I have done tow-at's on assateague before if that's what you mean. Doesn't really get big enough to tow in around here. Saw a few guys doing them at the Reef Comp in OCMD before.
not really in delmarva. there is some law in ocean city that you have to have skis so far away from anyone. There are some places where you can get away with it. Having said that, I've done some tow-ats at an undisclosed location.
ive know ppl who do them out in the shoals, ive been out there and checked out the surf b4 but never actually bothered to get in the water..... its weird out there, its like monster hole in florida but not very good.
I believe. . . . . . correct terminology is "Tow in" as opposed to being pigeon toed with a "toe in." And what's the point? Laird does tow in because the waves he rides generally can't be caught by a standard paddle in. I've been around here for what seems like an eon, and I've NEVER seen that kind of size. You have to go to Mavericks or Cortez Bank or Maui or Oahu for that kind of size. Standard water protocol requires watercraft to be at least 60 ft from a ski or wakeboard rider, and even then the rider is supposed to have a pfd on. This time of year I don't imagine OC authorities would really care, or even notice, but summer is a different story to be sure, and rightfully so. Who needs just so much extra shrapnel in the impact zone?
i think the guy was asking about tow at's which I have only ever seen bodyboarders do. Just a fun way to boost some crazy air even on small days
if your surfing the shoals, the point is that its way bigger out there, but its near impossible to get lined up for a wave becaause you have no point of referance to know where you are or how fast your drifting, which believe me is REALLY fast.
The Shoals- It's not automatically bigger just because it's breaking offshore. It depends upon the swell, the wind, the direction of the swell, and especially the bottom. As for a point of reference, a lineup is a lineup is a lineup. Triangulation works near shore and offshore. Plus I would assume you have an anchored boat nearby, so you have yet another reference point, albeit one that wanders a bit at the end of its anchor line. What has made the shoals a bit uneven is the way the ''Currituck'' dredge kept dumping it's load out there. While it didn't unload in the same spot every time, it did frequent that general area, thereby adding considerable quantities of sand from the inlet. A friend and I took my jetboat out there last summer to see if we could snag some uncrowded waves. The inlet was decent size (waist high) so we thought we'd find it bigger out there. Not so. In fact, in the hour it took us to get the boat and cruise out the inlet, the size was only knee high and the tide and southerly wind had done their damage. We charted the bottom contour over a succession of breaking areas and found it to be 3' deep on average with a VERY wide succession of re-forming breaks, and all of them at some really odd angles. We rode a couple of waves with the boat because it wasn't really board ridable, and called it a day. Evidently dumping sand screws up a break as much as pumping sand does. Oh for the seventies when moving sand was left up to nature. Ya Reeeeaaallllllly missed it.
good point mdsurfer.....i know its not "automatically bigger" .... im thinking about like a really south or southwest swell that tends to not get into the beach as much... you know those days when you can see the swell chugging along outside along the beach (or on the shoals) but its only like knee high on the beach? And as for the lineup thing... im just saying that its harder to stay on a specific peak, even with reference points like buoys, nothing compares to having a beach and a jetty and buildings to "triangulate" yourself. I guess im thinking too much about paddle surfing though, I can see how it would be much easier just cruising around with a ski. But remember were also talking about two different shoals.... i cant speak for the ocean city shoals.... ive only been out to hens and chickens and a few other little sand bars in the mouth of the delaware.... and when the tide is comming in/out there is a massive amount of water moving through the area.
