Bay wave!!! Insane!

I've been chasing bay waves around here for a few years. It takes a lot of swell for anything notable to make it into the bay. If it does get that big I'm usually watching the winds waiting for the real surf session. So, yes, people get good bay waves, but probably on the same days of great ocean waves.

 

Exactly. That is why I don't really consider these spots "secret". I mean, maybe its fun if you live right there, but if you are getting a "bay wave" its ALWAYS much better on the ocean side. Its just novelty. A rather interesting novelty, but just that.

 

New movie...." Chasing Chesa-peakes "....haha epic

 

I disagree about the ALWAYS part. There are bay setups where the wind can be offshore in the middle of a storm swell, and a lot lighter than the ocean coast. I'd rather surf a waist high bay wave with offshore at 15 than attempt victory at sea conditions on the ocean at the same time with 20-30 knot sideshores.

 

I live in a bay and concur with mitch. Yet to be highly organized here in my bay enough to get a viable sesh but the day will come. I've got some takeoffs in past storms, no real session yet. Can't beat walking 50ft out your door, stepping into liquid, paddling 50 yards then wapahhh.

 

You mean East side of bridge. That area and then to the west of the bridge to Little Creek gets ridable waves fairly often during noreasters. I've even seen Oceanview pier in Norfolk head high before. Too much junk in the water in Oceanview though, I wouldn't surf it unless I was real familiar with the exact spot.

 

Yeah, the North/West VB. East of the bridge. I always referred to it as "Norfolk" but technically the it's the North end of VB.

 

Very Good Point.

 

I put a red dot on the beach at the end of my street here on Hilton Head. This wouldn't be a "Bay Wave" but that is "Intracoastal waterway" technically that is in between the North end of HHI and Hunting Island to the North. So, look at the map. You can see that pretty big opening. So, i primarily fish over there, but on some stormy windy days, I have seen some waist high chop moving through the sound there. One of these days, with the right swell angle and some SE wind on it, the place is going to work. I can feel it. I will have to time it right and avoid the men in the grey suits, but it has to work. They dumped a ton of sand out and made a HUGE sand bar that juts out almost 1/2 mile into the sound. With a low to mid tide and some swell wrapping in there, I am convinced that it could be the closest thing to a Point Break in this state.

I will keep you posted. Me and another of the SI homies that lives on HHI have discussed this a few times. Timing is everything.

There is a spot just like this in SD and it would fire a few times of year.

 

Q Basin?

 

I could see that happening, but the setup I speak of is more pertaining to "Albertsons". More open ocean right around the corner kind of deal with a steep, very rare swell angle required.

 

Buckroe beach can have some fun waves with the right NE swell. But like lee said, if the bay waves are good the ocean waves are usually better.

Still wanting to try a run a fisherman's island sometime...have a friend w/a boat who is willing so hopefully this year sometime.

 

There is a spot not far from my house and not far from where the video in the original post was shot. It breaks good about once every few years on a huge swell. The best I ever caught it was shoulder high during a big hurricane swell when everyplace else was un-ridable.

On a brutal freezing February a year ago my wife took my grom and two of his friends there for a surf because the waves out front were too big. It was perfect stomach to chest high on the groms and offshore. Within 15 minutes the police showed up because someone called the cops. Seems this spot is now claimed by the bird / enviro-nuts. Screwed up world when the cops are called on 11 and 12 year olds for surfing a deserted spot on a 35* day in February.

 

Man that's crazy. Things like this makes me shake my head, "society" screws things up for the rest of us.

 

maybe those kids were plotting to murder innocent birds.they weren't there to surf,they were planning an execution of our dear wild life.im happy to see our police do real police work to save those birds.taxdollars well spent.u want to surf u better go to typhoon lagoon

 

I'm sure you guys are going to call bull**** here... But I've been surfing a spot in the bay for years that is easily the best wave in the area (possibly the east coast). Its a full on legit righthand point break. The first time I surfed the place (right after hurricane Ernesto), it was head high and reeling for 100+ yards.

The only problem is that it breaks like once a year, if that. It needs a huge groundswell to start breaking. If the ocean is 8 foot, it will be 3-4 here. And its also a VERY long walk to get to it.

Edit: If chicks beach was breaking in that picture Zach posted, the spot I'm talking about was probably going absolutely mental. Also, I've lived near chicks beach my whole life, and never seen it break like that.

 

I'm definitely not calling bull**** on you. You don't even need to convince me at all. My observation is if a spot is super inconsistent, requires a VERY long walk to get to, and doesn't have a camera pointed at it, 99% of surfers will never bother to waste an hour checking it, knowing they will probably get skunked, even if its a legit good spot. Figure out when the odds are good, be willing to go off the well beaten grid and get skunked some of the time, and you will score good uncrowded waves just about anywhere. Even the tidewater area!

 

im not calling bs at all

ive surfed long enough to see some spots do things that will surely not happen again for a looooong time

 

Found a pic on my old camera from a good (but not the best) day there. My old camera is broken (won't upload to computer), so I had to take a pic of the screen of the camera with my phone, hence the ****ty quality.

It's hard to tell the scale of the wave in that photo, but the wave in the back is probably chest high. That was probably the best wave that came through, and it was right as I was leaving. I was soooo pissed the sun was setting, but I don't like to surf there during sunset (I get a really sharky vibe there).

I remember this day, and not knowing where to surf. At this point, the wind had died enough that the ocean was glassy as well. Friends told me the North End was a few feet overhead and perfect (yeah, its that rare). I'm not bummed with my decision though, cause I got to surf this wave with just me and two friends.

 

looks like you took that pic through fiberglass cloth

looks fun tho