OK, so there has not been any wind for a long time. Soon come with September around the corner. But the in the meantime Hurricane Bill sent us the best surfing conditions I have seen in Florida for YEARS, and from my experiences and the footage I have seen online, it looks like good old St. Augustine may have gotten the best of it! The wind was offshore most of the day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Most of the time it seems like on bigger swells the outside break is better on lower tide, but not on this swell. The pier was breaking best from mid to high tide, and top to bottom on the bigger sets which were SOLID double-overhead. It is not often that you can say that here in Florida. And the good thing was that there was a break in between sets where you could easily paddle out. There is much more footage and photos to come, but we will start this one out with a photo of Dave Slemp paddleboarding at the pier Saturday afternoon, and some video from Flagler Pier Saturday morning. Enjoy!

Here are some more great photos:
http://www.vrphoto.net/Sports/Hurricane-Swells/Hurricane-Bill/9388156_aTv2Z#628709396_V4qgR

Here is the latest gallery. There are some photos of my biggest left in front of the pier on pages 3 and 4, as well as diving out on the right. Video coming up next:
http://www.ccolemanphotography.com/Surf/2009/Classic-Hurricane-Bill/

Check out this video that was shot by DJ Ragga and his wife Dawn last Saturday from the St. Augustine Pier.



Download the IPod/Apple TV version:
http://www.oceanextremesports.com/vid/bill_pier.m4v

Nice pics Eddie!
I ended up buckling my SUP Friday night on a nice size wave...
Currently getting repaired....back in action soon

Do you have one of the Starboard's yet? I can't imagine trying to ride my big boat on those waves. I would have gotten killed on that late drop on the left. The new boards definitely make surfing easier with the little flip in the nose. That 9'8" x 30" with the pulled in tail worked really well in the bigger surf. We are going to be selling the rentals soon if you want a deal on a used one? Gotta get some out the door to make room for new stuff.

Swell from Danny should start filling in tomorrow morning. Back on it! Surfline is calling for 7-8 feet 12 second intervals by afternoon, and could be more if it strengthens overnight. Maybe some wind? Probably a better chance up your way. I heard north jetty was really good on this swell also. Did you check it at all? No reason to travel here between Matanzas and the pier, was FIRING.

Here is some video of Garrett McNamara SUPing at a right point in Rhode Island during the swell from Hurricane Bill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k0uWUlhE5s

Nope, still have my 10'6 Kites ETC board...that thing has lasted me a year and a half, which is a record for me...still like it a lot, and it does well in any of the normal surf we get around here... once it dies and can't be fixed anymore, I'll take a look at the Starboards... I did ride that pocket rocket that one day and it was sweet....

I watched that video and I think he is lucky he didn't get his @ss kicked by the locals. He almost ran over about 10 guys... In my opinion, riding a SUP is very similar to kiting in the waves.... you can catch a lot more waves than the "normal" surfers, but you should not get in their way too much...... anyway, it was some nice waves he caught though...

Here are some more photos from Bill. The last sequence was taken by Jen Jones, a local photographer here in St. Augustine. Here is a link to her website where you can see more:
http://jentakespictures.zenfolio.com/p755567267/

Yeah, I see your point about SUPing in crowds. I was fortunate the day I went out at the pier, because there were a bunch of guys, but they were staying in one pack, and the drift was so bad that they did not stay in front of the pier for long. There were so many peaks that day that I was able to find a peak to myself and not bother anyone else. I always give normal surfers the right of way, and if someone is paddling for the wave I will back off and give it to them. It is not fair otherwise. But that day the big sets were going unridden, and that is a shame. The fact is that most of those surfers had never even seen waves like that, much less ridden them, and they were out of shape and rhythm for the kind of chunks that Bill had to throw at them Saturday morning as the tide filled in.

As for Garrett, he is from Hawaii and definitely comfortable in crowded conditions having SUPed at Pipe, Sunset, etc. on heavy days. The wave he was surfing in Rhode Island is a point break with a single main takeoff point, and everyone in New England knew that it would be good that day. However, having surfed up there a few times, there are a few other points very close by that would have been ON FIRE that day with noone out. If I was Garrett on the ski, I would have ventured somewhere with less people out, and who knows, maybe they did.

Garrett's Vid makes ya cringe, looked like he was pissed off at all the surfers and trying to cut them in half.

I'm very jealous we didnt get any fun out of the Hurricanes yet up here the Gulf is a Lake. Eddie nice riding man thos pics were sick. And the waves OMG what the crap perfect.

Eddie,
More great pics..you were killing it out there..
Yeah, I know you watch out for others...wasn't implying that...just saying the guy in the video didn't seem to be.. still great riding though...

So, what model is that you are riding?

SICK PICS EDDIE! Killing it!

The board is the 9'8"x30" Starboard Element that we have for rent or demo at the shop:
http://www.star-board-sup.com/products/bd_element.php

Even though it is 30" wide, it is a very different board from the 9'0"x30" or even the 9'8"x30" from last year. This year's model is a pulled in pin tail, so it works well in bigger surf. But I have found that it works equally well in head high peelers. In the waist to chest high range the smaller fishes are better for getting speed and quicker rail to rail turns. At this point I am leaning towards the 9'8"x28.5" Super Fish that we have in the shop, but I have not ridden it yet. The tail is actually wider than the 9'0"x30" on the Super Fish, with a straighter rail line and tri-fin setup. I do like the quad-fin setup on the 8'5" and 9'0" though, and several people have gotten them and really love that board.

Should be epic SUP conditions in the morning down at Matanzas again, and might have to break out the helmetcam for some more footage. Forecasts are calling for 6 foot ground swell and offshore winds, which is exactly how it was the last day of the Bill swell, and Matanzas was perfect head high sets and peeling.

Thanks Eddie,
I'm trying to decide between the 9.0 x 30 stinger or the 9.8 x 28.5 Super fish... Which one would do you think would turn better in the smaller "normal" florida waves? Also, I assume hte 9.8 would catch waves earlier do the extra length and glide????

Kitenb - you should be looking at the 8'5" pocket rocket. I have both that and the 9' and I don't even use the 9' any more (my wife has inherited it...).. Every time I get on the 9', I am ready to move back to the 8'-5", I have so much more fun on it...it has plenty of glide in the ankle snappers.

It also has plenty of float and stability for me at about 170 lbs, and it turns so much faster than the 9'. I find it can do true off the lips and cutbacks/slashes, the 9' is substantially slower to redirect. I also find I catch more waves with it too, can turn/spin it quicker when paddling in front of the wave, and also can take later drops as well, not so much board and volume to deal with. You are welcome to come up and try mine anytime you like.

Thanks for the input John. I agree that the Pocket Rocket is a blast to ride, but I think it is better for light weight SUPers. I have not ridden it in bigger surf, but I did demo it for 4 days in waist to chest high conditions and had a blast! You are right, nothing compares in terms of maneuverability. And agree about being able to spin around in a tight spot, and catch more waves. You have to plan ahead a little more on the bigger boards, but I took my 10'10" out on Saturday morning at Matanzas and had a blast.

The 9'8" Super Fish is a different board, but it has design elements that I like as well. It is only 28.5 wide in the middle, which is better for rail to rail turns going faster on bigger waves. But the tail is actually wider than the 9'0", which I think will give it plenty of get up and go on the smaller surf. The biggest difference is the glide, which you lose on the 8'5" and 9'0". I loved riding the 8'5", but you definitely have to put yourself in the right position on the wave in order to catch it. With the 9'8" you can start paddling ahead of time and be out the back, and have plenty of momentum to still catch the wave easily, even if you weight around 200 pounds. I do wish that they made the 9'8" with a quad-fin option (5-fin setup so you can switch from 3 to 4), but it would be easy enough to get a couple of fin boxes installed.

I like the Pocket Rocket, Super Fish, and Element. Can I get all 3 of them???