Ben Gravy is best known for novelty surfing, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hang when it gets big. The East Coast surfer recently got a chance to prove those bona fides as a result of Hurricane Isaias.
Isaias is the first hurricane of the Atlantic season. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm made landfall on Friday near Destin, Florida with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. From there, it moved into Alabama with tropical storm-force winds, then headed farther north. In its wake, the storm left a trail of destruction, killing at least two people in Florida and two more in Alabama.
By the time Isaias made its way up to the New Jersey, though, it was a far less cataclysmic force. For Gravy and company, the remnants of Isaias provided the kind of powerful surf East Coast riders dream of.
“You don’t get many of those in a year,’ he summed up afterward. ‘And you don’t get many years to be honest. So you don’t get many of those days. Novelty waves in the morning, wind turned offshore, cleaned up, perfect barrels all day long. I’m wanting to say 20 to 40 barrels ridden and made today. Pretty wild.”
