For a season back in 2005, Kite Beach north of the Juno Pier was a great spot. (And I've seen a few guys surf some waves inside the Jupiter Inlet--right into the rocks.) Easy come, easy go. All across Palm Beach County, little mysto-spots pop up with the beach erosion and replenishment. We used to do drift sessions from Palm Beach all the way to Boynton Inlet and somewhere along the way, usually miles from a public access point, a peak would be incredible. And we'd stare at these endless condos or mansions and think--"wow, a better peak than Reef Road and nobody's surfing it or even knows it's even here." But then it'd be gone by the next swell. In 2003ish, there were some great little, weird refracto sea-wall waves all over PB, north of Flagpoles. Here's a link to a swell that hit PB in 2016 during a replenishment and made a little point-break.

I hear it's all the rage these days.


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I was right.

The Banana River can be surfable but it takes 20+ mph winds straight out of the north to make a ridable swell. There are a few dips in the shoreline that will make it break. It is so rare that you will probably never surf it. More fun are downwinders where you can surf runners for miles. I stopped doing those runs when the water became unbearably polluted.

back in the day at dead high tide a wave would appear just off the beach on the south side of the Boynton inlet. a little perfect left peeler about 25 yards long on a swell of course

Riomar Reef and Peanut Island

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"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw

Somewhere north of the St Johns River lnlet, is a semi mysto sand bar that with the right conditions turns into a full on, sand sucking, right hand point, barrelfest.

Boat access only and you gotta know what's what, cause the rips are insane!!

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"Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do." - Bertrand Russell


"Morality is doing what is right, regardless of what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, regardless of what is right.


If I do not answer you .... nothing personal, I just have you on ignore.

Way back in 1965, Hurricane Betsy drove a freighter onto the beach in Riviera Beach. With the right swell and wind it was a very clean left.





[S=https://trimoot.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/the-amaryllis/]https://trimoot.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/the-amaryllis/[/S]

[S=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305001617/http://surfhistoryproject.org/...icle_ship_at_beach.pdf

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Dora Hates You

Edited: 11/08/2018 at 12:58 PM by dingpatch

I'm just know reading about that freighter wave on riviera beach in a book by Tim Dorsey called the pope of palm beach. Your picture has me really stoked because I never thought I would see a depiction of that wave. Was darby pope a real person or just a fictional character in the book?

Serge Storm is a fictional character, thank goodness

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"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw

Pump House reminded me: In the early 80s The Palm Beach "Pump House" was a right... remember the old black film containers for film. I was surfing there and found one floating on the outside and inside was half a joint and matches. Yes, I lit it up... swear to God!

That's one of the coolest 'florida' era surf pic I've ever seen!! Gracias' Howard

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ola ~

Went down a couple of times but, only caught it "good" once. Waist high and very clean with offshore wind.

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Dora Hates You

Flagpoles should be mentioned - hated scaling the wall, worse "public" beach access ever. Also Lido Beach has a cleanup, novelty, decent wave on strong NW winds, almost redirects waves from the outside into the inside quasi-cove....Captiva's "Blind Pass" has potential but it was always better North of the bridge. i always thought Haulover was a different wave (fun take off right by the rocks and mini cove)...the list goes on and on...Honorable mention Typhoon Lagoon fun to do once but not worth the $$$...I have named dropped many spots that rarely break & are well-known...There are some GEMS that are much better than your standard Fl beachbreak but those I will not mention.

Edited: 11/08/2018 at 01:15 PM by SurferMic

gordan's pass several decades ago before all the dredgings. storm or front swell would wrap from the mini jetty almost parallel to the shore inside the pass. would have to stay in the pocket for about 50 yards until it wrapped around the corner, peel for 50 yards, and run off into the boat channel. outgoing tide you would get a free ride back. used to catch it on skimboard too from sand just inside mini jetty for kicks

Edited: 11/08/2018 at 02:33 PM by RiddleMe

I'd like to point out a reoccurring theme common to all of our inlets....they have all accumulated sand over the years and lost there original definition. Generally speaking the extra sand has been detrimental to wave quality at the inlets. The first time I surfed NSB in the 1973 shark shallows was much deeper and way more swell made it to the regular surf zone....it held way more size. the problems with SI are well know and to much sand is one of the major factors in poor wave quality....opps I'm a little off topic

Edited: 11/08/2018 at 04:32 PM by grdsurf

cocoa

Tingo: Pumphouse best wave was also a right in the mid nineties as well. I remember it well as I dropped in on a heavy local and he reminded me not to do that. It was a a great right, i remember like it was yesterday. I was def in the wrong and learned a lesson that day.
These days, it rarely breaks, and when it does, it isn't even really near the pumphouse, unless it gets huge, and that is another story

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"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw

So there's no more right inside the jetty anymore?!? Prob been 20+ years since I've surfed it, but when I was a grom in Broward, I had friends (who had a drivers license ) who had family close by and we would drive up there to surf fairly often. Used to get that crazy backwash at high tide. Waves would get good, and when it would, definitely a local pack. But that was a long time ago

Here's few I remember, that oddly enough are all about steel. And yes it was better back then. There was a large barge that was grounded in the 70's about a 1/2 mile north of the last parking lot at Playalinda. Eventually it partially submerged and at the right tide created a short powerful bowl section that broke both ways. I only went up there when the surf was too small everywhere else and could always catch some fun rides there. It sucked barnacles when you fell on it though. Like all good things it eventually turned into a zoo on small days Long before they extended the north jetty at Ponce Inlet there were steel sheet piles stretching way out beyond the rock jetty curving SE. Every so often on a south swell and extreme low tide it would throw a first peak like right wedge for 100 yrds or more. One of the best waves I've ever surfed in Florida. Speaking of sheet piles, the St Lucie Nuclear Power Plant used to have some at the intake and discharge channels. Not long after it started operation I was on the south side of the discharge on a very cold winter day surfing consistent 6' lefts in warm water with only me and two others out. The authorities didn't catch us until we got out of the water and boy were they pissed. I went back that summer and scored some big bugs in just a few minutes without getting caught.

There's so much to discuss here, and ponder over, but for the time being, wow, that vintage pic is excellent - nod to Dorsey too. Common themes seem to be the malleability of coastlines and inlets, and the delicate balance of nature's dynamics and human intervention.