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BLUEWATER MIDWINTER WONDERLAND
Florida + Caribbean see pumping surf from North Atlantic February storms
I guess Punxsutawney Phil was right. Since America's favorite groundhog was scared by his shadow about two weeks ago and thus predicting another six weeks of winter, the Eastern US has been pounded by a series of snowstorms. Cold weather. Wind. Snow. We all know the routine, but as we get into the second half of February, it is getting really old.
While this cold winter has offered a few solid days of surf for the East Coast, our neighbors in the Caribbean have been enjoying one of the best winters in recent memory -- solid, consistent surf and great winds and conditions. When another solid swell, set up by yet another snowstorm, was poised to slam the Caribbean last week, a group of East Coasters booked tickets in hopes of scoring and that is exactly what happened.
An intense area of low pressure pushed off the Mid Atlantic coastline on Wednesday February 10th, dumping feet of snow and grinding East Coast travel (and flights) to a halt. Strong winds, in excess of 45 to 50 knots, set up a solid shot of NW/N swell for the Caribbean that moved in late in the week and continued over the weekend.
After days of hype on a certain Caribbean island, it was time. As expected, it started slow on Friday, with small, warbly surf at first light. Solid swell was showing on the regional buoys so it was just a matter of time before the swell began to pulse. Size jumped several feet through the morning with the better deepwater spots picking up solid surf during the second half of the day with some of the more sheltered spots seeing favorable conditions. Calm/light offshore winds greeted surfers on Saturday morning as the swell continued to bomb. With the favorable winds and conditions, there were plenty of options across the island, including some spots that only break a few times out of the year. The swell continued to drop on Sunday but still offered some fun waves, especially early in the day. Another NW swell is currently filling in and there is no end in sight.
In other words: before you put on your hat and gloves to finish shoveling out the driveway, check out these shots see what the Caribbean reaped from the nasty weather along the Eastern Seaboard.
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February 15, 2010
