Bertha - New Jersey

yeah hasn't looked too impressive anywhere I looked at it... still definitely paddling out tho

 

Pity party for 1.

Everyone come stroke this kids ego for a minute.

 

Same here. Went up last night. Sat with my board on the beach and watched the carnage for half an hour. My daughter paddled out and came back in after an idiot on a longboard and no leash ditched and nearly creamed her. Watched one of the best surfers around take off on the opposite side of the rocks and surf over the rocks as a way to get a shot at a wave. Packed up and went home.

My oldest son who usually loves to be in the thick of the crowd was already home when we got there and he had given up because the crowd was too damned dangerous.

Got up at 6:00 this morning and just as crowded. Didn't bother. Fall is coming.

 

Perhaps an 8 hour drive to the land of waves and no crowds next tropical swell.

 

Well, reading this makes me feel better. Looks fun up here, but not crazy good.

 

these nabobs natter negativity. went to (&^%$%%$#$##) beach EARLY; it was sweet. clean, powerful
3ft sets/occ4...high quality surf; got 3 or 4 good rides before that spot got slammed by crowd types
such as sup/beginner/longboards...(can i say that?)....yet the (small) swell fed many a jones and
i left fulfilled....for now.

 

most frustrating morning of surf ive had in years. 30 guys..... try over a hundred. got out at 5:30 and it was so good. got a little barrel a couple turns and loving life. within 30 minutes people had swarmed and the surf dropped got super inconsistent then got dropped in on and said F it and went to work. november cant get here soon enough

 

If we have another swell like this before Labor Day I'm getting out of NJ to chase it. North Carolina, New England......Somewhere other than here.

 

Dang? It's like that up in the dirty dirty? I mean, can't you boys just find a more low key spot up there? There is a ton of coast line, there can't be a hundred guys on every peak....

And we maxed out at 5.1 @ 12 down here and as far as stoke is concerned, I can't really ask or expect much more than that in August.

Maybe try hitting it at a less ideal tide or time, sacrifice some size to get less shoulder to shoulder messes. There were only two other people out down here at low tide. We were snagging everything we wanted. 2 hours before high tide, there were a solid 30 people on it. But there were other empty waves all up and down the coast.

I mean, I remember the surf beach frustrations of OC MD when the swell was pumping at noon and we were all forced into the same 1 block surf zone. That is life sometimes. Wait to 5:00 and save your sanity.

 

Long period swell doesn't work for many typical beach break spots. Then you get every person who's ever heard of surfing trying to go out and ride the hurricane swell. It makes for a pretty bad time. I'd recommend searching out a stretch of beach people don't normally surf in numbers. A lot of times the place that usually sucks on your average swell could very well be working during a hurricane.

 

Some of you guys are crazy. I agree this swell wasn't anything epic. 4-5 ft and super clean in central LI this morning. Ofcourse there were close outs, ground swell plus beach break and you got to expect that. Early with the higher tide there were deffinitly a bunch that stayed open and peeled real nice. I got a few really fun ones. Totally worth it. As tide dropped there were more close outs and the crowd got pretty bad. Bunch of people who had no clue what they were doing, although it was entertaining to watch them paddle into obvious close outs. NJ had to of gotten something. The early bird catches the worm, the waves, and beats the crowd.

 

Agree with bassmon, I was in the water by 6:30 and got lots of really fun, peeling waves. As long as conditions are good I surf. Want to whale beach in strathmere, and while there were a good amount of people, they didn't really bother me. All the beginners stayed in one spot and my uncle and I just drifted down to another peak. I'd say sets maxed out at head high.

 

Definitely some fun ones but nothing to write home about. August swells are annoying with the crowds. Closeouts is an understatement. If you picked a good one, it was fun but there were few of them. Some size and power but definitely not ideal as far as wave quality. I really want to see some pics of non-closeouts along the East Coast where it was head high. Maybe, then I will actually get stoked and at least be happy for others who scored.

 

Chest high close outs, with a shoulder here and there...disappointing

 

Sucked, bring on winter

 

last nite was really fun and actualy alot bigger. deal was swarmed even at 530 am. every hour about 20 more people came out, and to the guy that said "why cant u all just find a less crowded spot, theres plenty of coastline"- NJ is the most densely populated state with tons of assholes wanting to "surf". but yea this morning sucked.

 

I had a great time this morning. In the water at 6:15 AM. Out at 9:45. Maybe 10-15 guys out, all spread out and no kookiness or stupidity seen. Waist high and clean. The bigger sets seemed to close out. Yeah, Sea Isle/Strathmere sucks compared to OC, AC, and LBI but I had FUN this morning so you all can SUCK IT!

 

Rhodey buoys have been 6.2-6.6ft at 12-13s since 4am and light offshores. Sets have been organized and head to just OH with the occasional head and a half bomb that still kept shape. Lineup dysfunction to da max though. Surprising as it's not been like that here. Too many groms and even the old fogs were bad.

 

Glad you had fun but after surfing for 3 decades, overcrowded closeouts don't do it for me. Whatever works for you. Some people love surfing in the Summer and thats the only time they get out.