Hurricane Irene SCORE!

On Friday morning we decided to head south of Cape Canaveral in hopes of catching the conditions just right. As we arrived and spot checked it at Cherie Down Park it was going off and then I realized we were about to score really big!
For the first session we hit it at Jetty Park and it was overhead and super clean. I got two ligament barrels and pretty much lost count of the nose riding mayhem I was creating on my 9'0" Walden Magic. The amazing thing is it really wasn't that crowded.
By noon it was fading away at Jetty Park. I guess it was too sheltered at that point. We headed south to the more exposed Cocoa Beach Pier only to find a few hundred guys in the water. The waves looked enticing and I was game, but one of our friends (a beginner) was intimidated so we headed back to north to Cherie Down again and paddled out to score big again!
This time it was bigger. The drops were faster and waves more powerful. I was in freaking heaven! But, my arms were getting more and more burnt out. By the end of the second session my arms felt like my legs usually feel after running a marathon. We all headed back north with smiles on our faces. Irene we love you!

Here's some pictures from Friday....











On Saturday it was New Smyrna Beach and the north coast of Florida's turn. The wind was now offshore up this way and the ocean was clean and ready for some rippin'.
We met at a predetermined spot where we know of a good sandbar just after dawn. The waves were the biggest we've seen yet. The wind was slightly less than the day before and that was good because it means easy entry. The paddle out was the hardest yet and I had to take several sets on the head, but made it out in about 10 minutes. The outside break was the furthest out of all our Irene sessions; about 3/4 of a mile. The wave faces were around the 8 feet range. It was so EPIC that I surfed for 3 1/2 hours without coming in once. That's a long time for no food or water. I took about 100 waves during that time and they were so clean that I probably could haven't gotten by without having a leash. Super fun and what a stoke! I surfed myself sick... literally. After the session I had to get in a car and crank the A/C to high while drinking three Gatorades and then going to Subway to down a foot long meatball sub (it's what I was craving). Then I went home to pick up Jenny (she went to Gainesville to do her long run with Team Hot Legs) and I laid down on the couch for a half hour before feeling better.
We went back to the beach to visit friends. I didn't paddle back out as I was stoked and satisfied. A thunderstorm rolled through and sent all the Orlando kooks fleeing the beach and hopefully going home. After it was peaceful. Jenny and I went on a couple mile walk. It was a good ending to a top 10 swell of my lifetime so far!

Here are a few pics from Saturday in New Smyrna Beach.





On Sunday we went down to the inlet only to find waist high sets rolling in with offshore winds. This was hardly exciting after the previous four days. We surfed for about 30 minutes and call it quits. It felt like a recovery paddle... like a recovery run, but for my arms.
Can't wait for the next swell!

So now we wait...

Drove over to the beach at dawn this morning.
The surf is a lot more disorganized than last night and the wind is fully onshore. Hurricane Irene is starting to show herself. We're only under tropical storm watch here in Florida so we'll probably only get 25mph to 45mph winds.
The news people were on the beach trying their hardest to sensationalize their stories. A few young and dumb surfers were preparing to paddle out. A few traveling surfers were in their cars or on the beach sleeping. I remember those days when I was in high school and our gang would all paddle out during the worst and most gnarly part of the storm. It's exciting and seems adventurous when you're 18-years-old. To an experienced surfer or an older surfer it seems flat out retarded. I'm saving my arms for tomorrow and Saturday when the storm is to the north and the Coriolis effect causes the winds to pull offshore and the surf cleans up. That will be our window. Timing is everything as it'll blow the swell down quickly. Hitting it at the right time is key. Stay tuned for more updates!

Waiting....

The latest forecast on Hurricane Bill, now a category 4 storm!

If this isn't PORN for surfers I don't know what is!!!!!!!This is for the east coast of Florida for Saturday. I'm drooling already!


What a perfect path projection. Not making landfall, but giving us the swell. Even Bermuda will luck out, hopefully, with the weak side of the storm.

Part of the story on MSW:
"HURRICANE Bill is now a 'major' Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 135mph and producing swell in excess of 45ft. Perhaps the best hurricane surf for a over decade? As forecasters it's difficult to withhold and damp down our excitement over a storm of this magnitude following such a perfect track.

This is no Katrina, it will not devastate large areas of land if it holds course 500 plus miles off the Eastern Seaboard - but it will pump high quality surf in the double overhead range at the coast. High pressure is set to dominate closer to the coast, serving a dual purpose of keeping the hurricane out to sea whilst delivering sunshine and offshore winds. If these factors all continue to come together it could be be 'the' perfect storm for East Coast surfers."

If anyone knows a media outlet that would like to hiring a contributing writer/photographer to cover the surfing side of the Hurricane Bill story I am ready, willing and able to jump in my truck and chase this storm up the Eastern Coast of the USA!!!! How awesome would it be to hit up Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey/New York and Maine all in a few days??? It's going to be going off. I can't wait to see everyone's pictures including my own!

Hurricane Bill.... bring on the swell!

Can I just say how EXCITED I am about Hurricane Bill! It looks like all the stars and planets are aligning to give us the classic hurricane swell we've been waiting for all year. The current forecast has it going up toward the North Atlantic, which should send great waves our way and keep the property damaging wind far from shore! I woke up this morning to see this before my 3-mile run on Magicseaweed.com (my favorite forecasting site):

"Hurricane Bill is still on track to deliver a very significant swell event to the East coast for the end of the week which we expect the forecast data below to under call, think Bertha on steroids and, if it comes off as currently forecast, swell of the season stuff."Bertha was the first tropical swell we had last year. It was amazing if I remember correctly. I'm talking overhead glass out front. Take your pick... everywhere was going off! If this is going to be better than Bertha, I'm going to be stoked out of my mind! Check out that 13 second period for Saturday! We might have to hit up some secret sandbar spots down on south beach. All the Orlando weekend warriors will be here since it's on the weekend along with a few really out of towners from the Surf Expo. Regardless, I'm stoked! Hopefully, I'll have some amazing surfing pictures to post after the weekend!

In other news:

Oh Otis Spunkmeyer... I hate you, but I love you.
The local title company girls bring you in each week...
Hot and fresh and soft, completely irresistible
White chocolate with cranberries, yum!
I ran 3-miles before the sun came up today...
It won't hurt to each just one of you.
But each week I find myself eating more,
like today I just had to have EIGHT!

Seriously, these cookies are my downfall. I ate eight of those bastards today before I knew what hit me and now I'm not even hungry for lunch. But, I am hyper as hell!