Superstorm Riley Day 4: Surprise, The Swell Jumped Again!

Last night I received some terrible news. It turned out that Riley was picking up again, and the wind was meant to be light enough for a morning session at Newmibia. Ugh. Just when I thought I was going to get a break — even one little moment’s rest — and all of my dreams were crushed by an improving surf forecast. I couldn’t believe my unluck. 

Being stationed in New York, I figured about 2-and-a-half hours separated me from the fabled African-American point. So I finished my nightly work, set my alarm for 3:30, and prayed to Jah that a Mega Daylight Savings event would happen overnight, turning my four hours of prospective sleep into a neat 10. But of course this didn’t happen so I sucked down an iced coffee and made my way south. 

About 30 minutes away from Newmibia, I received a text from Rob Kelly.

“It might be the best day so far.”

Morning shorey.

This was a clever tactic. Rob knew that by hyping up the waves he’d entice me to drive faster, potentially exposing me to another long-lasting cop situation, which would ultimately result in more waves for himself. Well not this time, Rob. I obeyed that limit like it was a leather-clad wahine and was rewarded with head-high running tubes.  

After three days of pumping Newmibia, the crowd had shrunk significantly — and for good reason. Most people could hardly walk anymore, let alone paddle, stand up, and poo-squat for a tube. Paddling against a Zambezi-like current for three days straight, while also constantly treading water and walking another 20 miles on top of that, I think, is the surfing equivalent of an Iron Man event. Laird totally should have been here. 

So instead of 30 people there were 10 sharing the lineup, and despite it not actually being the “best day so far”, we had a pleasurable surf at our eternally ephemeral sandbank, Newmibia. 

You see, Riley coincided with a huge “beach restoration” project in New Jersey, which ironically finished a day before the swell. The sand, which many people worked diligently to move back to the beaches, was then ripped away by Riley and sent to who knows what part of the state/ocean/continent. In other words, taxpayers paid millions of dollars to build a perfect sandbar for surfers, which after a four-day swell is now more or less gone. If that’s not the biggest legislative win for surfing in …ever… I don’t know what is. 

Oh, and another storm front is hitting tomorrow. Newmibia won’t be good, but we might just know of another spot. Riley continues…