December 10, 2010 I think, at Hangers. Taken by a friend.
It was really awesome surf at Hightowers Christmas Day. I didn’t get out till 11, but it was calm and mega glassy in the morning, but it was still offshore winds and chest to shoulder high and a whole bunch of fun waves.
Minimal crowds, maybe 15 people out, the sun was rockin, the nut surfing next to me from the West Coast (of Florida), was skinnin it. People think I’m nuts cause I only wear a springsuit, so that’s why I have the right to call him nuts for skinning it. We got a bunch of waves, so what an awesome gift for Christmas, with some shoulder high waves!
I don’t see anything to talk about yet for sure, there is some activity out there but we’ll give it a day or two for this could Monday and Tuesday coming up to pass by.
A sesh at hangars 12/10/10, fun even with the chop. Photo taken by a friend.
It looks like our surf remains consistent (we hope) with last nights anal retentive data check 🙂
I believe we’ll see thigh to maybe…..waist high in the Cape, and chest high plus in Satellite Beach. The swell looks to be 3.5 feet at 11 seconds, maybe 4 feet, it’s been hanging around 7 to 8 feet at 12 seconds at the 120 buoy so we should have a pretty strong ground swell in the morning. The winds in CB are showing 3 to 7 mph from the SSW, so with the land warming up quicker than water, we may still see some pressure generated to push those winds more like SW. (I’m optimistic anyhow)
Water temp is 60 and should hold at that for the day. Dawn air temp is 45-48, low tide, around 7, high at 10:30 AM. The high temp for the day is around 74, sunny with partly cloudy times.
The tides not ideal, but if you paddle out at daybreak it should be awesome, but chilly, I have a spring suit, so I’ll wait till 10 Am and hit a high tide break in South Cocoa, unless the rocks are breaking in Satellite.
Have a wonderful Christmas, and a great Christmas Day surf sesh!
Friday we have a 4 to 5 foot 10-11 second period ground swell coming in. (Actually we will see some in the AM, but the full force in late afternoon). At daybreak, The first part of the Nor’easter swell, probably North winds, at 10-15 mph turning NNE by 8 or 9 Am. Size ought to be maybe thigh high at the Cape, with chest high plus down South. In the afternoon the winds should be strong onshore 15 plus mph NNE winds. The winds may start to slow down by evening. Saturday should be the glass.
Christmas morning, Saturday at daybreak, should be glassy, thigh high waves I hope at the Cape, and chest to shoulder high waves in Satellite Beach. We should have some SW winds 2 to 5 mph until maybe 10 am, increasing to 10 mph by noonish, turning toward the South.
The tough choice is when to paddle out. Low tide is 4 Am, so daybreak would be mid-tide, the air temp should be 50-52 degrees (not to bad) , and WSW winds around 5 mph. The best tide will be for a noon paddle out (high tide at 10:30, high going low which is best), but by noon the winds could already be out of the South. But maybe they’ll hang in there from the SSW.
Merry Christmas and have a great Christmas surf session!
Okay, now we’re caught up on the Billabong XXL Big Wave videos.
Check out the new entrant. The boys from Ireland have a lot to show for the emerging monsters. Between some of the breaks around LaHinch Beach around the NNW point of Ireland, they have had some mega 40 to 50 foot face waves in the last 12 to 18 months of La Nina surf season.
Also, check out Shipstern Bluff. I have asked myself, why do those guys surf there, since the moment they hit that part of the wave were it seems like a big chasm or black hole in the ocean floor appears, and thus they have the most incredible wipeouts cause they’re not expecting a sudden free fall at the peak of the barrel of the wave.
Then it dawned on me; that’s why they like it, it’s like having a cinderblock laying at the bottom of a skatepark bowl, forcing them to “think on their feet” if you will. So watch the different way these crazies choose to respond to the “black hole” part of the wave at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania.
Also, “Cloudbreak” in Fiji, is a new entrant. Another 40 foot face entry, and especially the paddle in wipeout in what looks like a 40 foot plus face. I bet that one wins the wipeout of the year award. Anyone that has the balls to keep on paddling for that one, then goes one step crazy further by grabbing the rail of the board in order to make the straight/angled drop, they have my vote for the best and most ballzy calculated attempt and then wipeout !
Last, Chile had a massive year, that 45 – 50 foot face in their freezing cold water gains the same respect as freezing Mavericks, Prowlers and Oregon’s last 50 – 60 foot wave video shown on Seaweed not long ago.
Enjoy, and I hope ya don’t mind me posting these things. I love watching huge waves.
Now that the rumor is out that Kelly Slater may start participating in some of this kind of surfing, I’m even more fired up. Anyone that can terrorize the competition in the ASP regular surf tour, and then turn around the next week and paddle into a 30 – 40 foot face at the “Eddie”, is certainly one ballsy individual.
About a foot or so bigger than yesterday (surfed O-club Tuesday also), for me (6’3″ tall) on the bigger sets, the drop was shoulder-high and maybe a few head high drops, and then the shoulders were waist to chest high and really glassy.
Definitely some close-outs, but many you could see and let em on by. I got out 2 hours after high tide, heading toward low, so it was really nice and plenty of power. Some nice barrels (I got none, but they were there). Many waves were unmakeable on a long board and even short board, but if you did a rail-grabber, you could make a bunch of em. I saw some awesome short board rides out there!
Looks like Thursday morning may be some decent size still, but as it looks now, some stiff offshore winds.
Then late Thursday, looks like the winds whip around from the NE bringing in that big Nor’easter, with strong onshore waves all day Friday Christmas Eve, and then Saturday morning sometime, it looks to turn offshore from the NW, and throughout the day, the wind looks to be swinging around to the SW, and picking up to the 10 mph plus range.
So, Christmas Eve, if you want to have a soulful evening, take a visit to Christ Lutheran Church for our 7:00 PM Candlelight Service. Then go home, and have an Egg Nog with a splash of quality Brandy, wrap your kids presents (if you have any :), I don’t, and then catch a mid-morning surf session Christmas Day, after you do the present thing and the breakfast thing.
Another fine day at Perkins, Nov - Dec 2009, taken by a friend.
Today was pretty awesome at Officer’s Club. I checked the pier, and it was a little small, so I went a little down south to O Club. I paddled out 3 hours after high tide, should have got out an hour before, but it was still pretty glassy.
It was waist high with occasional bigger sets, and some really long longboard rides to be had. I took 5 really fun rides, and 30 minutes, I was pretty stoked. I had a lot to do today, so 5 great rides made the trip worth it!
Well, if you read last nites post, we had a bigger swell coming in for Wednesday morning. Now it shrunk a bit, and what scares me is the strong offshore winds tonight that may push it away from our beach.
It is a very strong period swell, but that doesn’t promise anything. If it does hit the beach. I believe the best we will see is waist high waves down south, and hopefully something big enough to ride here in the Cape.
Hey, at least, the time to get out is 10 AM (2 hrs past high tide so its high going low). This gives us, a nice sun to drench us, and 62 to 65 air temp by that time.
I believe there will be something fun and rideable.
As most of my friends know, I’m fanatical about watching big wave surfing, awards, etc. This video is the 2009 Billabong XXL Awards highlights. I still want to post the 2010, especially since the 2011 hit the mid-year point.
It’s interesting to see how guys like Greg Long from California and Grant “Twiggy” Baker from S. Africa show up in all the finals. And Greg Long was the one who edged out Kelly Slater at the very last minute for the “Eddie” award. Kelly Slater would have won it twice (never done), and two back to back contests for the “Eddie”.
My signature maneuver 🙂 Photo taken by a friend at Perkins, Nov - Dec 2009.
Our four foot 9 second period swell will probably be hitting the beach in the early AM Tuesday and we could have some NNW light off-shore winds in the early daylight hours. But it will be around 48 degrees at daybreak or colder. The water temp is 59 degrees right now at the Port. By Wednesday, it may be up to 60. Hurahh……….
Then by late morning, the winds should be going NNE, and this should be bringing in our long period 13 second period Nor’easter swell in the late afternoon to early evening. The winds probably will be onshore until after midnight Tuesday, and then Wednesday morning the swell should be 3.5 feet at 11 seconds with W winds in the daybreak hour, and switching around to NW by late afternoon, in the 8 to 12 mph range. It should only be around 50 degrees at daybreak Wednesday, but if you wait till High tide going low, (wait till 10, which is 2 hours after high), then the temp ought to be above 60 degrees and sunny, ah yes, sunny.
Wednesday morning, this should bring us some thigh to waist high waves at the Cape, and some chest to shoulder high waves in Satellite Beach with some respectable power.
The shape of the swell, as far as close-outs a bunch, or great shoulders, is a tough call right now, since the swell won’t be that big, and with little time to form, so I would say check out a few breaks, and just choose the one with the least close-outs. Hah, kind of a no-brainer eh?
The cool thing is, that even though the swell drops off a little during the day Wednesday, with offshore winds, it may pickup just a little in size Thursday AM which may also have some offshore winds for us too.
Wednesday morning, high tide is 8:09 AM for the Cape, so you can let it warm up a bit, and paddle out at 10 Am, with High going Low, and have a great session.
Christmas Eve looks like a new swell coming in, in the morning, and with possible strong off-shore winds on Christmas Day.
Friday morning (12/10/10), the waves were a perfect longboard, chest high, pretty chilly, but awesome. I checked out the pier, and it was thigh to waist-high, and figured for the cold, I head to the Satellite Beach rock breaks.
There were 2 other guys out, I joined em, and we had plenty of waves, even at high tide.
Saturday, a buddy of mine came from Lakeland, and we looked at Johnson, and it was waist to chest, and actually barreling pretty nicely. But it looked like a lot of close-outs. So we went down to Hangers, and it was solid head high, with an ocassional 1 foot plus overhead. Throwing really hard, awesome shoulders, definitely some close-outs, but you could judge them coming, and let em pass on by.
Johnson Avenue Surfers 