Ocracoke Was the Call
Today, NE winds again howled across the OBX. Given the past three days of near constant 25+ mph NE wind, expectations were high for swell on the south facing beaches. The hope was for a classic Ocracoke setup. Well, we were close, but not quite there. Surf existed and ranged waist to chest high with fairly long lines in the zone. The punch though was light since it was a "high pressure" swell and the waves did not quite give us what we expected. Oh well, it was still a fun time to be out there on the water off the North End of Ocracoke. Conditions were N to NE wind in the 25+ mph range. I rigged 4.7m and was slightly overpowered on the outside; however, with the near straight offshore winds, it was light and fluky on the inside. Set waves averaged between waist and chest high, with a few shoulder high lines thrown in. Caleb, Keith, Charlie, Jim, Dan (early), Andy (late), and I were on hand for the session. 
It was quite a trek to Ocracoke today! The ferry traffic was horrible both for the trip to Ocracoke and the return back to Hatteras Island. I guess since the east facing beaches were blown out, many vacationers decided to go sightseeing on Ocracoke. In all the years I have been traveling down to the island, today was the busiest ferry traffic I have ever seen! I waited about 1.5 hours both ways to get onto the ferry boat.Well, there may be some leftover NE winds tomorrow so perhaps that will be the day when swell finally arrives on Ocracoke in force. Though, if ferry traffic is similar to today, it may be better to launch at Hatteras Inlet, and sail across?!
PS: I have a bunch of GoPro footage which I am working though. Stay tuned for the video to be release over the coming days!
Photos of the Day: (photographers: Keith M, Jim M, Martine M)
click any to enlarge
Finally made it to Ocracoke after waiting in the ferry line for what seemed like forever!
Keith with a little air time!
Charlie at the lip!
Caleb with some air off the lip!
Bill with a hit!
Keith with a nice floater!
Keith working on his Goiters?!
10 Comments:
Think I'm going to head down around S-Turns tomorrow... the forecast looks good for that way
I don't think you can classify Caleb's photo as an "air off the lip" because his gear in not actually disconnected from the water.
well,i saw the sequence and the next frame he's clearly over and out w/a nice reentry (in front of the wave not out the back),unlike all the other aerial attempts that day...
did anyone sail L.H? whatever happen to the sailors who used to tear that place up(charlie, ty,donnie,brad)sailn the L.H is a lost art,what w/all the current and how get heavy it can get and the slighty onshore wind.but i guess its more fun to spend 4hrs traveling for waist hi clean "old man" waves (as they say at san carlos).i guess i can ask crensal how it was he was gettn ready to rig and go out in over head surf while we were in line for waist hi waves.lets save ocracoke for when the L.H is just to damn big!
Heres a poll question;do you think charlie "made it"?this site should be called bills wipping post
You guys should go out and get some cheese to go with all the "whining" that goes on on this site. As far as I can tell from the photos and reading between the amped up reports you're getting the best conditions on the EastCoast for September and probably better than the Cali boys are getting out west. So quit complaining and be glad that you are lucky enough to sail so much. Thanks Bill for putting this site up so we can see what we're missing.
More power to you guys. I like hitting new spots. It adds to the adventure and camaraderie (did I spell that correctly??).
-James
Sounds like fighting words to me comparing Charlie to Brad. Who are you anonymous? I think you're really Dmitire and just wishing you could go windsurfing at the lighthouse again. Remember when the visiting foreigner was named Enzo instead of Emo. I'm sure if Ted James was still around he wouldn't be putting with these road trips to Ocracoke. He'd be rigging at the Lighthouse with Rocky and J.T. whether the conditions were good or not.
Yeah, except the lighthouse sailing conditions have changed over the past 10 years and the old break isn't today's break....
If swimming after your gear going 10+ knots is ideal be my guest...
Its more like quality vs quantity as Ocracoke offers the opportunity of clean waves for down the line sailing in side off conditions....
My personal favorite is 30+ out of the west, thats when the whiners start blogging, as those conditions might be gnarly but have provided some of the most epic Ocracoke sessions.
Cheers to All and lets hope for something to form off FL tonight in time for the weekend....
Of course Charlie made it.
He kicks a**!!
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