Prelude:
Rod's Report: Well... both Dan and I needed this! NJs fired for over an hour with offshore winds and a 5-7' east coast groundswell. Quality waves, thick pitching lips on takeoffs and long rides with 2 or 3 bowls to work through along the way. This is the session I have been craving at NJs for over a year now. Early on there were only three of us at the main peak: a shortboarder, Dan and I, all equally comfortable at taking off in the deep zone - the shortboarder made a few drops and waves of the type that I bailed out of very early in the session. A few gremmie riders over and on the inside during the first hour or so - they stayed out of the way for the most part. Second 1-1/2 hour it was
in the 3-6' range and there were about 3 to 6 rank gremmies (kooks?) on
the inside trying for the first or second bowl that made for a dangerous
slalom course run for the three of us taking off on the set waves.
They really got to be a hazard and I almost ate one on the rocks after
having to pull out of a solid 6 footer and then sucking over the falls
w/feet impacting a solid flat rock on the bottom. Not one you
Regardless, it was a session NOT TO BE MISSED! Sorry, no pics, but there are some samples below that don't do justice to our mackers of the day (not to minimize IRIS which was hollower, but offered up much shorter inside rides). One indication of the conditions was the continuing debate Dan and engaged in during our drive back to Baltimore, "Who scored the best drop and ride of the day?" It was a fun debate as both of us claimed it was the other guy! Or the shortboarder. Dan & I were very intrigued
by Hens and Chickens Shoals -- looked like 8-10' and VERY ridable, but
a boat is needed to venture out there
Given the declining swell and the increasingly kooky and dangerous environement, Dan and I opted to explore our wave options to the south after having ridden tens of waves during our 3-hour session. Stops at North Shores through IRIS showed nice conditions but very small waves. We decided to call it a day and just savor our memories. By the way, virtually no currents today and certainly not the dominant south to north. We paddled out "through the channel" on the north side of the jetty. The little current there was pulled you to the jetty and out to sea but it was not a ballbuster. Conditions were completely unlike how Foon described them from the Bunker during the mid-morning ASC Forecast Update. Grinds Report: Due in part to our late departure because of the marine conditiosn forecast, our day commenced at a more leisurely pace than is normal for the DMV Rush: bacon scrambled eggs, blueberry pancakes, and cafe goya served up by my wonderful wife. Dan thought the scrambled eggs and bacon offering was a joke and asked, "How about the pancakes?" My wife, feeling sorry for the "homeless Dan," replied, "I can whip those up in minutes!" Ha! I'm gonna miss the good life when Dan moves back to San Diego <grin>. Post session thirst was quenched with an ice cold Wild Goose IPA. Feeling soooo good after this session, I phoned home and ordered up some steaks for the grill. There you have it: three juicy charbroiled steaks, baked potatoes and fresh tossed salad plus a couple of TanQ G&Ts to close out the day. Solid! - Suicidio Rodriguez
However, click here for some of the IRIS action. 
Compliments of the UZB (Underground Zoo Bodyboarding). Photo by: Unknown. Click here
for pictures of downtown Ocean City, MD
The ride out Friday night was not as bad as expected but upon arrival there was a fierce SSE gale blowing VAS conditions all over the Delmarva. Late at night it got so bad I had to close the hurricane shutters again due to driving rain. The wakeup call came at the ungodly hour of 8:30 AM!!!! Those stone cold hearted road warriors Rod and Dan were checking in to see if it was worth coming to the coast. My sleepyfaced out the window check revealed heaving, pitching and thundering lines stacked up to the horizon with no noticeable lulls forever. I counted sets of 8-10 waves with faces in the 6-8 foot category with strong and gusty offshore winds holding them up for a long time then pitching way out and crashing in top to bottom fury spray spewing 20 feet in the air. For all practical purposes Uptown OC was closed out yet a plucky crew of bbers charges the 130th street peak and took a terrible beating. The entire crew entered and left with tail between their legs within 45 minutes, probably for IRISS. The nearshore rip was moving fast as the tide came in. Getting out would definately be an issue. Rod and Dan said they would be checking NJs and to my mind only a point type break was going to be doable. Beachbreak surfing was going to be punishing. Since my e-ticket for surfing had been partly used up over Columbus Day while MrsFoon was in Switzerland I had made early commitments to do stuff this weekend. For various reasons it was not going to be my day. Among my trips and errands I continued to monitor OC breaks observing there was virtually no one out Uptown and only a few Midtown. I have no idea what the inlet, Assateague or IRI was like. Later I got an excited call from Rod and Dan with descriptions of epic NJs and Fall Classic conditions. I was very happy for them both but bummed by my own situation. I vowed to make up for this somehow. Today the surf gods smiled benignly throwing me the manageable crumbs from yesterdays surf circus. Outside the Foonbunker were perfect small waist to chest high and very makeable tubes with lengthy lulls for rest and sunny warm weather and no wind conditions. After breakfast I quickly suited up and spent a blissful 90 minutes of solitary surfing with absolutly no one else in the water. I did have to negotiate my surf turf with an aging Terps Fan fisherman. But since his team schwacked the Dukies yestiddy, he was very agreeable about casting his tackle down shore from me. Best wave: The looooooonnnnnnnng wave walls of yesterday were replaced with a modest long period swell somewhat braided in appearance. This allowed for lazy takeoffs then quickly mutated into serrated barrels of green. My set wave bumped behind me making the two stroke takeoff easy. A carve off the bottom got me my first pullin pit that I popped out of. I could see the next peak walling and was going to bail out the back but decided to go for it high. Half way up the peak I saw I would not make it so I tried to straighten out. What I got was a gentle but fast floater to the bottom and green water where a quick snap turn put me out on the wall again. TASTY!!! The tide, diminishing swell and slight wind chop made the afternoon session fun but less satisfying. Congrats to Rod and Dan who probably hit the most exquisite Fall surf conditions of the year. You all shudda been there. And they should of taken pics to rub our faces in it :) -Foon |
