Wow. This winter was sure one for the books on the East Coast. Although the West Coast highlighted most swell stories from this recent fall and winter marathon of epic surf, the right coast got more than its fair share of the goods. Above average air and water temperatures accompanied solid and consistent swells from October to March in the Garden State, leaving most surfed out with their fix week in and week out. And no one was complaining.
When I tell you that there was at least one intermediate or better swell (4- to 5-foot+ with good conditions) per week someplace between Long Island and Cape May, my nose isn’t growing. After the last few years of frigid air and waters, it was a breath of fresh air to get pumping surf with warm (by our standards) temperatures. Sure winter showed its teeth on occasion, fueling winter storm Jonas and Mars, but overall it was a very mild winter—everywhere but in the water. I was fortunate enough to document just about every swell, mostly in Long Beach Island. If this video isn’t evidence of how great of a fall and winter we had, I don’t know what else will convince you. Thank you, El Niño!
Featuring Randy Townsend, Rob Kelly, Andrew Gesler, Conor Willem, Gabe Kling, Pete Machotka, Ryan Kelly, Dave Woegens, and many more.
