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September 15, 2008
September Surf: Chasing the storms and the waves
With Slideshow By DANIEL PULLEN  If
you happened to glance at a weather map at the beginning of September,
you would have come to the conclusion that the Atlantic Ocean was alive
with activity. You didn’t need to have a degree in meteorology to
realize that there would be a lot of swell marching towards the Outer
Banks over the coming days and weeks. With Hanna waiting to
pounce, Ike looming in the shadows, and an unnamed low off the coast of
North Carolina, there would be no lack of swell for a couple of weeks.During the first weekend of the month, I decided to try to chase the swell with some friends, just a little south of Ocracoke. My previous experiences chasing the waves have been filled with good surf, but rain and clouds prohibited me from getting great photos. This time the swell was decent and, to my delight, it was sunny and beautiful. My plan was to leave Sunday evening and take the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke, and then from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. Once I got to Cedar Island, I would drive to Beaufort and sleep in my van, waiting for my ride across the sound to the barrier island at 5.30 a.m. Things worked as planned. I love it when a plan comes together. Although the surf never really panned out the way it was supposed to, it was still an unreal time. The next day, after I got back to the Hatteras Island, I was able to shoot in Rodanthe. The surf had gotten rough, and at one point, I was pinned to the bottom by a 5-foot wave in about 6 inches of water. I got some good shots, but I hadn’t planned on bruising my ribs and my ego that day -- but, oh well. One of the best water surf photographers in the world, Scott Aichner, was out in the water shooting as well. It was really neat to watch this guy put himself in heavy situations to get the shots he needed. It was good learning experience for me that I would use a few days later in pretty large surf. We probably had some of the prettiest conditions you could ask for on Sept. 3 and 4. The water was emerald green and the texture was perfect. Sunburned faces and broken boards sufficiently told the story of the week’s surf. Hanna had her sites set on us for the next weekend but we never got much surf from the storm. By Sunday, Sept. 7, Ike was producing some nice swell. Though the storm didn’t come close to us, the surf at the lighthouse was the biggest it had been since May. The first couple of weeks of September brought with them a nice run of surf. But now it’s back to business as usual -- waiting for the next storm. Click Here To View Slideshow |
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