strong offshore winds

my suggestion: stick with swellinfo!

Hard offshore wind is one of my favorite conditions! You can get the best barrels and you can feel your board skipping over the water- like your going super fast! The only downfall is sometimes you have to drop in with your eyes closed since the water is usually spraying all over your face and into your eyes...

But when there is hard offshores- get on it asap- since when there is a (wind) swell in the water and the wind switches offshore- the waves will begin to get smaller over time and the hard offshore wind could kill it in a matter of hours...

Too much offshore is when you cant carry your board down to the beach since the wind rips it out of your hands.

 

The colors Surfline uses have nothing to do with the color choices Swellinfo uses. Surfline's colors (for wind) are based only on the windspeed, not direction. So 20 mph winds will be red/orange whether they are onshore, offshore, or sideshore.

When surfline gives a poor/fair/good rating, it is factoring in swell size mostly in addition to wind direction/speed. Swellinfo doesn't make judgements on the forecasts like they do, but the color coding you are thinking of only includes wind data.

This past hurricane season, swellinfo changed conditions from green to blue (or red) during hurricanes when wind speeds were around 40-50mph offshore.

 

I know that by saying this I open myself up to the ridicule of my forum peers, but in all honesty, I don't really like it when it is blowing super hard offshore (20mph or more). Maybe I'm getting old and slow. Maybe because I ride a larger board (perhaps as a result of being old and slow) I have some trouble getting into the wave when conditions are large and hard offshore. I have had the wind blow the nose over the back of the wave. I have had the fin catch in the barrel and do an el rollo. I love the feeling of looking down at my board and realizing that I am actually looking UP.

Getting a barrel is great. But getting smushed when it closes out on your head gets old after a while. Of course hooking up on that magic wave that scares the hell out of you and you can finish cleanly is a wonderful thing. I guess you just gotta take your lumps on a few closeouts until the stars align and that magic ride comes along.

 

I think it depends on you break as well...when it is blowing 20+ offshore where i surf you tend to get a ton of close outs. My favorite would be winds offshore from 5-10 mph.

 

No...

Swellinfo includes all of that data into their forecasts as well. The difference is swellinfo doesnt make a judgement call as to whether or not the conditions will be good, fair, etc.

Look at the wind forecast all over their site... it's the same color regardless of direction. I'm guessing the reason they are giving saturday a poor rating is mainly due to the size of the swell only being 2-3 ft. Compare that to tomorrow which they are calling "fair". Bigger swell, but sideshore winds at about the same speed.

Another thing to keep in mind... the forecast is for the whole state of NJ, WSW winds are not offshore everywhere.

 

i agree with the above...i think i have more fun when its a little but of an offshore wind, instead of 20-30 mph offshore wind. I already cant see out of one eye, makes it tough with all the spray coming back...lol

 

i agree with the others... offshore winds start to hit a point of diminishing returns for me. I've definitely missed my share of waves from spray hitting my face and blinding me while trying to take off.

But, I feel like there have been times, especially when it's small, that 20-25 mph winds make a knee high wave into a waist high wave. I don't know that lighter winds would still have that same impact on the size. That's my $.02.

 

Anything under gale force is doable. Not ideal... but doable. The day of the big Irene swell the wind got pretty radical in the late afternoon, but it was still shacking like mad.

Narrow noses with some vee in the entry helps...

 

When it is really howling, be careful if you wipe out/bail, and even when you're just resetting to go back out, as your board will often go airborne! Not so bad with a shortboard, but when your 10'0" flies over your head, it is a little frightening.

 

sometimes its better to surf, other times its better to kite

 

Lol kite....

 

Im sure the wind will be heavy tomorrow but im hoping its not 30mph, right now the wind was projected to be around 20 and I don't think its even 10. Hopefully thats the case tomorrow (and possibly this aft).

 

I will definitely choose a heavier glass board over a lighter epoxy on strong off shore days. Hoping this weekend is ok.

 

wish i had this 'problem' more often recently.too many times good swell bad onshores

 

I remember when I surfed a break on Maui where the wind was super strong offshore at a place called "Big Lefts". You had to paddle your a$$ off to get past the spray in your face then look down to a double overhead magazine quality drop. ..Good times.

 

Is that break real in your avatar recycle surfer? If so where is it? And don't say cape may.

 

The Jetty-Va Beach during a contest heat...recycle surfer!

 

well today was pretty awesome in my opinion. the drops were tough though, it felt like being shot with a fire hose right before you stood up