Florida Dreaming and Bertha's Offerings

Waiting for a hurricane swell in the summer in Florida is like...Well, there is no hyperbolic simile that possibly expresses that feeling. Tropical systems in the Atlantic are notoriously erratic and fickle. Back in the olden times of yore when there Internet forecasters and wave cams were only a magical dream, we didn't start salivating about a potential storm swell until the buoys popped up or the storm tracked into the swell window. But now...two weeks out with the hint some tropical development, surfers wax up and start stretching like Pavlov's dog. The whispers start to swirl about what spots will be good and what the winds will be doing and then whoosh. The storm dissipates or changes course. This isn't the case in Hawaii or Cali since the Pacific in so much more alive and dynamic.

Jagged coastline and a multiple of directional swell generators enable those on the Pacific Rim to stay ever positive about the coming swell. East coasters, however, become jaded and pessimistic with each promise of a new swell broken by high-pressure ridge or the push of some week trough. Sure we can lay claim to mosquitoes and alligators and snakes and humidity and swamps and rednecks (not that there's anything wrong with that) and having the most phallic shaped state in the bunch (sorry Idaho), but the lack of credible summer swell can be maddening (especially when economic concerns have derailed a scheduled surf trip...uhg!). But rest assured Floridians, you can always say that Kelly Slater is from your "area" and that about two years ago, the surf was really good.

but hey! The buoys are inching up, so I'll be up at dawn ready for whatever Bertha is serving.