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Hurricane Season began at precisely 6:13am on Tuesday, September 6th — for me, at least; you better believe it began way earlier for Surfline’s forecasters — as mid-period E/SE swell lines from Danielle (or Earl, or Danielle and Earl) rolled into Nags Head, NC, with glittering promise. And light offshore winds. And perfect weather. But no waves. So, no surfers.

The ribbons were everywhere, but the cutting ceremony would have to wait. For a lower tide. For some cooperative sand. For something.

Quentin Turko, thrilled to be back on the shorty again, OBX on Tuesday. Photo: Jon Carter

Four hours later I was zipping and bouncing around inside a semi-secret, self-contained Hatteras pinball machine with five other game pieces making obnoxious, high-pitched noises: Sick, Walrus! Yeah, Killa! Go, Butt Boy! (Yeah, we’re all about the nicknames around here.) It’d been so long since any of us had gone that fast on our shortboards, with room to jam and actual transitions to hit, we couldn’t help but shriek like little children (who’ve all gone back to school, by the way). Nobody was whining about beach nourishment this or the new bridge that or how embarrassingly bad the surf was for the WRV Outer Banks Pro. There were so many waves, there was no time to chat. Only hoot.

It’s September on the U.S. East Coast and there’s a couple hurricane swells in the water. Sweet mercy, this is how things are supposed to be.

Carlos Cabrero, perpetually piped in Puerto Rico. Photo: gOnzo

As predicted in our Incoming story last weekend, “It was fun, but honestly nothing out of the ordinary for the first week of September,” Director of Forecasting Kurt Korte explains. “If we look at climatology as a measure, the next few weeks offer the best chance of the whole year to get multiple days of quality surf along the East Coast. When you frame it like that, a day or two of chest-high waves isn’t exactly something for the history books. But at this point, a sheared tropical storm and a distant hurricane were far better than anything else we’ve seen in months. And, as we’ve repeated over the past several days, there is more on the way.”

Sandbar scouting mission above the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Daniel Pullen

By the time I headed home for our first War Room meeting on Danielle and Earl’s tropical tandem, the chatter was thick and percolating all over town. Processions of vehicles lined the highways and clogged the accesses. Even after the wind came up (which would last for days) and the rain came down (which would last for minutes), people were either coming or going. The surf wasn’t epic. But it was irresistible. 

Spray your friends. You’ll feel better. Gabe Shumaker, Jax Pier on Wednesday. Photo: Win Bell/Stoketography

For everyone. Including a pregnant woman.

“I’ve had a really hard pregnancy and I’m nauseous all the time, but when I’m out on my board, I actually feel normal,” says Bri Young, owner and operator of the Outer Banks’ first female-focused surf shop/school, Outer Surf, which she just opened this year with her husband Riley. “It’s not something I should be doing, but I play it way safe. I’m not paddling on my belly, just my knees, and just on the small days. I’m only gonna go for a wave that I know I can catch and won’t wipe out on. I trust my ability to read the wave but also bail when I need to, and in the right way. So, I’m gonna keep surfing as long as I can right up until Banyan’s due date, October 24th.”

Bri Young, giving her son-to-be Banyan a little Vitamin D in Nags Head. Photo: Mike Leech

Including a devoted husband and father with a full-time job.

“I started off Tuesday by flying around with Brett Barley and Jeffrey O’Neil,” says diligent Hatteras photographer Daniel Pullen. “Dan Kramer flew us around the island to scope some sandbars. (Don’t ask us where they are, we ain’t talking.) Then I shot a few photos at Avon Pier in the evening. The whole crew left right as I got there, but I ended up getting a few images of Kai Wescoat. It just felt good to see the ocean moving again.”

Kai Wescoat, plugging in to the Danielle/Earl combo outlet in Avon, NC. Photo: Daniel Pullen

And especially for a working-class pro surfer coming off an equal-5th result at a QS 1,000 in his hometown.

“Those days with low expectations that end up being really fun are always my favorite,” says Bo Raynor, who’s currently en route to New Jersey to compete in the Cecil Lear Belmar Pro. “It was pretty much just Quentin [Turko] and I trading off waves for four hours, which was much-needed after a really slow past few months.”

“Yeah, Jon hit up me and Bo [Raynor] in the morning saying he wanted to get together to shoot,” Quentin Turko adds. “I didn’t have high expectations for the waves, so I was pleasantly surprised when we walked up and watched a head-high set roll through this peak with only a couple guys on it. We traded off waves for four hours, just freaking out. It was the most rippable waves we’ve had in months.”

Bo Raynor, above the lip and below sea level on the Outer Banks. Photo: Jon Carter

“Danielle is largely out of the picture for additional swell production on the East Coast,” Korte continues, “so all attention is now on Earl, if it wasn’t already, which has strengthened over the past 24 hours, and all signs point to the system becoming a Major Hurricane on Thursday. Just hearing that, your mind may go to recent storms like Sam, Larry and Teddy and fool you into believing the Earl swell will be on par with the swell from those storms. But it won’t be.”

Cam Richards and Evan and Eric Geiselman, getting creative in New Smyrna Beach. Vid: Peyton Willard

“Remember: wind speed is only one factor when it comes to swell generation. You also need those winds to blow over the same area for a long period of time to maximize wave size. Given Earl’s expected track away from the Caribbean and East Coast, all that will play into how much surf we’ll actually get. Even with all those inhibiting factors, though, this is pretty much what we wait for on the East Coast. So surf as much as you possibly can.”

“With Earl swell tickling the shores of Central Florida, there were three to five-foot faces and miles of smiles,” says legendary photographer Dick Meseroll, who shot at RC’s on Thursday. “From all the way out in the lineup to way back in the McDonald’s parking lot across the street on A1A, the RC’s grom squad were waxed up and feasting on this long-awaited swell. While Earl isn’t exactly a barnburner swell like last year’s Larry, it felt so amazing to finally find some waves to sink your teeth and fins into.”

Go The Grom! Satellite Beach, FL. Photo: Mez/ESM

Meanwhile, up in Asbury Park, NJ, local bodyboarder, promoter and all-around busybody Timmy Donnelly is gearing up for a hectic, weeklong setup for next weekend’s Sea.Hear.Now, the wildly successful music/surf/art festival he co-founded with rock photographer Danny Clinch on the Asbury Park Boardwalk. Although the storm poses no threat to land, Earl still has Timmy feeling a little trepidatious.

“We had all these nice, westerly winds all summer long, so the beach was in really nice shape,” he laughs. “Then right after Labor Day we got hit with 25-knot E winds and all that sand we gained is now getting eaten away inch by inch. I’m looking at Earl and wondering, ‘How big is it gonna get?’ We don’t have those astronomical high tides to deal with this year, so that’s good, but I’m still worried about the ocean tickling the stages, so I like to have that comfortability from the Surfline forecasters. We don’t wanna electrocute Steve Nicks, y’know?”

“Friday and into the weekend are shaping up to be really fun for the Mid Atlantic through New England,” Korte continues, “where light winds will greet the SE/ESE-becoming-E swell, providing widespread chest to head-high surf while standouts see larger sets as the Earl swell peaks. Further south, Outer Banks surfers will probably sit out most of the weekend due to the relentless onshores. Next week looks like the window to target for them.”

Sebastian Peters, fresh off a 3rd-place finish at the NSSA Nationals and still clocking Trestles-like sections at home, RC’s on Thursday. Photo: Mez/ESM

“This isn’t a great scenario for the Southeast,” Korte finishes, “but at this point, anytime the waves are bigger than waist-high, there’s nothing to complain about. Parts of Florida should stand out through the weekend and into next week as the E swell from Earl trends more ENE, which should open up a few more options down into the Treasure Coast, while spots further north enjoy days of surf after a pretty lackluster summer.”

Sebastian Llompart, setting up for a bright future in Puerto Rico. Photo: Babby Quinones

Coral Schuster, swooping like a swan, RC’s on Thursday. Photo: Mez/ESM

Stay tuned to Surfline as the Earl saga continues to develop.

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