Lack of crowds

[doc_flavonoid]

time to move back to california?

real estate at all time lows in SF, crowded surf not a factor anymore, legal weed AND fentanyl?

#vanlife here we come!

idk bob doobie paddle out on the north end to a pack of 50 like there were extra waves to be had.

must be normal lite

by contrast i was enjoying a solo sess out the back on a big board when not one but two guys decided to paddle out and bunker.

had to stifle my inner dale and not go off

"youve got the whole farkin beach with nobody out and you farkin paddle out and sit under me?!?.literally 3 miles of the same sh!t and look nobody. what the fark are u farkin thinking?"

 

[ElOgro]

Yeah - the other day i checked 3 different sites for the forecast that day .... if i didn't know any better i would have thought they were for 3 different days. I miss MagicSeaweed.

It was a reasonable starting point. The only way to know is to go. You’ve been there long enough now to have it figured out. Long enough to take some beatings too!

 

[ElOgro]

idk bob doobie paddle out on the north end to a pack of 50 like there were extra waves to be had.

must be normal lite

by contrast i was enjoying a solo sess out the back on a big board when not one but two guys decided to paddle out and bunker.

had to stifle my inner dale and not go off

"youve got the whole farkin beach with nobody out and you farkin paddle out and sit under me?!?.literally 3 miles of the same sh!t and look nobody. what the fark are u farkin thinking?"

All of your hard earned waves are now belonging to someone else!

 

[santacruzin]

didnt this happen like over a year ago already? or did some new thing just drop?

second wave of more serious mandates. I am full remote but coworkers are in the office 4 days a week now.
also wishful thinking by me

 

[StuAzole]

There were at least 15 cameras on the beach at S Oside Pier this weekend. Lowers season is clearly over. “Less crowded than normal“ did not enter my mind.

That said, lots of waves so it all worked out.

 

[EastCoastBrah]

surfline really drives a lot of crowds.

 

[Rickoray]

Been scoring with light crowds in my zone... glassy evenings are the best... trunked it logging this evening... so fun!

 

[ElOgro]

Been scoring with light crowds in my zone... glassy evenings are the best... trunked it logging this evening... so fun!

That was one of my afternoon spots driving home to San Clemente from Laguna 75ish.

 

[sdsrfr]

I think cold air spooks people more than cold water.

Morning air temps have been frigid. Never mind it’s 30deg warmer by midday.

 

[Rickoray]

That was one of my afternoon spots driving home to San Clemente from Laguna 75ish.

Bingo! Classic sliding this evening...

 

[sussle]

here in SE NC, we just had an awesome weekend of 70 degree water/80 degree air/3'-4' @ 13 seconds, which is just about right for us....but I swear, crowds are a fraction of what they used to be 10 years ago. what used to be 20/30/40 guys out at the popular breaks are now more like 10-15 people and i have no idea why. lots of the crowd used to be UNC bros and maybe surfers go to other schools now or maybe a lot of the guys in my age group have just hung it up altogether?
anyway, yeah, it's definitely not as crowded as it used to be. ymmv.

 

[Goofy_Footed]

Wish I was experiencing the same here. Between Surfline and local surf reports with pictures and video, our premium spots are more crowded than ever.

We used to be able to surf the northern spot on off-tides and get it all to ourselves. Now that there's constant online documentation of the conditions, everyone and their brother knows when it's good, or even just rideable. And it's one thing when it's a crowd of people who can actually surf, I can handle that, but a crowd of kooks gets my blood boiling.

 

[oneworlded]

here in SE NC, we just had an awesome weekend of 70 degree water/80 degree air/3'-4' @ 13 seconds, which is just about right for us....but I swear, crowds are a fraction of what they used to be 10 years ago. what used to be 20/30/40 guys out at the popular breaks are now more like 10-15 people and i have no idea why. lots of the crowd used to be UNC bros and maybe surfers go to other schools now or maybe a lot of the guys in my age group have just hung it up altogether?
anyway, yeah, it's definitely not as crowded as it used to be. ymmv.

Folly Beach SC is the opposite. As Charleston grows, the kooks are rapidly multiplying.
That said, if you know where to look - still plenty of empties to be found. I was out solo yesterday in that same swell at one of our sand spits having a blast. No one else out as far as I could see. It was a little disconcerting actually.

 

[santacruzin]

I think cold air spooks people more than cold water.

Morning air temps have been frigid. Never mind it’s 30deg warmer by midday.

Great point

 

[sussle]

Folly Beach SC is the opposite. As Charleston grows, the kooks are rapidly multiplying.
That said, if you know where to look - still plenty of empties to be found. I was out solo yesterday in that same swell at one of our sand spits having a blast. No one else out as far as I could see. It was a little disconcerting actually.

yup, that's the upside of having miles of EC beach breaks in front of you - if there's a swell at my local, it's likely breaking up and down the island. "popular break" has more to do with the availability of parking than anything else. it's the same swell all over and it's not hard to just move down the beach as needed.

 

[Goofy_Footed]

yup, that's the upside of having miles of EC beach breaks in front of you - if there's a swell at my local, it's likely breaking up and down the island. "popular break" has more to do with the availability of parking than anything else. it's the same swell all over and it's not hard to just move down the beach as needed.

Kinda used to be like that here too, but all of the other sandbars, outside of the two main breaks, have been sh!t since like May. Summer pushed all the sand up onto the beach and now it’s either super deep, unrideable shorepound at high, or utter mush, deep outside bar at low. Praying that changes here soon. I like surfing solo.

 

[Sharkbiscuit]

Kinda used to be like that here too, but all of the other sandbars, outside of the two main breaks, have been sh!t since like May. Summer pushed all the sand up onto the beach and now it’s either super deep, unrideable shorepound at high, or utter mush, deep outside bar at low. Praying that changes here soon. I like surfing solo.

???

IMHO a couple hundred yards south of 123FunboardReport the low tide sandbar is more than shallow enough and the crowd - unless it's a hyped offshore weekend - is totally mellow.
IMHO about 12 blocks South of the water polo bumper boards zoo has been do-able at mid-high.

YMMV

However I have to say after his many Nor'easters I expected the high tide situation at Slopteenth North to improve and it hasn't.

 

[sussle]

Kinda used to be like that here too, but all of the other sandbars, outside of the two main breaks, have been sh!t since like May. Summer pushed all the sand up onto the beach and now it’s either super deep, unrideable shorepound at high, or utter mush, deep outside bar at low. Praying that changes here soon. I like surfing solo.

i feel that. for us, it depends on how the latest beach nourishment project got pushed around by the subsequent Nor'easters/hurricanes/winter storms/whatever. we had beach nourishment two years that has thus far left us with remarkably well groomed sand bars....but it doesn't always turn out like that.

the previous nourishment project left us with something like what you're describing....i can recall the year after, there was like a 20 minute window of rideable surf either side of low tide and that was pretty much it.

 

[Goofy_Footed]

???

IMHO a couple hundred yards south of 123FunboardReport the low tide sandbar is more than shallow enough and the crowd - unless it's a hyped offshore weekend - is totally mellow.
IMHO about 12 blocks South of the water polo bumper boards zoo has been do-able at mid-high.

YMMV

However I have to say after his many Nor'easters I expected the high tide situation at Slopteenth North to improve and it hasn't.

True, I forgot about that one. Although, honestly I usually venture north there, instead of south. I live in AB and their have been a couple decent low tide days behind the house, but nothing like years past. I'm just angry because I missed Saturday-Yesterday due to Covid

 

[Autoprax]

Folly Beach SC is the opposite. As Charleston grows, the kooks are rapidly multiplying.
That said, if you know where to look - still plenty of empties to be found. I was out solo yesterday in that same swell at one of our sand spits having a blast. No one else out as far as I could see. It was a little disconcerting actually.

Aren't there spots you can boat to too?