So, Assateague and Ocean City...what's the deal?

I see that there are plenty of Delmarva folks in the forum.

Yesterday I was riding sweeping lefts with an in-and-out barrel section and bowly turn section that led to a mushy wall section or thumping close-out on the bigger ones. By myself. For hours. On Assateague Island. No, I do not need company, nor do the thumping waves or potential wildlife keep me from surfing hours on end all alone. Which got me thinking.

I'm almost always by completely myself. I've surfed OC and there were a ish ton of people out. What am I missing? Am I missing something? I see people all the time look at the waves on AI then get back in their car and head somewhere else.

Maybe I should preface my query by saying I am not from Delmarva. I have the dishonor of living in DC for 2 years, 12 months of which has already expired. Making it out to surf requires tremendous effort and planning resulting in me surfing maybe 18 times over the last year. I generally look at several forecasts and pick which part of Delmarva to surf. No time to surf check more than a few peaks in a chosen area. I almost always surf weekdays, try to only go when the forecast is head high-ish, and usually paddle right around dawn. I had a spot in north OC I surfed the first couple of times here, but a two good skunkenings early last summer/late spring, I have largely abandoned it for AI.

Disclaimer. I think the many of the surfers who grew up riding here are lighting fast shredders and good lil' barrel riders. The times I have surfed in crowds, I'm genuinely impressed by the local standouts. Especially because coming from somewhere else, I find the waves to generally be of poor quality, even when they are good. They are not easy to flawlessly rip on.

So back to my question. Not talking specific spots, but rather just one 20ish mile chunk of beach compared to another, does OC generally hold a better wave on sizable/ properly angled swell? At the moment my mind is telling me AI seems a bit soft and difficult to properly combo up with maneuvers while those sessions last year in OC the inside sections seemed so much crisper.

Thoughts? How would you characterize the differences?

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the first ish was in place of shit. The second ish was for measurement i.e.. roughly head high

 

Hai. I did one a year ago. It is dumpy shore pound but it has its moments. True, but I can't help but wonder because I see folks look at it and leave. Arigato.

 

If I can't say it I won't surf it

 

Ok. Thanks for the feedback. It's hard to tell with the times I surf, time constraints, and in general not being too dialed into east coast surf. I only went to Assateague because of back to back getting skunked in OC last spring. One day I thought just sucked and the other was forecast to be waist high and was flat, not even a ripple. That time I went to AI and there was a fun wave as the tide dropped. I guess I took it as it was always better at AI. Arigato.

 

What would you call OC proper?

 

Agreed. As I walked up the back up beach Thursday, a herd of six horses trotted by. Arigato.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I considered that it might all just be a toss up. I do generally try to only go in optimal conditions (swell size, tide change, swell angle, period, and offshores). Not mad at AI in prime conditions, except when it comes to linking multiple maneuvers. Seemed soft after the first section and I was looking for more. I tend to surf up to the level in the water, be it the conditions or crowd. When its just me and I am not 100% feeling it... I guess I'm just trying to get the most for my effort because it takes a lot. Arigato.

Note: I shoved bamboo slivers under my fingernails while I typed this.