Thursday am photos from St Pete Beach- my daughter Cassia surfing small GC leftovers. We are having fun being tourists.
Cassia headed out while Nonno watches on.
at 96- Old man and the sea
Set wave.
Look dad no sea urchins! Cassia loved the little waves.
Wednesday 6/12 Manatee Cnty Photos below by Micah Weaver/aurasurf.com, Thursday update below.
I had a blast surfing the gulf. Thanks to Andy Malloy for this photo.
Steep sections.
Mike Dolan.
Beach Scene.
Good to see old friends.
Purdy, sorry for missing your barrel!
Andy the Legend!
John and Andy splitting a peak.
Wedge.
This how I started surfing- boogie board in fun windswell hooked on the rush of riding a wave like these girls.
Vert.
Mikey shreds!
6/12 Summer Surf on the GC: I went at 2pm with low expectations and the waves were surprisingly shredable. That sand bar is rad! For 3.6ft at 5-6seconds the waves had some juice an steep sections. The water was blue and the waves were fun and it was good to see old friends and I got really sun-burned. Just another day with waves on the GC. Stoked, thanks sincerely to everyone who has reached out to me. You guys are awesome and world class.
The Compound
Thursday 9am WFL: Surfed for 3 plus hours in the gulf yesterday. Then I slept hard, surfing is so good 4 u! Buoy is a little smaller this am. On the beach it looks like knee high wind waves. Some storms may try to form and move in again today. You can probably find a LB wave today. Small chances it will bump up again. Tomorrow as the high takes over the winds are forecast to go calm and then a flat weekend is on tap. Hope you got some…
Wednesday 8am WFL Report: Doh! waves look weak this morning in the knee high range. But we expected that… winds are supposed to pick up today and by afternoon hopefully it will double in size at least. Yesterday I got more reports of fun rideable surf in Manatee Cnty. Hoping for that again today, board is in the car, just waiting… A small possibly fun leftover tomorrow am and then calming down by Friday.
Mon: Chance for fun waves at best spots in the am, then forecast to fade but maybe still some waves Monday pm.
Tuesday: knee high range as the gradient relaxes.
Wednesday: Coming back up in the mid morning/afternoon- thigh high plus range.
Thursday: Knee high range
Friday: 1ft or less, back to calm.
Lets Surf!
Even though we left Rincon at 8:30am to go up to Penya Blanca there was no traffic and only 2 guys out. I think everyone moved to the US. Excellent water shots by Mo Lelii.
Going without and Hurricane Prep: I knew when I moved here that the 3 months in the middle of summer were basically flat… but this has been the flattest summer of the 9 I’ve experienced here. I’ve surfed 3 times this summer and I have not surfed in August. Going w/o sucks! I’m grumpy, moody, depressed and overweight despite hitting the gym. One good thing about going w/o no matter what it is: If it’s something you love to do and you have to go w/o it- it undoubtedly makes you appreciate it all the more. When the surf finally comes back in a week or 2 from now it’s going to be sooooo good like getting reunited with an old friend. The glide, the stoke, the sunburn, the soreness in my ribs, can’t wait… Last night at worship we talked about disaster preparedness. I did some reasearch and the 1st written record of a hurricane hitting PR unless some Taino drew it on a cave wall, was around the time of the Spanish discovery of the Antilles. Columbus reported a hurricane hitting PR and pushing his boat onto the beach 500 years ago. Shoot, the word ‘hurricane’ comes from the Caribbean Indians! Those guys must have had PTSD also. Over the last 500 yrs hurricanes have hit PR sometimes every other year, every 4 years, every 20 years. In the grand scheme of things it’s SO RANDOM! it depends on how things line up(NOT how sinful people are, that’s what some here think…) the Bermuda high the tough, blah blah blah. Some places get it more than others. IRB never gets it right? Elena 85’… Eleuthera gets hit on avg every 2 years! Point being- you guys should get ready now. Before the mad dash, get your crap together now- food, water, batteries, gas bc WFL I hate to say it is a bit over due right? 1921! the last time… Eventually in the grand scheme of 500 years Pinellas will get it at some point… It’s good to be ready.
Warning- Nostalgia Alert:
Hiding from lightning.
This current pattern reminds me of when we were kids growing up, we lived in Seminole. This suburb boarders the Madeira and Indian Shores beaches. The surf is not that good there, esp after re-nourishment started. Not as good as AMI or Nokomis/Venice. Still we loved surfing more than anything. We had Vision skateboards and surfed the flat side walks, an occ back yard ramp, no parks back then. Summers were mostly hot and flat but every summer had a few days of strong SW flow. We knew instantly that meant waves to surf. We would ride our bikes to a beach between Indian Shores breakwater and Redington long pier. In the am when we arrived on our bikes the surf was knee to thigh and rideable for a grom in his early teens. Then these massive t-storms would sweep off the gulf with lightning. we would seek shelter under the condos until they passed. Right after the storms the surf would bump up to solid sizes. As a 14yr old it was head high at times though that seems over much now. I have some pics somewhere. I think in an attic in Florida… someday I have to dig them up. That was the highlight of our summer, getting to surf those SW trough days when the storms bumped the waves up.
The song playing in our heads as we surfed:
has there been a bump anywhere?
Yes …. I was at Caddy’s last night and there was def a rideable LB wave While the sun was setting … certainly on a SUP or for a grom. I was watching from the rooftop bar while a few SUP guys were playing around.
Call it shin to mayyyybbbeeee knee high
Great pics from your Indy sesh!
Scored N Ft Pierce inlet fri am choppy chest high with juice and crowded. I was able to pick off a few nice ones though. Today I found a sandbar on the inside of a shoal that was feeling this 2ft@7sec and caught some 50 yrd long knee high sets that would reform and connect to the inside if you milked the lil waves lol. So fun with the right mentality. I had to park about 2 miles away so I grabbed my skateboard, 8ft log, fishing pole rigged for snook(just in case ot was a mirage on the horizon) and went after it. So glad I did, hope you all score today, there is a lil bump out there! Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms!
Props fuggin glad you got some desire+ambition+hunger+preparation=score
That’s what I’m talkin about, Fugg!
If you go on the search and aren’t afraid of walking, it’s amazing what you’ll find sometimes.
Sounds like a great time.
5/13/19- Someone had to have scored. I arrived at N Pinellas spot at 3: 30 to find a rae sweet mysto groundswell peaky and jade green. 15 minutes later faded with no rear end on it and easterly winds after only about 3 small waves. Must’ve just missed the tiny window. Did anyone get it good?
Winds layed down to 0mph in srq after that crazy storm(Scored 10-12ft Margaret River on TrueSurf game in the car hahaha). It was magical for about an hour then it starred cranking again from the wsw. Still a bump this am, knee-thigh and not windy atm. I’m out there!
Actually a magical thigh high groundswell lining up and steep at Twinnies this morning. Took the kiddo for a skate and paddl and was surprised! Real fun for Nada I’m the forecast! Bout to fly out to California for 2 weeks and drive an RV around camping, surfing , and hiking!
awesome man so stoked for you. Have fun in Cali! thanks for checking in
Best Southern Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9TQ9AZ2xv8
Now if we can get some south winds to match the southern rock.
thanks man for the tunes… Shea always inspired me watching him surf, that knee injury he had was gnarly…
Great pics! 47 Years Old!
I just want to add, if Shea Lopez didn’t get injured that took him out of competition and off the QS, he would’ve been just as a threat as Cory, imo.
I surfed with Shea one time as a kid on irb and it was inspiration to watch him use every bit of chop to his advantage and find connecting sections.
Same thing with Cory but that memory stuck with me. I couldn’t even make the drop yet but watching him that day taught me where to be and how to read the wave.
Enjoy that late may swell in PR. Can’t ask for anything better in mid may. Wow!
Ericito, maaaaaan, that sounds like a good time.
Have fun out there. I’m sure ya will.
Last June 7, 2018 they rebuilt Upham. This yr they dredge it. Hopefully it comes back to old form and Blinds Pass fires back up. Time will tell. Thank U to all Vets for ur service. Today is UR day. Enjoy.
Another great picture! Is that JH airlines on a rainbow stick?
Got the 5 10 and the 6 8 in the carready for anything. Could tomorrow be the best day of the year in pr? No forecast Tuesday guys 4ft at 14 seconds NNE yell me over the ledge so I don’t chicken out
Hit east coast today. Fun waves!
Looks fun down there! ?
GM, where’d ya go? Looked really clean in the pics of that day.
“I’m done. Give me two weeks and I’ll be going nuts again to surf” Haha! Ain’t that the Truth
@jdh, clue is l was not alone, LoL ?????????????, somewhere in central Flo.
Too crowded already.
thanks guys… did you see SL got a new cam in Venice and it does not swing to show Nokomis like it did before just south jetty now, any explanation? where is that cam?
GM, especially in the summer. Hope the ride was smooth. An accident on I-4 always sucks. Too many times man, too many times.
Oh man super stoke for this weekend and early next week. I took some time off with no plans next week and some staycation waves would be nice because the Atlantic looks flat! Let that low wind up!???
I conveniently did the same. Definitely looking forward to some potential waves.
Leave for Cali manana so surf it up for me! Update on upham, it’s fenced off for about a mile up and down. Biggest project I’ve ever seen in 15 years of dredging. The rocks are fully covered up, not even a little left. First swell when it’s done will be cracking! Maybe a paddle across the pass to first bay would work?
I’m just wondering if they cleared out that sunken sailboat. Been paddling over there lately and they are getting busy. Hopefully it is done soon. I want the pass back.
hope>hype
It’s 2019 and the bouys aren’t working still eh? I grew up monitoring these guys and I don’t ever remember them being out for this long. I am assuming that the weather people are using the cornucopia of satellite information available vs ol data bouy for real-time observation.
Would love to look at 003’s data right now if she was still around.
it’s about money Abe- they are not getting the funding to repair the damage unexpected storms are causing taking out those buoys. they have a maintenance schedule but it should not take as long as it is. down here in PR 41115 was found near Portugal after Hurricane Maria and re positioned 3 miles NW of here within months but that was Caricoos the local crew that is taking care of weather monitoring here in PR and the Caribbean they are funded by the University partially… Crazy that the NDBC can’t get it done. 42003 is beyond vital for gulf hurricanes and the safety of all the gulf coast cities, inexcusable, seemingly political…
Anyone else notice the Sunset Beach EarthCam is gone?
its back up now- waves look almost knee high coming up
Just got back from Kauai. Got to surf Hanalei Bay, what an experience!!!
Stoked to come home for some waves, hopefully.
Stoked for you Heath! Kauai is so awesome… I almost missed my plane and did not want to come back 🙂
Would love to run into you while you’re here always see you in PR! Thanks for reporting! Still riding BAT?sure miss that guy?
That must’ve been an awesome adventure, Heath.
Beats going to Oahu? Less Crowded?
Happy Hunting, Gulfside, Micah. It’s about time there’s some waves while you’re here. Seems to never be up while you’re back in The Bay.
Thanks everyone. It was an awesome experience
Welcome back Heath. Just got out of the water in SoPine. Surprisingly fun nuggets out there in the waist high range.
Sunset Beach was firing waist plus sets 5-630 when I was out. Looks smaller this am on cam. Yeww
Have lots of boards if ya need long short mid and fish
Cool man all I have in Florida is my bat short board… would love a fish or fun shape. I’m in st Pete tomorrow night hit me up at info@aurasurf.com
how was the weekend of waves? what time of day has had the most surf?
If you need
I surfed south Pinellas at dawn today. Chest high with a couple plus sets and winds were light until about 8:15am but still is super fun.
Down here the am has had a little lighter wind and tide seems to work better lining this weak swell up. Incoming tide pushes the size up a bit but makes it very peaky in the afternoon/ pm. Overall a hard swell to surf if you don’t have a lot of foam but there are some gulf gems out there. Looking at the cams this am and finding it hard to get out of bed. If you head down here Micah, you can borrow one of my logs or fish. I hope the waves bounce back up today/tomorrow ?
I popped out to Sunset on Sunday evening and caught some fun little nugz. The waves started to clean up a little and had a little potential showing. But then the wind turned back on, tide dropped, and it got a little wierd. Still a lot of fun on my big fat fish. And I am just happy to get in the water once in a while with a wave around.
it got fun. took long enough tho lol.
Caught some fun waves at Rincon Point yesterday evening! Was driving by on the 1 and saw a set and went bananas! Bucket list surf spot for sure and the waves were soooooo Long!
From Ericito: Caught some fun waves at Rincon Point yesterday evening! Was driving by on the 1 and saw a set and went bananas! Bucket list surf spot for sure and the waves were soooooo Long!
Ericito give us the dirt- we saw that swell on SL, so cool you scored it how long were the rights at the queen of the coast and how many people out?
Glad to see someone scored today. Checked a few spots pretty hard this am but ended up going to the movies. A crazy windstorm just ripped through Sarasota and is bumping the waves up a bit. Hoping it’ll hold and I’m going in on the back half of this storm ??