DAN IN REAL LIFE
Tropical
Storm Danny Rides Bill’s Coattails, Serving Up Another Helping Of Late-Summer
Juice
By Nick McGregor
Which break was best during Danny? S-Turns, NC. No surprise there.
Which guy surfed best at S-Turns? Ben Bourgeois. Again, no surprise.
After Hurricane Bill busted every hype-o-meter on the
East Coast with off-the-charts readouts, Tropical Storm Danny snuck onto our tropical
radar less than five days after Bill’s ballyhooed exit. Upon forming in the
Western Atlantic, Danny looked to follow the same path as Big Bill, but never
mustered the minimum 74 mph mark for full-fledged hurricane status, languishing
in the cool Mid-Atlantic and eventually deteriorating into a tropical
depression off the coast of North Carolina. Danny’s saving grace was the fact
that he came closer to the Right Side than Bill ever did, delivering a shorter
period swell and peakier A-frames that were much more fun and manageable in
Florida and more conducive to makeable barrels in North Carolina. The
Northeast’s south-facing coastlines also benefitted from Danny’s absorption by
a frontal low on Saturday, creating a splendid SSE windswell that had many
surfers singing Danny Boy’s praises louder than the mostly closed-out Bill
swell. Danny also turned up just in time for the 47th Annual East Coast Surfing
Championships in Virginia Beach, VA, transforming what is usually a late-summer
grovel-fest into a solid showcase of Right Coast talent and waves.
No matter where you surfed or how heated your Bill
vs. Danny debate got, you can’t deny the fact that after a long, flat summer,
the East Coast has enjoyed two supremely fun tropical swells two weekends in a
row, with mostly favorable wind conditions blessing both runs... and all
without any physical or structural damage to speak of. Tropical Storm Danny
also proved the wisdom of the age-old surf forecasting paradox: sometimes a
smaller, less organized storm approaching closer to shore can deliver the same
amount of goods as a major (and majorly hyped) Category Four.
THE OLD IN-OUT
The 2009 WRV Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley Is Moving Ahead Like Clockwork
Along The Graveyard Of The Atlantic... Let's Hope Hurricane Season Doesn’t Dish
Out A Bit Of The Old Ultraviolence
BILL OF SALE Surf Expo Comes To Town Early With Lower-Than-Usual
Attendance Rumors And Category 4 Hurricane Bill Zooming In. Will You Blow Town To
Bro Down Or Sit Tight And Get Right?
