Here on Cape Cod Massachusetts though
his long period swell had been arriving for days, nothing much
presented itself in terms of height until today. Overhead, but
perhaps nothing that was going to make anyone on this forum wet their
pants. Easy paddle out, nice sets... it was nice.
But for reasons, which I'm sure made
perfect sense to some bureaucrat or official somewhere, the US National
Parks people (the people who take care of the National Parks in the
US, and here on Cape Cod, the National Seashore... they're the people that
dress like Smokey the Bear) decided to shut down the beaches.
I know the Cape, and I've got a long
list of places where 'Smokey don't go', so I did just fine, but even
so, this was and is just wrong.
they just closed down all the beaches?They can’t do that here,I think,too many beaches.We surfed Felicia and Guillermo,storm surf is better than nothing,but doesn’t live up to expectations mostly.
i was on the national park side of assateague this weekend and got good overhead waves from friday til sunday...the only part of the beach that was shut down was the guarded section...about 100 yards worth of beach...and even then they were just keeping swimmers out of the water and letting surfers go...ocean city, md guards didnt let anyone in the water once they got on...the beach was almost totally washed out there
Well, they do that most places, actually–my understanding is they even do that in Hawaii when a storm swell looks like it might have a dangerous result for beachgoers, brah.
I think it has more to do with keeping kids and other follies away from death than keeping tough guys like us from your, er, our glory/ultimate destiny.
Although I too have been frustrated by this, as during a little back-and-forther named Katrina.
NJ state park that was closed had comparably much smaller waves coming in. It seemed like an average swell for that spot. Just didn’t make sense to shut that down and not the areas that actually had the bigger waves. Many it’s just a State thing. Along with the craziness of the local news maybe.
Years ago, during a nice hurricane swell, I forget which one, but I was chased out of the water by either coast guard or marine police, who were called by the local cops, who were notified by the lifeguards, that I was surfing in “dangerous conditions.” I had no idea the beach was closed (ha!) but enjoyed a short, sweet solo session one morning while it lasted. When I got out of the water, the guards were giving me a hard time (at that time, the guards were football players, not surfers, and had no clue). Finally, after about a dozen, "look, I’m sorry… I didn’t know"s… I finally got tired of hearing it and said, “Hey, man, this is how I RELAX. Can I go now?”
Wow, all I can say is I’m glad I live in RI. It looks like we got the best of the swell. Double overhead at the lighthouse, getting closer to triple at Ruggles. Scary shit, glad I drove around until I found a more sheltered spot. Some beaches were closed, mostly to swimmers and beachgoers. For the most part they let surfers through. There was a Coast Guard chopper flying around during the day, didn’t see any rescues but they were on alert I suppose.
From a safety standpoint I totally understand closing beaches. The rips were crazy strong on Sunday. And up in Maine 20 people got washed off a rock at Acadia National Park by a rogue wave. Only 19 made it out alive, a 7 year old girl drowned. Not everyone knows how to deal with these kinds of conditions. At the local beach for instance, for every surfer there are easily 100 people who have no idea what they’re doing. Not an exageration in the slightest either.
As a guard I totally understand where they are coming from. My personal opinion has always been let those whom you know are capable in and “warn” them of the danger just to cover your ass. Rachel Ruggles looked like Steamer Lane. I did too much driving this swell but it looks like others scored.
Oh, I forgot my dad has been thrown face first into the sand and hand cuffed while he still had his flippers on when I was really young for being in the water during a massive swell before the guards arrived.
VB was easily double OH Saturday evening. The beaches were closed to all but surfers/bodyboarders. I even went out and bodysurfed without anybody saying anything. On Sunday I noticed a couple swimming directly toward shore but being pulled out faster than they could swim. I told my friend to get on his longboard and get them. He and some others helped them make it to shore, they were spent. If you’re not sure, stay on shore.
I’ll assume you’re asking me - I surfed Saturday, and worked on Sunday. Which worked for out well for me, as conditions weren’t all that appealing on Sunday. Anyway, Saturday was about my limit, and local conditions were very close to ideal.
As to exactly where I was, I’m sure you’re a nice fellow and all, but I’ve got no interest is sharing a peak, unless I have to… who does?
haha i wasnt asking exactly what little hidden gem you were on. (i know better!) just seeing if you had been in the line up at the guarded beach and all.
i enjoyed sunday a lot. really gave me time to clear my head from school.
