HOHOHAPPYCHRSTMAS

xmas eve

longboard day at best maybe later



maybe a longboard later

             kinda cold and flat this morning at wrightsville beach with a small wave laying
                             under the tide.  i missed the sunrise by that much.

Winter Setting In



still dropping overnight

The first Winter blast has come and gone.  Now it's buddy comes roaring down and slamming the SE NC Coast.  The ocean temps, at Wrightsville Beach, fell last week from the low 60's to the upper 50's and now they continue to fall.  I got out for some unsuspected swell on Sunday.  4/3 and boots, no gloves or hood, and ducking resulted in some head freezes.  It's now 51.4 as I post this at Johnny Mercer's Pier and with overnight temps forecast to hit the upper teens it will probably be in the upper 40's before the week is out.  4/3's, boots gloves and hood's will probably be the norm for the rest of Winter.  This sucks!  I was hoping we would make it to mid-January before the water hit the forty's but I got a feeling we will be there soon.  We may be in for a long Winter.  I guess I could live in the North Atlantic somewhere.

wrightsville beach winter surfing



wrightville beach dusk

 

 It's offically winter in my book.  The christmas tree got put up yesterday, the beach water temp dipped into the upper 50's.  This morning it was 29 degrees at ILM and 30 degrees at JMPN7 (NOAA buoy for Johnny Mercer's Pier).  I was jacking my lips, a month ago, in a crowded line talking about how i couldn't wait for winter and the thinning of the line up but i had forgetten what 29 felt like.  The three great things about winter in SE NC, thinned out surf, stump sound oysters and striped bass.  More on these three great things to come.  Oh yeah there are four great things and making some new boards for the New Year.

medium wednesday surf at wrightsville beach

morning bar break

a.r. with a rooster shack wide glide

a.r. wideglide cut back



evening right

After a couple of days of N and NE wind the front rolled the wind E then SE and SSE and started howling a gale overnight Tuesday.  Wednesday morning WSW formed some nice rights and a few inner bar lefts as the tide fell through the morning.  The wind was moving offshore and as the tide began to fall in the afternoon some nice rights showed up.  I was took my son skim boarding and while taking some photos of him eating sand, I caught my boy A.R. hitting it this afternoon on one of his Rooster Shack creations.  This morning it was knee high and 37degs after the front had pushed offshore and now we wait again.

thanksgiving waves

Masonboro Turkey Day

11/26.10 thigh and 15SW





11/28/10 cold sunrise

Turkey Day at Masonboro was small but when your with a good friend and nobody else out it doesn't really matter.  Friday there was a bigger swell maybe waist high sets every 5-10 mins and a few people scattered along the beach.  Carolina Beach Sunday morning I was glad to see nothing except the sunrise as it was 35degs w/ a 10KNE wind (~29deg windchill).  NOT READY FOR COLD WEATHER AND COLD WATER, but it is coming.

wrightsville beach barrel

  

        Unknown Wrightsville Beach coverup.  A rare formed left with a strong W wind and Southern Swell.
 I got some photos before paddling out for this Wednesday South wind swell.

Day after swell

The hype was up for this weekend, the Falls first Nor'easter was forecast to bring Overhead waves for the Wrightsville Beach Area (Onslow Bay).  And in a single forecast period it all changed but there was still a solid ground swell of 5ft @ 16secs.  That translated to you better find somewhere off the island to surf or your will be fighting the crowds and generally not very happy.  The waves did show and I was off the island for sure.  I had a commitment in Georgia and missed the madness.  I only had hope that some of it would hang on 'til Monday.  I got to the beach and there was still some waist high swell rolling in with some occasional bigger sets but they were closing out fast as the tide started to rise and the crowd got bigger.

Unknown SUP'er getting a nice one.

Cucalorus Surf Movie Night(s)

surf movie tonight @ Kefi's. Stoked and Broke and Surfing Through Barriers.  Proceeds go to Ocean Cure.

 

Dolphin Glide Video at Cucalorus

www.georgegreenough.com/George_Greenough/Home.html
Screening with the short film Treading Water

Screenings:
Saturday, November 13, 4:45 PM @ Thalian Hall, Main Stage
Enjoy the Shows if ya can.

Wrightsville Beach @ 39 degs.

Getting ready for the boat ride to Masonboro yesterday morning.  @ 0645 it was 35 deg. and N wind @ 10-15knots.  We got in the boat to head over.  Glad the water is still in the 60's.  For the first hour there were only 7 of us there.  By 1100 there were probably 15 people total in the line up that spread out over a 1/4 mile series of peaks.

002 Thruster

002: Built in 2009.  5'2" thruster for my son.  Recycled from a Becker 6' twin fin i bought in college (my first board).  It was to delaminated to repair so I skinned it and transformed it to this.  Artwork ,by my son and me,was the Revolutionary Flag.  My first attempt at glassed on fins.  Also, the first attempt at a logo.  The Masonboro Sea Buoy on regular printer paper off a Brother inkjet printer.  He rides it on glassy small days.  It is a little easier for him to paddle at only 7yrs.old.  Practice.  Practice, before I was going to buy a blank.

Wrightsville Beach Gems

waist and peeling

unknown air

Wrightsville Beach 52 degrees and 10knots NW High Tide @ 6:45a.m..  water temp was 68F. Looking fun early this morning.  Had a spot for almost an hour by myself before the beach got crowded.  More promised for tommorow and Sunday. 

A Moment Of Silence

Andy Irons
Rest In Peace

THIGH HIGH SOUTH SWELL

Finally after more than two weeks.  Some SSW winds makes something to ride.  It wasn't great but something is better than nothing. 

Cape Fear Striper Tournament

To be held January 14-15, 2011.  You can get more information at http://cfrw.us/stripertourney.html.  They have not yet updated the website for this year but it will get you in contact with the right people.  Great tournament with a great cause.  Fisheries Restoration in the Cape Fear River Basin. 

winter approaches

here is a photo snatched off an artic surf video by Yazzy Ouhilal.  Just when you think that you aren't ready for the Winter check out the ARTIC SURF FILM http://72.32.9.12/~youhilal/  At Wrightsville Beach, It'll all be okay.

B-foundation at kefi's tonight, don't know anything about'em.

here we go

001: 6'5" "walden minimagic wannabe" Recycled from a 9'2"windansea found on the roadside.
Loose and squirrley you better hold on, this thing has very little rocker and take off's on
steep faces can be really fun or really painful. Shaped and Glass at my buddy's Rooster
Shack. You learn a lot doing it all yourself.  Then you have to learn to surf it.