Hurricane Bill invaded the East Coast over the weekend with head high to double overhead+ conditions stretching from Jersey up to Maine. I had the fortune to buzz into JFK on Friday night from LAX just in time for Saturday and Sunday sessions in Montauk, NY on the eastern tip of Long Island.

According to a local official, an estimated 2000 surfers descended on Montauk for the weekend, the most he'd ever encountered. Normally such crowded conditions would drive any surfer mad, yet the general euphoria caused by the sunny skies, pumping swell and offshore winds had most everyone in a good mood.

Whether surfing the lighthouse or a handful of peaky secret spots, Hurricane Bill's high wave frequency left plenty of goods to go around for both the visiting and local populations.


Offshore and 8-10 foot, 6am and first one in the lineup = good mood.


Once a mellow fishing village that hosted family outings, surfers and surf casters in the summer, Montauk has beome an overflow spot for Manhattanites who stick their nose up to the $250 parking tichets in South Hampton but have no problem with the $60 tickets further east. Sunday in August = full house.

Among the visiting population was Anon Quiksilver pro and Hawaiian native Reef McIntosh who'd also flown in from California to see what all the fuss was about. When asked if he'd ever surfed in New York before he calmly replied, "Yes a few times...but never when it's been this big."


Reef McIntosh providing his own definition of double overhead to the surfer below.

By Hawaii standards the 8-12 and occasionally 15-foot faces are an average day of fun surf. For the surfing populace of the eastern states such conditions are all time. Enough to make magazine imagery come to life, test one's personal limits, and provide, even for just a day, a chance for those liquid dreams of glassy barrels and out the back paddle battles come to life.


A dream by any standards for any average goofy footer.

So powerful was the swell from Bill that it actually sent wrap-around pulses to various spots on the north side of Montauk, which is essentially a bay that never sees any waves, except on the srongest storms. One such spot, Culloden Point, named after an English war ship that sank there during the Revolutionary War, enjoyed waist-high, longboardable waves to the delight of those looking to avoid getting pounded by full brunt of the swell.


A side benefit of the East Coast surfing experience...bonafide history.



Surf in the bay?? A mirage or simply the genie-like doings of Hurricane Bill?

Added to the nicety of this swell event were the balmy Gulf Stream water temps. Supported by 90-degree air, saturated with recent weeks of humidity, the shores around Long Island (and much of the Northeast) are floating in the low the mid 70s. Trunks mandatory...neoprene top optional.


Driving down the line and happy to leave the fullsuit behind.


This lovely fawn was caught scampering through the grasses of a Montauk bluff. Too bad bikini tops weren't optional too.

Having grown up myself surfing New York and much of New England, I can count the number of times on one hand in which all the elements came together: warm water, weekend swell, sunny skies, light off-shores and the nearest NOAA buoy bouncing 10 feet at 17 seconds, making for double overhead surf.


Some locals take in the view and contemplate the possibilities.


I now live in Southern California and enjoy a fair bit more surf than my days back East provided. But when it happens the way it did this weekend, no sojourn to central America or blitz to Baja is more enjoyable than surfing your hometown break with bros and pros, and grinning in the knowledge that when people ask if the surf's any good on the East Coast, you can subtlety yet confidently reply, "Yeah, it gets decent once in a while."



This old timer has been surfing Montauk for decades. Pushing 60 and still pushing through his turns with style.


The surf is good back East ... you just have to know when to go and where to look.