Return to Hatteras Island

Yesterday Robbie Snyder said it best: "this is like a surf trip out of country where, instead, you never have to get on a plane, and the surf is as good as anywhere you've ever been." It was this way again today. This is the Outer Banks in the Fall.

Today we returned to Hatteras Island with the feel of confidence that it would be a repeat of yesterday. The buoys were actually reading around a 1-1/2' larger swell than yesterday. The wind was predicted to remain light and variable westerly.

At first light my internal conflict between work obligations and the draw of rare excellent surf began. I even emailed a close out-of-town friend that I couldn't surf today because I needed to get some things done at work. But my accomplice, Richard called, told me where he was headed and that he'd meet me there, etc. What the heck...this is the very reason I've sacrificed so much to live here. This moment defines it all.

I picked up wax for us both at Stop-and-Shop, checked our hometown break for comparison, and took off south. I once again passed the S-Turns Barnum and Bailey show for the cameras and stopped at a well-known locals break for a check. There were two peaks. A vortex of surfers were knotted up on the primary sandbar. The secondary bar was covered by a sprinkling of riders to the north. The numbers looked bad. I saddled up and headed to the spot we surfed yesterday.

When I came over the dune a ground swell set was pushing through. The sun's glint off the wave faces looked worthy of any surf mag. Yeah, the glamor shot in the unglamorous spot under the radar. I prefer it like that.

The swell direction was now north and opened-ended lefts were everywhere I looked---a goofyfooter's heaven. It would be a good day for me.

Surfers were scattered across peaks spread some 600 yards along the beach. Again I had friends from town in the water, always a welcome sight here, some 30 miles south. Again the surf was around the same size as yesterday with ground swell sets and open lefts. Robbie and I rode a left bowl snapping over a bar with a rip starting up on its south end. If you were caught inside on a set today, the best call was to go to the beach and walk around to the rip and paddle back out from there.

It was a great morning for us. I had ten quality waves in 120 minutes. On most takeoffs it was tail-and-rail only in contact with the wave face. Bait fish were all around. A stingray leaped 6 feet out of the water only 25 feet away from another guy and I. The aloha spirit and many smiles were with all.

When we left the water we knew it would be a while before we would see these conditions again. The forecast for tomorrow is for increasing cloudiness, increasing onshore wind, and plenty of rain as Tropical Storm (now) Hanna moves up and inland behind us (to the west). There will be more good surf fairly soon I'm sure. Will check back later.