Daytona Vs. Jacksonville

I've never surfed Jax but in Daytona Beach the Ponce Inlet (on the north side) is a great spot with lots of peaks and a pretty mellow vibe. The south side of the inlet is New Smyrna Beach, which is more crowded with aggressive surfers and spinner sharks. More consistent than anywhere, but this weekend there will be waves everywhere so I would recommend checking the Flagler Pier north of Daytona about 15 miles, or head all the way down the the north side of the Ponce Inlet by the lighthouse. I just saw on the noon news a van with 3 kids was driven into the surf by Mom, who has some issues. It took some quick work by the lifeguards to get everyone out safe, including one of their fellow lifeguards, who had to go into the van to pass the kids out while waves were pounding over it and sucking it out into the impact zone.. Great footage. That's why I think all in all Daytona will be more fun, because of the spectacle. The streets could be a bit crowded with spring break and all that going on. Flagler Beach is way more mellow and they get thumping good waves on the south side of the pier. Have fun!

 

Probably more spots to spread out in Daytona area too. Jax has a few good spots and a bunch of meh spots. Freaking cold and nasty in jax today, for FL anyway. Listen to sisurfdog, he's steering you the right way.

 

That's in incredible, all the times I've been there and never ever seen anything remotely close to that happening, sure wish I was there to witness it! Scary situation though, glad the kids are OK. hopefully they left the van to create a nice little reef

 

Ya usually it's just urban outdoors-man and biker shenanigans.

 

re mom who went cuckoo - to all the young dudes and dudettes - STOP BABY MAKING AT TWO - nobody wants
to walk a mile in this woman's shoes. if its postpartum depression its damn serious….believe me.

 

The Ponce side can be really good on a southeast swell! Both Ponce and New Smyrna side are probably the most consistent spots on the east coast. The NSB side maybe slightly better. On the NSB side the Jetty is a lot shorter and the sandbars build up a little more so it tends to hold even the slightest swell.

When its good though Ponce is the hit! Due to the super long jetty it creates a nice "A" frame wave on the first peak. Not much real estate though.... waves only break good from about halfway from the beach ramp to the jetty. From there if go north a bit, there is a small parking spot and walkway across from "Jerry's Pizza". This little spot also holds a little wave.

Both NSB and Ponce side can get very crowded though. Yes like the other poster said there are some "agro" guys out there along with paddle boarders and long time, ol school longboard locals. Most abide by the rules though. If you're not local or frequent user of the break you may find it tough to get a wave.

Besides these spots the only other I would recommend would be Sunglow Pier which is in South Daytona kind of across from the "Mad Dog Surf Shop". Sunglow gets fairly good from time to time.

If you go up north, like Ormond, Flagler, St. Augustine, Jacksonville etc... you really need a decent Northern swell to get good waves.

 

Are there any places on these boards to meet up with local Jacksonville residents to surf? I am a complete noob....but am looking for some guys to surf / grab beers with etc... new to area.

Thanks in advance.