Gloomy Sunday, Angry Barrels

The waves today were pretty unpredictable. There were large barrels coming in, probably up to 7-9 feet. While watching the waves, it was really hard to predict whether or not a waves would make a nice peeling barrel or just crash simultaneously across one hundred yards. I really didn't have too much luck getting out the waves. I brought my 7'4" fish, which floats enough to make duck diving difficult, and not enough to make it difficult to paddle. I decided to go down to by the Catholic church further down Pensacola Beach, I probably should have just stuck to the Cross, even though I don't know what the sea bed is like after Tropical Storm Ida tore every thing up. The waves today were just a little to big for my experience level, also, they were breaking about 150 yards out from shore, which also made things interesting.

Post Ida, glassy waves, planes, wind, and fins

I took my NSP 8'7" down to the beach to try to ride what looked like decent waves from the cross cam. There was a strong northerly wind that was pushing the waves down and the water out so there was a some good sandbar interference. I also made the mistake of untying my surfboard from the roof of my car and leaving it there while I was putting on my wetsuit. A strong wind blew and now I have a nice sized lump on my head from getting hit with my board. The beach was unlike I've ever seen it before. It was littered with shells and sand dollars pretty far back onto the beach. It was beautiful, the beach was pretty much deserted save the few surfers and shell collectors out.
Waves were glassy and breaking in nice lines, the problem was that there were the old sandbars out 50-75 yards out from the shore that got really shallow. There was several times that I dug my fins into the sand bed before even catching the waves. Sometimes the waves will be powerful and tall enough that shallow sandbars won't be a factor, but it wasn't true today. Also, the northerly wind both reduced the size of the waves coming in and pushed the water back into the gulf, making water levels lower and causing these shallower sandbars. It was really amazing how much effect the wind had on the water level. There was a time when the wind stopped blowing and, before I knew it, the water level jumped from 6"-3' to about 3-5" over the sandbars. The waves started increasing in size, and I was actually able to ride several ok waves before the wind picked back up and knocked everything back down. The waves would have been ideal for surfing in they had been bigger. I also saw a dolphin cruising around about 200 yards from the beach. I dismounted my surf go pro cam and snapped a picture. It really didn't turn out, the dolphin was half submerged by the time I got the pic, and the fish eye lens distorts it, so it is about as sketchy as a big foot photo. I'm also attaching a video of probably the best ride of the day, which isn't saying much as you'll see.

Hurricane Ida Inbound

I hit up the beach today to go see how big the waves were. There's no way I'm getting in the water, even with only a single red flag. Those waves were ridiculously huge. Here's some pics.

Saturday Waves

The waves today were fairly choppy. While they weren't the tallest, the broke very strongly against the shore. There were surfers at the beach, but not many actually out in the water. I was able to catch several waves, I had a few good wipe outs as well. After taking a surfboard to the face, I figured that it was enough for one day. Most of the waves I caught, it was really just the waves catching me, and I was able to stand up briefly inside of the whitewater. Hurricane Ida is headed straight at Pensacola. I'm planning on heading down to the beach on Tuesday, just to take a look at the waves. Forecast is calling for 15-20' waves! I also have been experimenting with my go pro hero camera mounted to my board.

Friday, Fire on the water

Beautiful afternoon and sunset at the beach today. There were probably more surfers at the Cross than I've ever seen. The waves are supposed to pick up, all the way up to 9' or more come Monday. Waves were pretty good sized today, anywhere from 2'-3' to larger waves that were 5-7'. There were also several sandbar points that made a pretty good break; still, its been flat for the last week, so it took a little bit to get back into things. Should be even better tomorrow morning.