This was quite a swell event. We’ve had a grueling spring with very few days over waist high. There certainly have been a few one day swell events here and there, but this is the first two day swell I event I can remember in quite some time. Out here on the east coast we learn not to get our expectations or our hopes too high. Of course we secretly want every swell to over-perform the forecast, but it’s important to stay reasonable because more often than not one’s hopes are quickly dashed. We saw this happen all winter and spring. We’d see a low pressure develop out to sea on the 5-7day model and start to be optimistic. Then we’d keep checking the radars every day only to see said low pressure system get completely destroyed and blown out to see by a high pressure ridge coming off the continental US. This was the dominant pattern for the start to 2021.
On Thursday night I had a phone conversation with long time Rockaway stalwart, Sol Joseph, about what to expect. As I chatted with him I was on windfinder looking at the system. It was big in terms of area and positioned to the ESE of us, but as I clicked through the three hour advances I didn’t see it intensifying. I did see that it would be biggest Saturday evening, but had very low expectations for that to continue into Sunday. On the models I looked at the storm just petered out. A lot of things can change in live time when it comes to weather and swell. Surfline had an article explaining what happened (and I can’t find it now for the life of me), but basically high pressure (why it was so darn hot all weekend) was in our favor this time. Instead of coming off the continental US, the high pressure came from the northeast and held the storm in place and in fact intensified it. So it ended up being a much larger and better swell producer than any model had originally suggested.
Surf check with the advanced Laru Beya group.
Saturday started off very small and very junky, but it was surfable throughout the morning with buoys reading 3ft @ 9 seconds from the ESE. After a morning surf check I went home and did a cursory spelling and grammar edit on my dissertation. At 10a Juan and I did our first coaching session with the Laru Beya advanced group. We’re coaching some of their up and coming grommets throughout the summer and fall. Tide was low and waves were still small and pretty closed out but the wind had backed off and there weren’t any crowds. We had an epic first session with them — everyone got waves. Around 12p the swell started filling in with chest to head high sets rolling through here and there. Had a few fun ones on my 5’3” fish. After 3 hours with no water I needed to go home and get hydrated. So I did. Also snacked on a banana, some almonds, and a few coconut flakes.
When I got back at 2p the waves were quite a bit bigger and the tide was surging. The wind was WNW, so side offshore. There were a lot of closeouts, and it was crowded. First hot summer like day of the season. I was slightly overheating in my new Still Blue 3mm full suit, so I tried out my 2mm long sleeve spring suit. Water was a bit brisk on the legs but overall I was warm enough. Surfed for about 3 hours and was out of rhythm most of the time, except I did get a few gems here and there. Students Emory and Brant were on the beach observing the lineup and taking notes. Emory brought their Canon down with a new lens and snapped some pretty great photos. They have a new surf photography instagram @artisan.son.productions you should check out.
Bottom turn in the spring suit. Pic by Emory Lee @artisan.son.productions
Ben Lai showed up around 4p and I paddled out with he and Emory. Right when they hit the water the swell really started to pulse and well overhead sets started rolling through. I can forget sometimes how intimidating that can be for a newer surfer. I was trying to get Ben and Emory to sit deep on the jetty with me but I think the sense that a huge set would come through and wipe them out was a bit overwhelming. Both got into a wave. At the end of the day it’s good they were just out there charging. Emory went in around 5p and Ben stayed till about 530p. I started to get a little cold with the winds, so I went back to the van, drank 3 canteen fulls of water, changed into my full suit, and switched up my boards. I had been on my 5’6” Potentia (pictured above) and was loving it, but wanted a little more volume for two main reasons: 1.) I was tired from surfing all day; 2.) The swell was getting bigger and I wanted to be able to get in as early as possible. I switched to my 5’11” rounded pin. By this time the beach was pretty empty and the lineup was even emptier. Large sets came frequently. I began to think that Sunday was going to be a lot bigger than forecasted. I check buoy 44025 shortly before paddling out. 6.5ft @ 13 seconds from ESE.
Saturday got large!
I surfed myself silly until about 730p after which I could surf no more. I started off at the above jetty until the outgoing tide made a rip through the take off zone. Then I moved a jetty east and had probably the best session of my day. There was a moment when I was the only one out in well overhead surf. When that happens it really feels like I’m getting rewarded for putting all the time into my craft. My board was working great — getting in early so I could thread some tubes (some I made, others not so much) — and my wetsuit was flexible and kept my body at the perfect temp. But my arms and shoulders eventually told me to quit, even though there was at least 30-45 minutes of light in the day. No one was filming that session and I should have tried out the Solo Shot but I really just didn’t want to be bothered to set it up. Plus I wanted to have the freedom of the entire sweep of the lineup and I’m still new to using it. When I got out of the water, however, I noticed that Thomas Lagrega was taking pics, so I instagram messaged him to see whether he got one or two. As my luck would have it, he did! He was focused on other surfers for the most part, but I’m just stoked he got anything.
Sometimes it’s just nice to stand tall and look at it. Pic Thomas LaGrega
I got home around 8p, showered, had dinner, and conked out. I woke up at 430a the following morning, and the first thing I did was check the buoy: 5ft @ 13 seconds from the ESE. That storm was still in place producing swell, and it really hadn’t dropped much in size. Bryan Doring and Catee Lalonde had rented clubhouse rooms that night. We all had coffee and went to check the surf at 5a. Our eyes confirmed what the buoys read: there was still plenty of size. I had to reschedule all of my beginner lessons. I know that surf schools still try to make a pretty penny on days like May 23rd, but I prefer to make calls that I think are really going to benefit peoples’ practices. Going out in waves that are too big for your ability level can be fun and challenging in one way, but in another sitting and watching from shore is more productive. You’re still at the ocean, watching waves, developing the vision and desire to make the most of them the next time you go in. With the way our swells drop so quickly, that could even be later that same day. And you’re making more room in the lineup for those of us that have put time into our practices to make the most of the bigger surf. I tend to think that that kind of patience and respect for the difficult practice of surf pays huge dividends in the long term.
As you can see in the video above, I did, however, coach intermediates throughout the day. Catee Lalonde, Emory Lee, Brant Weil, and Bonnie Stamper all sunk their teeth into it at one point in the day or another. Also featured in the vid are Bryan and Franco. It’s interesting watching Bryan, Franco, Catee, and Emory because they’re all at varying levels of the same stage in their surfing: they make most of their drops and go down the line and they can do rudimentary turns, but they’re not utilizing the full potential of the wave or their bodies at this point. All of them are regular foots and all of them struggle figuring out how to time the backhand sections and to coordinate upper and lower body so that they they generate tons of speed before turning. My advice to all of them is to surf out of a lower stance and to push harder through the feet to drive the board through sections. When you’re first learning to place turns the body wants to start everything with the arms — and it’s not that the arms aren’t a big deal — they are — but if you’re not pushing equally hard with the legs you’re not going to get the board where you want it to go. Another key component is finding the fins with the back foot so that the board is not turning from the middle. But these are the kinds of waves that help intermediate surfers realize these mistakes and also in which they get a larger canvas to try out more stuff.
In general people can expect that I’ll call off beginner sessions when buoys are 4-5ft @ 10-14 seconds and larger. I have a large intermediate crew now and will be targeting the more pumping days with them. But I should stress that small days are good for everyone’s surfing. If you can’t do a cutback in 2ft surf then you need to learn how!