So, one of my Girls I surf with is moving to near Wilmington Delaware next month. She has been long boarding for a year, age in low 50s. She hopes to find a good "beginner" type break after she moves... So I told her I would ask here. She's pretty excited about it, looking into cold water gear.
Shoot, she might as well hit New Jersey if she's in Wilmington. Ocean City accomodates all skill levels, and the further south of OC you go, the weaker it gets. Until you hit Cape May on a raging NE swell. Most of Delaware is shorebreak-ish type stuff not exactly conducive to a mellow long board session. And these Delaware guys on here are mean, and probably won't give up their spots. Yeah, have her go to Jersey.
its not like theres these great spots that magically get waves while other beaches are not. . . . go and explore, you shall find. . .or not
Betty - SJB is right. Delaware has only a few spots to surf, they are about an hour and a half from Wilmington, crowded and your friend will be disappointed - trust me. If I lived in Wilmington Delaware and was looking for closest beginner/log waves, I would be going to South Jersey - Wildwood, Cape May, Strathmere. All good longboard waves and about 90 mins from Wilm. Assateague Maryland is about 2 hours south from Wilmington, is pretty much an easy longboard wave, and crowding is never a bit deal.
No really sure how we got this label? Give up our spots, there is only like 3 in the state, whats to give up? For the amount of coast line DE has, we do have very limited actual surf areas. Lewes, Tower Rd or the Inlet are about it. The beach and wave conditions change frequently due to erosion and then the sand pumping. Jersey does hold a better swell, but DE has it's days. The good thing is, OC and Assateague are not far. Good luck and have fun!
Hi Betty, I live in Delaware. The other guys are right that your friend will have about the same drive to the Delaware or Jersey Shore beaches. They are very different scenes, and I would encourage her to explore both areas. Jersey on average will have a lot more options of surf breaks, but Delaware and Maryland can get quite good, but just not as many surf break options. Heading down to the Delaware beach is so easy though, its just one highway all the way down with barely any lights and the beaches and towns in Delaware are nice.
Thought you re-located to the dirty jerz some time ago....? My 2 centavos on those lovely DEL beach towns, yes they are, and they are also loaded with pork. You go through DewMe Beach or any of those places even 5 mph over & those piglets will nail your pretty lil arse. It's just one speed trap after another. Probably the only place I've ever driven where whatever it says on the speed limit sign, well, you better be doing that #. Forewarned is forewarned.
Jersey all the way! The time that I have spent in the years past in de certainly upholds what someone else mentioned about shore break - not too many sand bars... There's many places in jersey
Yah.....do tell about your great white. Prolly a sandbar shark, not whitey. Sandbars are known for their 4' long reefed tails. Combined with that case of Schmudwiper you consumed it probably looked like Bruce the Shark out there on 611. As for the people: haven't seen too many 350-drivin' dykes with spikes, but yah, we got dolphins, whales, deer, foxes & the wild horses are absolutely not to be fooked with. Mostly, now that it's summer, you're looking at cig smokin' Bud Lite pounding cackling loud morons from Balto ("hey hon") with their raised pickups. And that's just the fat women in their bikins. BTW.....what has happened to America? Fat people used to be hidden. Now, they think they're hot or something. WTF. And those jacked up pickups. It's the big diick contest in reverse: it's gonna be a fat little banty rooster of a man with tatts who hops out of one of those raised pickups....the higher the truck, the more insecure the fella.
Threshers are all over that area, but I'd be really interested to hear if baddy really saw a white...been surfing there for years and never saw a shark there. In other news, some kid got bit by a shark at Cape Henlopen today and the park is shut down tomorrow morning so marine biologists can search for signs of a shark. Apparently, the kid was standing in about 5 foot of water when he was wrapped up by something and bitten. What freaks me out about this report is that I surfed Henlopen the day before Thanksgiving and after catching a wave I stepped off my board and felt something wrap around my legs... Didn't take me too long to jump back on my board...that is an eerie feeling...when you can't see what the hell it is.
hoo-ah, little close for comfort. eeks. my gw sighting went like this: i'm at the beach in assateague; sitting in a lawn chair, beer in hand, one fishing rod out and it was drizzling. i see "surface splash activity" but nothing else, then again, again, and again. then - like on the discovery channel - a 3 to 4 meter gw busts his move… a vertical full breach complete with multiple lateral spins. i saw the fish from every possible angle due to his spin and can tell you i struck by how powerful he looked especially his mid section. i pulled the fishing line in. nope, didn't want to catch his ass (w 20lbtest).
no assateague in summer. never. mozzies will eat you and your family and your truck. yankee FOR SURE alcohol was involved; yet it was early and i had less than a 6pack in gut. the only other memorable thing about it was when the fish was gone i looked up and down that 20 mile beach to see if anybody else had seen it. of course, i was on my own….
