2007-06-18

Where are the Best 2007 OBX Surf Breaks?

clean surf in Nags Head - click to enlargeWell, the secret spots should remain "secret" but given that each year OBX surf spots change due to shifting sand bars, which are the top picks for this year? Summer surf on average is usually fairly small ranging from knee to chest high. The best options for fun clean surf center around shallow sandbars located about 20 to 50 yards offshore. They are usually easy to spot when the surf is small since they are the only locations were you will see whitewater that is not crashing on the beach.

Today following low tide, I did some recon around Nags Head to locate some prime surfing sandbars. The swell was small but solid in the waist high range, thus perfect for identifying good bars. Winds were light offshore most of the day. The north side of Nags Head Fishing Pier was a popular spot last summer, and this past Saturday, there was a fun, large swell breaking on the outer bar. It remains a great spot for bigger swell, but if the surf is small, as the case today, it was all beach break.

Areas where "beach nourishment" pilots were done last year seem to be prime locales for shallow sandbars. I surfed some small waves breaking on a sand bar off Loggerhead Street today. Areas in South Nags Head where the nourishment projects were implemented usually are prime places to find good small surf breaks.

South of Nags Head on Hatteras Island is a whole different realm, and I will follow up with surf posts from there later this summer. Though, special areas along Pea Island, Cape Hatteras, and Ocracoke will remain "secret."