Hurricane Bill

Hurricane Bill provided the goods for the entire East Coast last weekend with a classic offshore tracking scenario.

From the Caribbean all the way up to Maine, surfers scored epic waves with what some say was one of the best hurricane swells in over 5 years. The swell maxed out many beach breaks, causing surfers to either get on it early or wait until the swell dropped out on the backside of the push. There were several tow teams spotted in Cape Hatteras riding the outer breaks, while the deeper water, rock point breaks of New England were the only place paddle in surfers could effectively harness the full brunt of the swell at its max size. These breaks showed world class quality and length of rides that had pro surfers traveling in from Hawaii to surf them.

All in all, Hurricane Bill provided the perfect scenario. The Category 2 and 3 winds stayed well offshore, effectively damaging nothing (except for surf over wash along the coastline) and the entire East Coast received the swell that makes “hurricane season” something that surfers dream about but sometimes never actually get to experience due to foul winds or direct hits.

Many East Coast breaks are still receiving swell this week, with Cape Hatteras showing 5ft SE at 9 seconds this morning and another swell is on the way for later this week with S-Turns showing 7.5ft at 12 seconds for Thursday and 10ft at 10 seconds for Friday. Stay tuned, looks like Tropical Swell Season 2009 is off to a great start!

Check out the Hurricane Bill action:

Ian Walsh in Newport, Rhode Island:

Outer Banks Kitty Hawk Footage Sunday, August 23rd

Outer Banks Surf Photos courtesy of Bryan Elkus

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