From Venice to Pensacola, there is a tight-knit community of surfers practicing their craft in an unexpected place. Many think of the Gulf as a relatively waveless location, though on a rare day, some spots can imitate world class destinations. Surfer Holden Fitzgerald, 12, states, “I got to give surfing on the gulf a 1 out of 10; it’s terrible, don’t try it.” Most of the time, it’s either flat as a lake or windblown slop, so these surfers learn to work with what they have. When the stars align, surfers drop everything they have to paddle out. Surprisingly enough, this has been known to produce a handful of professionals, including Cory Lopez, Shey Lopez, and Sterling Spencer.
Waves on the Gulf Coast are few and far between. Surfers here see the most action during the winter, riding wind swells pushed by cold fronts, usually resulting in a 2 or 3-day run of surf. The first day of the swell usually brings head-high waves with strong winds from the north. On the second day, the conditions get smaller, and the wind turns offshore, bringing a manageable but fun day of waves. The third day will usually have shin high, clean swell, only able to be surfed with a larger board. However, rarer and more consequential, surf during the summer is a thing. These hurricane waves tend to have the best quality, whereas local spots imitate those world-class locations. When the wind and swell fetch line up, these storms sometimes provide well overhead barrels. These conditions come at a dire cost. Along with damage to the wave-defining sandbars, flooding, wind damage, and death ensues.
Dedicated riders in this region learn to be pseudo-meteorologists, as spots can be very fickle. For example, places like Pass-A-Grille and Redington Beach only break well on south swells. Often, the wind isn’t ideal, so one must be willing to drive up to an hour between locations in order to score. A factor that many novice surfers forget to consider is swell fetch, the distance a wave travels before it breaks. This affects the power and size, along with time in between sets. Wind direction is a considerable factor; surfers look for days with offshore winds as they clean up wind chop and promote barreling conditions.
Though relatively underground, many transplant surfers from California and the coasts of New York are setting roots and making the Gulf their new home. Crowds at popular spots are increasing, bringing exposure and more skilled surfers to the area.