Historic 20-Foot Surf Hammers New Jersey, Surfers Tempt Fate For The Holidays
This week, while the Pacific took a breath, it was the Atlantic that raged as the East Coast stole the show in the surf world, most notably New Jersey. On Monday, December 18, a large, nor'easter-powered swell focused its energy on the Garden State, and a hardened crew of cold-water chargers were waiting. The make-to-wipeout ration wasn't great as the surf maxed out most spots with surf forecasting service calling it one of the biggest swells to hit the area on record.
"After reviewing clips I’ve confirmed it’s the largest surf I’ve ever seen in my lifetime surfed in Ocean County, New Jersey," shared photographer, filmmaker and Jersey core lord Ryan Mack.
Mack's drone footage from the swell is mesmerizing in a sadistic kind of way.
"Only a handful of days on the Delaware Bay buoy (44009) registered a significant wave height exceeding 6.3 meters like it did on Monday, and that record goes back to the 1980s," reported Surfline's Vice President of Forecasting Kurt Korte. "Furthermore, there was only one swell bigger than Monday’s combined peak of 6.3 meters at 15 seconds: January 1992.”
The swell definitely wasn't for the faint of heart as a lot of area surfers spread out to search out the nooks and crannies that were a little more sheltered from the energy and manageable. From other spots around New Jersey, to New Hampshire and down south to the Outer Banks, it's been a run of holiday surf on the East Coast unlike we've seen in a long, long time.
