Surf: How Irene Changed the Washout
photo credit Justin Morris
By Jud Bushkar
Welcome to autumn on Folly Beach and shame on those of you who started celebrating before reading this article. As expected, tourism has slowed down considerably; the beach is half-empty on weekdays; and you can drive to the Piggly Wiggly in five minutes unless your car breaks down.
Lately the water has also gotten noticeably colder. Most surfers opt for thin neoprene tops this time of year, but some are already in wetsuits. The water is not yet frigid and many people are happy to paddle into a lineup that is a little less crowded.
Hurricane season is not over until December 1, and we have already suffered
a great deal of beach erosion at the hands of Irene and the other storms. All the sand that was taken from the dunes has had two undesirable effects on surfing at Folly Beach.
The location of our sandbars has changed. Some people say this increases the tendency of our waves to close out or break all at once and leave the rider little open face on the wave to ride. Closeouts are not usually too much
fun, but they often dump their riders in spectacular fashion. Popular opinion
is that the Washout is now closing out more at lower tides since Hurricane Irene hit.
A different problem now plagues the Washout at high tide. After a wave
crashes onto shore, its energy usually dissipates quickly. Our latest dose of
erosion brings the incoming waves into contact with boulders on the shore of the washout. In this case, the energy is not completely absorbed by the sand. It is reflected away from the shore. The result is a wave moving the opposite direction, called a backwash. This can make riding or even catching a wave difficult at times.Problems like these will likely sort themselves out as sandbars are moved around by winter storms.
Another effect of the drop in water temperature is not so obvious. Surfboard wax feels harder and has less grip in colder water. This compromises your
traction. Of course, any surf shop should have softer wax made for cooler water. You can simply add this wax on top of any harder wax. It really is that easy. You will have to wait until the next issue when I will fix social security, health care, and find every dog in the pound a Kardashian
for an owner. Until then, treat each other
right kindly.
