Tahiti, Hawaii, Costa Rica.....Emerald Isle?

All over this great big world, there are beaches that have become meccas for serious surfers. Unfortunately, Emerald Isle is not one of those places (especially after Hurricane Ophilia came through last month and totally changed the shape of the bottom). It's not like this is really news to anyone who surfs in North Carolina. Unless you're in the Hatteras area or there's a hurricane getting ready to make landfall, you rarely see more than the occassional swell, and most of the time it's either hit or miss. Especially around Atlantic Beach/Emerald Isle.

Well anyway, this past Saturday I made the short drive down to Emerald Isle with hopes of finding something ridable. I knew my chances weren't great - given the conditions lately - but it was unseasonably warm and a very nice day, so I thought I would give it a try. After all, the whole reason I bought my 9-ft long board several years ago was to be able to surf the less-than-ideal waves that frequent this area.

As I crested the last set of dunes, however, I quickly realized that no surfboard would suffice for these conditions. In fact, unless you had something with a motor, you weren't going anywhere.

In my many years of surfing, I've heard lots of people talk about it being "flat," and I've often used that term myself to describe days when the waves are too small to do anything even resembling actual surfing. But this was one of those days that makes you reconsider your whole definition of the word "flat." Fortunately I had my camera with me to document this event.

The "mighty" Atlantic Ocean