In a Nutshell:
Certifiable fun for all of the 3-1/2 days... everyone went home with a
smile or more. Can't really blame a couple of the no-shows since they
would have had to turn around quickly... come earlier and plan to stay
longer next time!
We had a good sized contingent at this year's GP... AS'ers from NC, VA,
MD, TX and CA; a visitor from N. Oregon; and some folks from Balto-DC
area.
More reports
to come... now to see if we dance with Ophelia in Maryland, Delaware or
NJ. :) <------- (that is a smile)
alt.surfing Rod request: And by all means, "Keep the thermos in the State of Washington!"
Pre-GuidoPalooza
Thu Sep 1, 2005. TD14 just formed in the Central Atlantic. It is
forecast to become a named storm, Maria and it's track as a wave
producer would precede GP. This would imply that a GP wave producer would be named Nate or Ophelia... wow,
already in early Sept we're up to "N" and "O" for names. Hope that
doesn't spell NO for GP!
Monday Sep 5, 2005. Hope these maps/links are helpful. I filled 3/4 tank for my Honda Oddyssey yesterday at $48.
Friday:
My main objective is to grab a good night's sleep before my planned
dawn's departure tomorrow. Storm surf is lining up nicely.
alt.surfing experts: "Looks like there's a bit of swell coming but the weather isn't
helping. Hard onshores are forecast for the whole weekend and well into next week."
Rod's response: "We will venture to underneath the hook and... pray." The forecast:
SURF SURF DIR SWELL PERIOD
WIND WND/DIR
(ft) (deg)
(ft) (sec) (kts) (deg)
------- -------- ----- ------ -------
-------
9/10 8am 2 - 5 E
87 5.7 8.4 17 -
23 ENE 63
9/10 2pm 2 - 4 E
81 6.7 5.5 19 -
25 ENE 59
9/11 8am 5 - 11 E
82 13.0 7.6 25 -
35 ENE 60
9/11 2pm 6 - 12 E
84 13.1 7.9 25 -
33 ENE 66
9/12 8am 5 - 10 ESE 101
11.8 7.6 19 - 25
E 90
9/12 2pm 4 - 9 ESE 110
11.0 7.5 16 - 21 ESE 101
9/13 8am 7 - 15 SSE 157 12.0 10.9 21 - 29 ESE 103
9/13 2pm 9 - 18 SSE 158 14.0 11.2 23 - 32 ESE 111
alt.surfing sympathetic experts: snip >20knot onshores. so you guys gonna surf or what? any possibility for shelter from the wind? good luck with the gp. maybe you'll get lucky.
My Sat, 3:45am reply: Yes, on-shores if you are at the Lighthouse.
There are no headlands of great pocket coves, but check the map...
Luck? This is a science, not magic sticks. Off to GP!!!
GuidoPalooza
Saturday:
We left the house at the crack of dawn, maybe earlier. Despite the
Katrina induced gas shortages, and spiking prices, there seems to be
plenty of supply for the trip south. We refilled at the usual spot in
the Newport News area, grabbed a cappuccino and scone, and continued
south. Watched the gas prices and supplies and topped off in Kitty Hawk.
Check the surf in a few places along the way but nothing is working on
the drive south. It's too early to check-in and we don't have a 4WD on
this trip and nobody else with 4WD has checked in yet. We go to the
grocers for stocking up the GP house. Still can't check-in (2pm). This
is odd. Guess they're serious about making money with this "early
check-in" surcharge. We're told that the cleaners and inspectors have
not finished up. Venture over to the house and drink some beers with
other GP'er's on the porch. Try again at 3pm - no dice. Finally, at
3:45pm it is good to go. We stock the house and unload the non-surfing
gear. Regroup. Jeff Cahill shows and Neal Carver is arriving shortly.
We caucus. There are two places that support these winds and one is
much closer. We go check The H**k and find peelers with strong
offshores.
It's fun to be out in warm water surf again with friends. The waves
look inviting. I don't have much luck, however, because the waves are
simply too sloped along with the strong offshores to get a good drop
and momentum. The longboarders are having much more luck (and fun).
Myroni's new board that he shaped and glassed is working like a charm
and he contines with a sh*t eating grin the next couple of days.
The night closes late with Svetlana's Super Nachos and some cold liquids.
Good to see old friends.
alt.surfing experts: "Whatever, it looks like Ophelia is too close to
NC for good surf, but the models don't agree so who knows where it's
headed."
alt.surfing
experts: "Looks kind of disorganized, too near shore, and not going
much of anywhere. Is it all sloppy and crummy, or is anyone on the EC
getting
quality waves at this time?" [see GP day storm sat pic below right.]
alt.surfing experts: "Victory at sea. Go north for better conditions."
alt.surfing experts: "Frisco
is totally blown out as is the lighthouse and further north. Cams don't
tell all but no matter where you look conditions are poor to worse on
the OBX. Wrightsville Beach isn't perfect but it is sideshore rather
than onshore."
alt.surfing experts: "Well , looks like it's going to be about the food." :)
alt.surfing experts: "It's always about the food... "
Sunday: We
headed out at a decent early hour, but not so early, as we planned our
morning venture around the incoming tides. Today was like yesterday but
with slightly more size. After several hours we packed up and headed
back to the cottage for Neal's brunch specia - blueberry pancakes and
bacon. In the late afternoon we headed back to the same spot, Neal and
Jeff handling the 4WD driving responsibilities. We surf late into
the afternoon only leaving after the sun set into the water. Double
session day!
Arriving back to GP HQ
late we decided to opt for pizza delivery instead of trying to cook up
a meal. The new pizza place in Avon really delivered! Good stuff for a
change on Hatteras Island.
alt.surfing experts: "With
the present track forecast there should be offshores at NC and SC
spots. The Outer Banks are *NOT* the place to be. They are in the
bulls eye of the storm which is *NOT* the place for surf.
Moreover, the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras is very hot so Ophelia will
probably intensify before landfall."
Monday:Another
double session day :) The morning was basically a repeat of Sat
and Sun with the slopey walls and strong offshores. Tough for me to
gain entry but the funshapes and longboarders are enjoying life. After
a few hours we're back to the shack for Neal's omelets to order.
Naptime. Waiting for PaipoJim and Allison to show. After they arrive we
quickly pack the vehicles and head back to our usual spot.
The storm is closing in and the size has picked up a couple of feet,
the wind hasn't really changed, but the waves are steeper. Let's go!
This afternoon was my best session of the trip. We setup the vehicles a
little further north than the peaks I was eyeing but the southern shore
current took care of that. I disappeared to the south and enjoyed every
second of it: take-off thrasings and fast, hard barrels. Jim and Rick
ended way on the outside hoping to pickoff some of the clean-ups sets -
not much luck there because they were mostly just rolling over. On the
inside the waves were hitting the sandbar with a vengeance. After
this evening's session I was looking forward to Tuesday morning's
anticipated larger waves.
alt.surfing experts: "GPK2K5 = Three days of onshore/VAS, followed by mandatory evacuation."
Rod replies, "Have you been to the Outer Banks? You should have joined
us... and shared! Nonetheless, you are correct about the Lighthouse,
Frisco; same
conditions in Rodanthe and Avon. But there were two areas to go. It was
amazing to spend the last few nights watching the sun set into the
western sky casting its reflections all across the ocean water...iirie."
alt.surfing experts: "What is this, 2 years out of the last 3 with an evac.? Rod , I think you should aim just a leettle towards off-peak season."
Rod replies, "We've had 3 days of windy weather and southern
groundswell... knowing where to go makes all the difference in the
world. We were right on with our selection week again, evac or not,
vbecause we're here to ride storm surf. Evac? Ha! That's life, that's
surfing :) Strong offshores let up this morning making for some very
fun, snappier surf for the prone to ride group. Blue skies, sunny, off
and on. We told the national guard to turn around and go grab their
boards."
Tuesday:
The GP'ers logged solid surf from Saturday through this morning
(although this a.m. was probably the smallest and weakest of the
batch). First two days featured strong offshores with a little
sideshore thrown in at our spot of choice; yesterday the winds were
light and offshore (who would have thought lighter). Surf ranged from
3-6' with maybe some larger sets thrown in yesterday afternoon. Monday
was my best day with the lighter winds and the waves pitching more than
the strong offshore days which was favoring the long/funboarders.
We received message while at the beach this morning about the 1pm
mandatory evacuation. Everyone left with big smiles after filling up
with some surf, eggs, homefries and bacon, along with an assortment of
juices, milks, cappys, etc. Too bad about the no-shows: Foon, SteveM,
Craig... they missed it. Great fun for Myron, PaipoJim, TD, Neal
Carver, RickM, KC Filer, Giles "Scarface" Cook, Jeff Cahill, DaGriz,
and myself. As usual, the food was great! Last night we dined on roast
pig (Giles), rice and beans & tostones (plantains) (Rod), corn
relish (Griz) and salad, plus a range of refreshments.
Guess we can't help but do this again next year... it is inevitable
since we ppd last night awards night to this evening (even though half
of the awards were someplace in Maryland) due to surfing into sundown.
P.S. Before last night's dinner we shared a sad moment of silence in respect for the MIA, or deceased, surfing santa.
Current plan is to wrap up GP Week with some fellow GP'ers in choppy
Delaware/Maryland or in cleaner tippy NJ (with hundreds of others no
doubt).
Post-GuidoPalooza Ext'd
Wednesday:
Thursday: Giles,
Jim and I might take you up on this. He has been in contact with Jeff
monitoring conditions/predictions and talking about a 4:30am run down
to Currituck/Kitty Hawk. I don't think the storm will cooperate with
this
plan but am checking the forecast every 4 hours or so. The forecasts
have me leaning towards the N. DelMarVa... so you might have some
company. Being at work sucks!
Friday: GuidoPalooza Extended
continued along the DelMarVa later in the week with some of the local
GP gang and a new GP'er from N. Oregon. Did some fire hosing at work on
Thur and headed down to the shore at 4:30am today for
two days of fun 'n surf. Today, PaipoJim and I surfed Assateague
National Seashore in somewhat messy and crummy looking conditions but
had a surprisingly good time riding the takeoffs and reforms. Even made
a pass by the Foonbunker on Friday late afternoon where I promptly
passed out ;)
Saturday: Saturday
morning was clean, offshore, firing, steep pocket rockets several
blocks up from a popular midtown spot. Turns out Foonie was down a
half-dozen streets shooting digital... sorry you didn't catch me in
living color!
Caught several in the chest to above range and then a few smaller ones
as the morning moved into spring full moon high tide swell killing
land. The first hour and a half left me breathless from constant
paddleout, turn, catch, ride, take a deep breath, repeat process.
PaipoJim and Paul Martin were also in the mix.
Tim Guy rode home with us from Minefields to the Bay50. Back at home,
Jim and I ran through several dark, cold ones while viewing hundreds of
his Oregon pics and hundreds of my PR shots. Minds blown and tired.
Some more pics from Surfingoc.com of DelMarVa catching the tail of Ophelia:
http://tinyurl.com/dr94y
http://tinyurl.com/dpev3
http://tinyurl.com/dz57b
See Foon's pics from Saturday.
BTW... did nobody say there would not be surf at GP this year??? LOL!!!!!
Giles: On behalf of PaipoJim and myself, many thanks for the hospitality on our
Extended Guidopalooza week in Delaware.
Foon replies: you're welcome ;)
Rod frantically responds: Aw shucks, many thanks are extended to Foon
and Joanne, too! Especially Joanne for encouraging me to passout (take
a nap) the other day ;)
Good group of folks. Again, I want to say the best ever, but we've had
so many good groups every year. GP'ers went surfing everyday and
everyone chipped in keeping a good GP house. No misadventures like last year's Foon's G&T meltdown and pitch forking event!
Food and adventures coming soon!
Report from Hatteras Realty
Hurricane Ophelia
10 AM Thursday, September 15, 2005
Good Morning from Avon, NC.
Current conditions: Blowey and rainey!
I
spoke with Marriane O’Neal, our Hatteras Village Office Broker. She
reports the power is off in Hatteras Village. A 25’ boat blew off the
trailer across from her house. As of this time there is no flooding and
the dunes have not been breached.
The local NC State Trooper just drove (9 AM) the entire length of
Hatteras Island to Oregon Inlet and across the bridge. He reports the
dunes are still intact with just a little sand near Pea Island. However
conditions are deteriorating minute by minute. Visibility on Hwy. 12
across from the Buxton Motels is a total white out. You can’t see
anything as the wind and the rain are whipping across the roadway.
I called Kim who lives in Brigand’s Bay in Frisco. Her power is also
off. All the water has been blown out of the canals. The water will be
back later today, that’s for sure.
Bob Barris lives in Buxton. He reports as of 7 AM the water is
completly blown out of the Buxton Harbor. The dunes in front of the
Coast Guard housing were still intact. Power is out in Buxton.
In Avon, half the village has power. The Hatteras Realty office still
has power, thank goodness. When it goes out, I sure hope our generator
kicks in. I feel like Noah of Noah’s Arc with all the kids, parents,
animals and what not riding out the storm in our 14,000 sf building.
Hurricane Ophelia is forecast to tract over the Villages of Hatteras, Frisco
and Buxton with the eye wall just offshore. According to the NOAA weather web
site, the eye wall is 40 miles across. Winds are 85 MPH sustained with
100 mph gusts. The wind is blowing about 70 mph in Hatteras Village and
about 60 mph here in Avon. The storm is only moving about 5 knots.
Normal moving storms of 15 -20 mph with the wind velocity of Hurricane
Opheila will cause minimal damage and flooding. The problem with this
storm is that of duration. The longer it lingers the more damage it
causes and the more sustained the
flooding. We will just have to wait and see.
A big "Thank You" of our departing guests who took the time to follow our
"Hurricane Preparation" task list before they left. That was of
tremendous help! After all our crews were done going through the house
zones, I sent our top management, Amy Helle, Stuart Pack, Wanda King,
Holly Austin, Pam Stoffel,
and Mike Harrington, armed with 3 sets of zone keys each, out about 2 PM
yesterday to do spot checks of the cottage tie downs. All of our houses have
been secured to the best of our ability.
|
GP Minus 11 Days -
GuidoPalooza Hopes... Maria 8/29/05
TS Long Range Forecast Update
@ 9 Days and Counting
GP Conga Line Update:
3 'Canes with 2 Days to Go
Ophelia Approaching
Day Before GP Kickoff Day with
Ophelia Blowing Nicely Our Way
Ophelia Track and Gulfstream
Oh, Ophelia!
|
