Good on the international scale? No, but it was fun and there was very little wait time. Catch one, ride it in, paddle back out and then repeat. 2nd Light was a blast too when it was nothing but a cliff of concrete rubble. We had some super sessions out there, especially when the north swells would sweep across the Rock Garden. Nice peeling walls with enough get up and go to get up and go. McLaren chuggin beers and hooting on the conch shell. When you heard it blow, you headed east; a set was on the way. Rudolph smashing lips. Kech in for a session after dropping boards at QF. Sharon Wolfe with her smooth style. Helvie on his ugly blue Natural Arts. Randy Caldwell catching the sets (it ain't nothin new RCs people), Lee surfing leashless over the rocks right after I fixed his board after it went into the rocks, his brother Davey ripping as a grom and a host of other regulars who made it a damn fine time.



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I was right.

Edited: 06/20/2023 at 08:30 PM by Cole

And, trying to safely climb over that cliff of boulders at high tide on a big swell.

RE : Rock Gardens : Fucking Kirshenbaum and his law suit against the Army Corps of Engineers is what killed our breaks . It broke way farther out back then as well , I can remember catching waves at Rock Gardens way North of the Parking Lot and ridding them past the end of the South Lot , Like Two block long rides . There where Two back to back winters (1998 -1999 ? ) were it was actually better at 2nd Light then it was at RCS .All the sand had been stripped off of the Coquina and the bottom was perfect . The entire RCS crew relocated to the Light , Randy , George , Mcmillian , Little Mike and all the rest . Cole : You left out Matt Belinia , who practically owned the break and was there 24 /7 -----also Jimmys call to arms was actually an old fashioned car horn , not a conch shell . : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqc6yRIHiW0

Edited: 06/21/2023 at 06:38 PM by JOESTRUMMER

In the immortal words of Pete Dooley:
" It was better back then."

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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

I left you, Belina, Satcher, Ingrid, Techno, Modelo Mike, the occasional Slater - Kelly was all Inlet - and a host of other characters out. Fun times for sure.



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I was right.

I have been in Wilmington now for 2 years and was in Cocoa Beach for 14 years (pre and post dredge and fill). I remember the 6 weeks of flatness in January and June in CB but in my opinion, Brevard is better. Here it has been waist high or less for months. There are one or two good spots within a 50 minute drive in this part of NC. You can drive north 90 minutes to get it offshore when the winds howl from the north, but the form isn't great. And the dredge projects here have killed the waves here just like in Cocoa Beach. The traffic is getting worse with new housing going up every week, and there is no A1A so you have to drive inland to get from Carolina Beach up to Wrightsville, and from there to Figure Eight or Topsail. Brevard has near shore reef breaks, and you can drive an hour or two north or south to pickup swell in NSB or Reef Road. In Wilmington you have to drive to Hatteras which looks close but is still 4.5 hours away.

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http://www.crsurf.com ~ CR Surf Travel Company

http://www.vacationsbygreg.com
Instagram - @crsurf

I'm guessing the Winter gets pretty good in the Wrightsville area. Is a 5-3 with gloves and hood necessary? Water Temp probably stays comfortable through November and gets warm again in March.

Edited: 06/24/2023 at 01:13 PM by eastcoastersrule

Winter is good (or used to be) Strong Nor'Easters from Lows off the Carolina's or North (Delmarva-NJ/NY) produce stiff NE winds and good windswell/swell with hard North winds BUT in that area there is a spot that shines in those conditions to make a really fun/sizable semi-clean beachbreak. Water temp used to only go down to 50-51 degrees at the coldest, Full suit (3/2 or 4/3). Full Suit required from 70-63 degrees (early Winter early Spring)...Full suit and booties from 63-55 degrees, then break out the gloves from 55-50 degrees. Some wore a hood if the wind chill is real bad, not needed but nice. North windswell/swell head to the island...S/SE windswell/swell head to Holden Beach Pier. The ONLY advantage FL has is warmer water but that comes with many more big toothy creatures. Sand sharks (mostly small ones) are very common in the Carolina's but not as many Bulls or Tigers IMO.