The Surf After the Storm

Posted 9/12/06
by Jane Kashlak and Paul Kerlinger

It's a September morning right after Hurricane Florence battered Bermuda. Check your watches - the waves should be rolling into Cape May right about ...now.

Of course, we have to take a quick trip to the Cove after lunch to check things out.

And we're not disappointed. The Cove is where all the surfing dudes congregate. Dozens of them are already on the scene, doing battle with Florence's crashing leftovers.

The brisk winds whip the waves into froth and make it hard for those surfer boys to stay on top of the action. Most hang on for barely five to ten seconds before going under.

The surfers who've given up for the day moan about the winds. If not for those stiff offshore breezes, the waves would be even higher.

Conditions are much like a typical winter Nor'easter. But of course the temperature's so much nicer.

Just a couple hundred miles out at sea, the waves are cresting at 20 feet or more and the winds is blowing 80 miles per hour.

Here in Cape May, Hurricane Florence poses no danger, To the contrary, she provides part of the afternoon's entertainment.

You don't even need a surf board to enjoy the moment.

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