Matt Lusk - As Good As It Gets

Outer Banks surf is a fickle companion.  The swell, direction and height, must match the contours of the beach.  The shifting sandbars must be just the right height to fit like a puzzle piece with the swell rolling in.  The tides can’t be too high or too low.  The ever-changing winds must be out of the right direction to to meet the swell head on.  But not too heavy, and not too light…just right.

With the right combination of swell, beach, tides, and winds the OBX surf can be amazing…world-class even, but with all those variables shifting constantly, it’s a wonder we get the right alignment at all. 

Luckily, the Outer Banks offers some great advantages for surfers.  First, since the OBX sticks out into the Atlantic so far, it offers one of the shortest continental shelves on the East Coast.  This means the size and strenght of the waves steaming toward the Outer Banks does not degrade as much as most East Coast locations.  Secondly, the OBX curves in a horseshoe-like fashion from Corolla to Hatteras.  So, Outer Banks beaches can handle a wide variety of swell/wind combintions. 

However, this does make it tricky to find the right spot at the right time.  There is a lot of beach to cover, the sandbars are continuously shifting, and the winds on the Outer Banks can be a complete mystery…strong, light, north, south, east, west…always changing. 

We struggle with surf forecasts all the time.  Reports may look great.  Surfers truck in from up and down the coast, and we all get skunked because something changes; the swell doesn’t materialize like we thought or the winds don’t cooperate.  So is the nature of surfing.  Flexibility and patience are a must. 

Then there are days when the reports may not look good, but magically the conditions clean up and a surprise session sneaks up on us.  No one has time to travel.  Either you are lucky enough to be on it, or you miss it. 

Such is the fickle nature of OBX surf…really surf in general. 

On Monday, I started the day with a morning Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report, and in the report I mentioned that there was swell coming in, but the winds weren’t matching up to clean up the waves.  And I was right at 9:00 AM…where I was anyway.  I then carried on with my day not paying much more attention to the surf.  Little did I know, it was going off. 

Some of the OBX magic snuck up on us.  Six to eight foot heaving, chocolate colored barrels.  The winds laid off and the swell picked up.  A beautiful fall day with the sun shining, temps in the mid 60′s, and the water temps matching the air temps.  A perfect Outer Banks surf day?

There’s been a lot of talk online and in the coffee shops about how great it was, and I’ve heard more than one reliable source refer to Monday’s surf by saying it was “as good as it gets.” 

And I missed it…ouch!  Well, you can’t get every wave, and the brilliance of the Outer Banks is that I know there will be another perfect day just around the corner.

Pictures of Monday’s surf are starting to migrate online.

The legendary OBX surf photographer Mickey “2M” McCarthy posted a bunch on his FaceBook page titled “Perfect Waves Sweep Avon and the Lighthouse!  11.8.10.”   

Matt Lusk posted some amazing pictures titled “As Good as It Gets” on his blog (one of his photos is above).  As a side note, Matt is also featured all over the December issue of Surfer magazine…it’s awesome to see OBX surf with so much coverage!  Great work Matt!

As I’ve mentioned here before, we’re still in the waiting period for the Battle of the Banks surf contest, but unfortunately they chose to sit this swell out in hopes of bigger and badder swell heading in towards the end of the is week.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Here’s the latest update from the Battle of the Banks FaceBook page:

Looks like we are going to see a prolonged run of solid surf late this week, over the weekend with fading surf for early next week. We need to watch the winds/swell as the storm pulls away as we may see things try to come together for us. Still a ways out but worth keeping an eye on. -KURT (SURFLINE)

Lastly on the OBX surf front, here’s a link to a great video from local OBX surfers and local surf shop 158 Surf & Skate, highlighting some of the fall surf.  Enjoy!