Don't Go Chasing Hurricanes
I’m trying to write to you like I do every Friday, but I’m distracted. By one of my favorite natural phenomena: The freaking hurricane. Right now I’m tracking Erin, the fifth hurricane of the season and the first Atlantic one. And it’s forecast to do exactly what you want a hurricane to do.
I’m tracking with an extra close eye because I have a trip back east coming up at the end of this month so my ears are especially perked on how I can finally break the seal and wrangle one of these elusive wave factories on the Eastern Seaboard.
Most of my life I’ve been fascinated by these things. They’re everything awesome about storms but cranked up to full volume and highly volatile. They’re intense and fast moving — and unfortunately notorious for doing catastrophic destruction when they hit land. Once they get going though, they defy all forecasting models and juke around the oceans like Bijan Robinson (look him up). It is impossible to really forecast them much further out than 12-24 hours. So you better be ready to move.
The closest I ever got to getting an East Coast hurricane swell chase was two years ago when I was already in North Carolina attending a wedding — the first outing for mom and dad after our daughter was born. So my decision to skip the wedding and chase the hurricane was bold…if not suicidal.
When I made the call, I wrote a “Dear John” letter to my wife explaining my exit from the wedding of her longtime friends to chase waves — who, come to think of it, are subscribers here, and surfers, so I knew they would understand — hi Dean!
That letter, which you can read here, didn’t go over so well. I decided to stay put and enjoy the wedding. Which also allowed me to remain married. I had a few margaritas, toasted love at what was a beautiful wedding and decided to chase hurricanes another day. And I feel like maybe that day is here.
Erin is predicted to do exactly what I’m always telling my wife and in-laws is ideal for waves on the East Coast. It’s forecast to stay just offshore and dust the coast with swell and clean wind and we have arrangements made to be near the beach…a few days after Erin hits. So it will require altering life plans of my extended family and potentially putting everyone at the whim of Mother Nature. But when does surfing not require these sacrifices?
We’re always willing to throw our lives in disarray to ride a few waves, right? That’s why surfers are so cool..Hurricanes just compound this ten fold. So what do you say fam? Are we chasing hurricanes next week or what? I anxiously await your reply.—Travis Ferré
