2009-08-22

Hurricane Bill Wave Report, OBX - Day Three

Today the full fury of Hurricane Bill arrived on the OBX! There was a ton of energy in the ocean today with a surreal haze which settled over the islands as the large swell from H Bill buffeted the Outer Banks. Surprisingly, though Bill's surf was big, it did not stack up to the legendary 20+ ft surf of H Noel in 2007. Though, the outer sand bars today were firing in the 12 to 15 ft range with an inner brutal bar wave pounding solid 6 to 8 ft heaving barrels. Light and variable winds kept the surf quite clean and glassy. The inner bar was the real challenge, and if you could make it past that zone, the outside offered a large lounge area and plenty of space between the set waves. Coquina Beach again was reported as simply epic for big wave surfing. I did not make it down there, but only heard that the reports from there noted awesome conditions. Tow-in surfing was reported in Rodanthe, along with extreme conditions in Avon and Buxton.

Tomorrow (Sunday) Bill's surf remains on the menu, and with afternoon SSW winds forecast to hit the low 20mph range, I will definitely be keeping my eye on Coquina Beach for perhaps a round two from Friday's epic sesh!

stayed tuned!

here are a few more pics from Friday as well as today: