but never seen it going off. It is a slender little sandbar that juts out into the ocean off the island. Probably like 10-15 feet wide. and of course it is SHARKY as anyplace can get. Friends of mine caught a 1000 lbs Tiger shark near there.
http://www.charlestonfishing.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=61263

 

Yikes! Um, I don't usually think about sharks well surfing this area, but that would make me think twice about trying the spot out.

 

Love this thread. A lot of wonder, intrigue, and speculation. Pretty much mimics all the threads I've ever read on Fisherman's Island. Lots of chatter, but not many that have actually scored it when everything is working right. But that's the point right...catching a rare spot with just a couple friends out makes the hunting/exploring all worth it...and brings back a new excitement to surfing again. Last fall I surfed the bay side of Fort Story (i know, its no secret) on a long period NE swell and south winds and got chest high righthanders moving down the bay. Never thought a point break existed in VB in all my 30 years. Really opened up my mind.

 

About ten years ago, this time of the year, these guys were surf fishing from a sandbar way off Capers Island I believe when there anchor released without them knowing. Supposedly one guy tried swimming for it but turned around and made it back to the sandbar without the boat. When they were late their wives called some fishing guides who went out there late to find the guys in head deep water standing on their fishing reels using the rods like clown stilts to keep their heads above water. I know this is a fishing story and dont remember the specifics but it shows that sh*t can hit the fan when you are way out there.