so where were the doh waves at.

Oh and let's not forget the Gulf and the few gems per year we get there too, nice for a snack between meals and keeps a rideable wave in the water. Had some really fun sessions through the years. Nothing like this past swell no, but with the right storm it goes off

 

Gulf Coast surfing fascinates me. Mostly because it just seems like a tortured existence unless you just had free reign to travel whenever you wanted.

 

If you're ever in he area let me know and I'll help you score, I grew up around Clearwater Beach, Sand Key, Indian Rocks, Madeira, Treasure Island / Sunset Beach, Anna Maria Island, Sarasota, Venice, areas. Have a friend who surfed Naples growing up, Captiva Island is another good one, the Panhandle does pretty well too, especially for Cane Season.

 

Lighthouse. Photo by Micky McCarthy. By the way, the guy was riding a wide, very flat rockered fish which is mind blowing.

 

Anyone with estimates on that face? At the peak that is.

 

7-8FT NOT DOH but close.....

 

Id call that snapshot DOH, say that guy is crouching to 4 feet, its 3x bigger than him 12' face

a 'proper' 6 footer

that is a VERY respectable wave

jeezus fkn christ I am getting stir crazy
toddlers, Christmas music and omg I'm going insane


need surf, not enough football in world to make it better
unless cheerleaders came to my house that is....

 

I would much rather surf warm chest high waves in Florida then icy head high barells in jers. Florida is actually pretty damn consistent for surf outside of the summer. N places like jax and Smyrna its rarely totally flat and there are plenty of fun days to be had. Yes most places in florida aren't known for cranking tubes but I would rather have the warm weather, fairly consistent surf, good fishing, and laid back lifestylemthan epic freezing tubes twice a month. When its that cold I'm just not gonna surf unless its cranking but when its warm ya go surf whenever . the posts about the many different areas of fla and people going on a random vacay on not scoring are spot on.


Florida is full of weirdos though. Seriously why is it so weird down there?

 

how old are you
how long have you surfed?

 

a good photog can spin his pic well....
such as making it look better 'n it actually was...

 

Mid thirties been surfing for twelve years . I'm just stating my opinion I don't hold it against anyone that would rather be up north than south . I've surfed all over the world and cold is just last on my list. Also, to me that wave is doh at least but what do I know .....

 

http://obxsurfinfo.com/photo-gallery-december-2014-noreaster-21-photos/jordan-bartholomew_cash_/#

With waves like this at the lighthouse from that noreaster it is easy to see why Brett Barley can surf Pipe so well

 

It's DOH

 

have lived in numerous places, including EC FL, WC FL, SC, NC, NY, HI. So far NC has been more consistent with rideable surf than most of FL. SC sucks for the most part for consistency. NY also sucks for consistency and it has to be retarded cold for there to be epic surf. Then obviously HI is by far the most consistent and best waves I have ever surfed to date. EC FL on the other hand handles larger swell with longer periods much better than NC with the exception of OBX. You can count on not getting nearly any surf in NY over the summer until August. But at least by then you can finally shed your wetsuit. haha. WC FL is decent in the winter months but also nearly nothing in the summer. good thing in FL is that if youre willing to travel you can usually find something, maybe.

To answer your question about doh surf.....nothing on the EC. At least not right now. Awaiting the next Noreaster.

 

Pakalas is right on all accounts . sc is very inconsistent especially for nor Easters. Many times those storm completely miss sc. Nc is kinda like florida ..there are a fee different areas . southern nc misses a lot of ne swell as well as it s too south facing. Spring can be the best season for sc and so nc since there can be a lot of south wind swells that the rest of the coast doesn't see. These south swells seem to be either on all spring or totally off. Last spring they didn't show, spring before that there was waist or bigger surf 75% of the time from mid April through may....regardless its looking flat everywhere for a while...can't even get good waves for the contest

 

Agree.

 

I've paddled out at huge Lighthouse like in that picture. I won't even say I surfed it as it was more about just trying not to get killed and being happy to make it safely in. Its serious sheet. I've also surfed Puerto Rico a notch or two bigger when I was younger and had a blast. Lighthouse is heavier any day of the week and the very small handful of guys who charge Lighthouse at this kind of size deserve the utmost respect.

What you don't see with Lighthouse at that size is that the vast majority of waves are guaranteed to shut down on you if you go. You also don't see how waves that look perfect as you're about to commit morph into a trainwreck in an instant. It takes a level of ballz, commitment and skill that few have. You better know how to freefall into a huge pit and you had better no how and where to eject so you don't get piledriven into the sand in the waist deep water those waves are hitting.

There's no reef grooming the waves into perfect lines like in PR, Hawaii or California. The energy is very raw. Its a heaving beachbreak closeout with a jetty that creates a few makable waves for those with the balls to push over the ledge. Its more along the lines of Puerto Escondido but not as perfect.

 

CJ that pic you posted of Lighthouse was heavy as sh!t. I don't care what anyones says, change the water colour and that wave looks like Pipe.

 

I believe it 100%