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BEST EVER -- AGAIN
Hurricane Katrina sends epic surf to Florida's Gulf Coast
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(Click images to enlarge.)
THE DAMAGE:
Coming ashore in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama with 145 mph winds, Hurricane Katrina was one of the biggest and strongest hurricanes to make landfall in US history. The full scope of its damage has yet to be fully determined, as it has finally become a depression and continues to move northeastward into the Ohio valley.
We know this: there is still widespread flooding and looting in New Orleans as levees have broken, and many areas are still without power. Area oil refineries and platforms have been shut down, raising the already high price of oil up to $70/barrel for the first time ever. Over 100 people are feared dead -- Mississippi's governor said the death toll in one county alone could be as high as 80 --- and hundreds more are still unaccounted for. Insurance companies could pay out as much as $26 billion dollars, making Katrina the most expensive storm on record.
No one would even begin to pretend to want another storm like this to hit. Surfing is a guilty pleasure, especially with a storm like Katrina, but as photos and stories started filtering in of some of the biggest Gulf Coast surf we've ever seen, we had to share. Our hearts go out to those affected by Katrina's wrath.
THE STORM:
Surfline's East Coast forecaster Mike Watson has had a busy week, but we managed to track him down and explain what happened with Katrina:
It all started with the remnants of Tropical Depression #10. The disturbance persisted over the Greater Antilles and eventually Katrina was born. The storm moved toward South Florida and made CAT 1 hurricane status prior to landfall there. Select spots in far South Florida saw some fun surf but the real stuff was yet to come.
Katrina moved over the moist Everglades and emerged over the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, maintaining hurricane status. From there the storm strengthened steadily and eventually reached CAT 5 status.
Surf began to fill in late Friday for the Florida West Coast and by Saturday it was on. The Panhandle, although small early on Saturday, saw rapidly building surf. It was arguably the best day of surf this summer in all of Florida, with waves in the head high to a few feet overhead range with offshore winds. Sunday was even bigger with surf well overhead for any takers, and one of Florida's premier lefts was also working with plenty of solid overhead surf there as well.
The West Coast, although nowhere near as big still produced plenty of fun surf throughout the weekend with surfers up and down the coast enjoying the fruits of Katrina. Texas also got into the act with the Lone Star state picking up solid overhead surf there as well.
Overall, this was a bittersweet event with plenty of solid, fun surf throughout the Gulf from Florida to Texas, but we must remember those that lost there lives and homes from this catastrophic hurricane and lend a helping hand in any way possible. Katrina is now gone and the name will be retired but nobody will soon forget this storm.
THE SURF:
Gainsville surfer Mark Nelson wrote in about his brush with Katrina on Sunday morning:
It's always tough to sleep the night before the big day, especially when the buoys are on the rise. By bedtime (11 PM) the buoys were 8 feet @ 11 seconds, by our 3 AM departure, 11feet @ 11 seconds, and by our arrival 4 hours later, 14 feet @ 11 seconds. The elder Gainesville Freeride team left with lots of anticipation, remembering our Hurricane Ivan trip of last year.
First stop, Best Western in Apalachicola to meet the rest of the gang. Next stop, the only place with dead offshore winds from the brisk east winds, Cape San Blas or St. Josephs peninsula. Plenty of size (overhead - 2X) but too much angle and way too much paddling.
Our next stop
was much like our last visit during Ivan, but smaller (chest-overhead). It was still the same punchy beachbreak; we just needed a little more SW direction to the swell to open up the window. Luckily, as the day progressed the swell angle turned more SW. The sometimes-brisk side-offshore wind kept it from getting epic but we were still pretty stoked. It was pretty hard not to get shacked. It was even harder not to take a solid beating. Lots of folks were getting launched from top to bottom. Plenty of hooting for the barrels and the beatings.
As the day progressed so did the size. By the mid-afternoon our crew was worn down, and the size continued to build with sets approaching 2X overhead. My 4-hour session allotted me plenty of both and fortunately my board and I left in one piece. We headed back home to G'ville very satisfied -- and somewhat delirious.
Pensacola surfer Pat Walters -- photographed on that macking right -- explains one of the biggest shots ever to come out of the Gulf:
This is August 28th at 6:30am when the buoys were reading SE 16ft 14 sec. They were taken from the pier while my friend Max and I were the only two who caught these outside sets. Max got a good left and right and I managed to get five of bombs and one hellacious pounding. After my leash broke and I swam a 1/4 mile back in, four or five guys came up and got my email to send me pics of the session. I was stoked to see last month's shots of Palm Beach Inlet going off and this gives the proof that we can get big surf all over Florida, including the Gulf of Mexico! You just have to be patient, lucky, and ready to charge it.
Gulf Coast surfer/photographer Sean Bullington surfed all day Saturday and managed to snap off the photo of Pat on Sunday. "It was some of the biggest, cleanest surf I've ever seen here," says Bullington. "I was really surprised that sandbar could hold that much size and maintain good shape."
But while nowhere near New Orleans, even the Gulf wasn't without damage. "There was an 8-foot storm surge Sunday afternoon," continues Bullington. "Pensacola Beach was evacuated, but the really ironic thing was that the damage would've been way worse -- except many of the beachfront houses still hadn't been rebuilt after Hurricane Ivan tore through here last year."
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Marcus Sanders
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