Moving south - Folly vs. Wrightsville?

Was Hugo the one that took out the beach road and houses? Went on vacation to Folly a few years ago and the homeowner I was renting from told me about the road that used to be were the beach is.

On another note, I loved the mish mash of construction materials used to repair the houses down there. The random lumber and multi-colored mis-shaped plywood added to the DIY charm of the place but aren't there building codes in that town? None of that stuff would ever be allowed up here in VB.

 

Yup..direct hit...category 4...think it was the most destructive Hurricane ever money wise (but that was like 25 years ago so probably not any more).

 

It basically leveled Capers and Bull Islands. I think the eye wen right over them. Luckily, we haven't had another hurricane since then. Let's hope we get another 25 years without any big storms.

Pictures: http://www.wcnc.com/weather/hurrica...-Charleston-94605799.html?gallery=y&img=0&c=y

 

Just my .02 but if I move anywhere in the US it will be Wilmington/CB. WB is out as its been overrun by rich folks and they don't like my kind hanging around THEIR beach. Yes they own the whole damn thing now and the cops will back them up. Dirtbag surfers are not welcome.

As for Wilmington area vs. Charleston...I think most have covered the surf. I've never surfed Chucktown but seems like everyone agrees Southern NC is better. Beyond that, what are you looking for culture wise? Chucktown has a lot of old money, country club types. Lots of great restaurants and beautiful architecture but there is no underground culture scene that I could find, which is where I dwell. Spent 5 nights there and the first three nights we couldn't find a single bar playing music that didn't make me want to stab my ears out. (Afternoon Delight? really???) Had to go off the beaten path and finally found a little dive bar on the fourth night that was actually playing decent music, but that was about all it had to offer. Pop culture and disco meat markets everywhere. Tons of hot chicks but they all struck me as the spoiled rich girl type. Although spoiled rich girls do tend to love dirtbag surfers that their daddy hates...

Wilmington has a much more vibrant underground skate\surf\music\culture scene. Wilmington also has several good restaurants. If you're young and single..well they call it UNC Womenton for a reason. Plenty of hotties around. Up to your personal tastes, but if you're into the country club/golf scene and want (and can afford) to eat out at a different great restaurant every night then Chucktown is the place. Me, I'm more of the steak on the grill, punk/metal on the radio, and PBR crowd.

Again just my personal tastes, apologies in advance to anyone in Chucktown that takes exception to my comments.

Also there are several islands in South NC that may be more up your alley, and for quaint towns Southport is very nice.

Good luck, feel free to PM me of you want more details.

 

My take on SC (Charleston area) and the local surf scene (Folly Beach):

Charleston area:

1. Place for most part has great weather year round, gets cold for a little bit but you can deal with it.
2. Charleston is a pretty cool place to cruise around.
3. Lots and lots and lots of girls if your single.
4. Lots and lots and lots of nice people as well as rich, stuck-up, arrogant southern folk.
5. Lots and lots and lots of people from the northeast who have moved there.
6. Great affordable housing developments, pretty much everything is currently being built or has been built over the past 5-10 years (especially in the Mount Pleasant area).
7. The area has its crime issues just like anywhere.

Folly surf scene:

8. Folly surf scene is ok. Definitely some people that rip and also guys killing it on the longboards.
9. Berts and Taco Boy rules.
10. Lots and lots and lots of weirdo hippies and drug addicts. There are, however, a lot of nice local peoples that are stoked all the time.
11. Waves there are less than average. Specifically inconsistent, small, weak. They do get good runs of consistent clean surf from time to time. Folly catches the most swell because of its exposure. Other places such as IOP, Sullivans, etc.. are usually 1/2 the size.
12. No Pop Outs?!?
13. Gets crowded. All those students from Charleston flock to the line-ups and create an absolute mess for the locals and people that can actually surf. I don't understand how I have never seen someone get there ass kicked in the line-up there.


.....and I have never been to Wilmington, so I cannot add to that side of the debate.

 

My sentiments exactly re: wilmington. Thanks for saving me the typing. I have several friends that have lived in there since the mid 90's and have visited them multiple times. If I had to move, Wilmington would make the very, very short list of options.

 

I agree with all but this point. While Sullivan's does get waves about half the size of Folly (mostly hidden from swell by the jetties), IOP has similar exposure to Folly. The north end of IOP is completely exposed and had some spots with decent sand bars. If they see waist to stomach at the washout, we see waist to stomach on IOP. I had a discussion with Clemson on here about wave differences on Folly vs IOP. The main difference is that the Washout specifically gets a steep wave, while most of IOP sees a more gentle long rolling wave. Most spots on IOP are an exact match to the Folly pier, especially 9th St. The size is usually equivalent, or maybe slightly smaller in that spot. Move north on IOP, and you get slightly steeper waves and better size (again depending on swell direction and wind). We never get the same barreling shape as the Washout on an off-shore wind. Still see some nice rollers on good days out at IOP.

 

Not to sure about folly, but I surfed wrightsville as a kid every summer and it seemed fairly consistent. I hear the winter hits harder, wish I had means to make it over there more often.... Don't know about hipsters and bs. But every beach access held a bar with with something fun every day for me. Maybe I was just lucky, but that's not likely. **** that was minus cold fronts in the winter

 

Come on down and join the party. White flighters everywhere I go. Elbow to elbow with Jerkys, New Yonkers, and VA Beachers in New Hanover county. Rich ones at the beach, poor ones across the ICW. And what is with the Michiganders in Charleston? Why do they pick SC? I've met dozens of these folks over the past few years in and around Chucktown. Sour on union jobs? Retirement from being taxed into oblivion? Go figure. Not complaining mind you, non of them can surf anyhoo and there is plenty of room. From what I understand one of the real fears of the southern man after the Civil War was that the yankees were coming to take thier land from them with guns but it really was with spastic attitudes and it took them 150 years. They were greatly over rated at best.

 

Not better than ALL other spots on the east coast, but the Jax, St. Aug area is pretty consistent. More consistent than all of South Carolina and more of a variety of waves. The continental shelf seems to suck more energy out of swell in SC and Georgia than NC and FLA.

Edit: by the way I think Charleston is a great city and would love to live there.

 

You won't move out west because of the time zone.....? You'll get used to that, dude.

Why can't you raise kids in New Smyrna? Aaron Cormican hails from there and he turned out just fine.

If you have the ability to move ANYWHERE and surfing is a factor why the Southeast? What aboot Montauk, NY; Deal, NJ; or Ventnor, NJ. No seriously, why are your choices so limited?

Ocean City, Maryland is nice. It gets consistent waves(by east coast standards), it's not scary like Camden, it's not all red-neck burn outs like parts of Florida, and seems to enjoy a nice quality of life. Busy summers and mellow winters gives you the best of both worlds. It's got a cool vibe there.

Northern New Jersey gives you a plethora of surf choices, great schools, the best governor in U.S. history, a mix of good and bad neighborhoods that will give you and your kids some edge to you(Colts Neck to Newark), and the greatest city in the world is just a hop, skip and a jump away. It has anything you want. Plus, Dowd the Third lives around there and he's top dog.

Boston is the best city in the U.S., in my opinion. Best education opportunities for your youngins, and a sophisticated townie atmosphere that lends to well-rounded individuals. Hob knob in Cambridge, and drink beer in a neighborhood bar in Dorchester. Many happy college students abound. Good job opportunities. Yes, you'll have to drive to surf, but New England is friggin scenic man. Spark one up and enjoy the ride.

Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island can all be at your Boston doorstep, and there's spots in Mass, besides The Cape, that can be much happy on the right swell(inconsistent but happens...shoot you can even surf in the Boston Harbor sometimes...) And Cape Cod is awesome - a quaint wilderness. Though it must kind of suck in the summer with the summer tourists, unless you're wired for to accept and enjoy that stuff. I wish I was....I'm getting there though.

Though Boston area roadways suck with the traffic....more annoying than LA, in my opinion, but not as quite as annoying as the DC/Northern Virginia area.

Listen man, I can dig Charleston's historical and cultural vibe. Totally. And Southern North Carolina is home to the world's best woman - Jenelle...........

But Erock doesn't need more people paddling out at Masonboro or C St. Please respect him and scratch Wrightsville Beach off of your list. Thank You.

Erock's the man. I enjoy his knowledge and fish stories and I really don't care for fishermen too much. That shows his exceptionalism. And I'm not playing games Erock. I'm serious.

And World B. Freilinghaus (sorry if I botched the name, dude) is a righteous dude. Some of you guys make me accept and even like humanity. World B, you coming back to Jersey for Thanksgiving or Christmas?

 

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Dudebrobra, You want to move to WrightsVille Beach. It has UNCW 10 minutes away and there is literally beautiful girls everywhere. Watch out for bad drivers though. Waves are decent, pretty much knee to waste high close outs everyday but you get a handful of fun days each month. There is a "notsosecret" spot on the south side of the island, you paddle 15 minutes across the inlet and there is a whole protected barrier island that has pretty good surf. You have to pay to park here in the busy season, which was a pain in the ass in my opinion. Fun town though!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcuYjDR2tSg

South Carolina

 

You obviously know nothing about surfing in SC. This is the Isle of Palms pier a few days before Irene passed. Also, Kiawah has probably the longest wave in SC. You just need to know where to go and when to go.

 

with all due respect, why do people only post pics of their spot's most epic day of the year? I surfed the area for 2 years and it rarely got that big.

I'm guessing the op is more interested in consistency than that one day that it goes off...well, I would

 

Isle of Palm was waist to stomach and clean Saturday and Sunday. There have been decent waves there for the last 2 weeks, and it looks like we will see chest high on Wednesday. Again, SC may not be as good as NC, but we have plenty of fun days. And Folly/IOP are some of the best and most consistent beaches in the state. It is a fickle area sometimes and knowing the right spots and sandbars is key. I don't get the hate. It isn't that bad here. As far as "rarely getting that big", I think you are describing the entire east coast.

 

we do got some big bulls and tigers here, its amazing more people dont get attacked thank god theyre well fed.