This forum used to be filled with glowing surf reports, juicy photos, emphatic woo hoos, etc. But no more. Is it a case of "it was better back in the day"? Sand dumping? Climate change? Vast right wing conspiracy? Or maybe the surf is epic every day but all the hyperbole moved to Instatok or Facechat such that only the Chinese govt is aware?

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"If I say it's safe to surf this beach, captain, then it's safe to surf this beach!"

Edited: 05/04/2024 at 04:53 AM by SurfCaster

Here are my guesses:

1) Low pressure systems are farther north. Swell is greatly reduced in size by the time it reaches us.

2) The jet Stream has changed and the low pressure systems are now tracking up the East coast of the US, whereas they used to move into the Atlantic.

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I was right.

3) There are only six guys left on this site. Only two still surf and they can't figure out how to post a pic. Waves still fun tho ...

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Tom


Yep!!

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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

Climate change is a left wing conspiracy. Remember global cooling 10 years and the earth is done LOL! Now its global warming 10 years we will be done. LOL ! Mayan calendar earth ends 2012. Didn't happen 2000 computers will crash and cause mass hysteria.

Beach renourishment killed the sandbars

Climate change is a left wing conspiracy.

Can you tell that to the home insurance industry?

Hell, might as well tell the US military while you are at it.

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I was right.

And here we go to NSR. Hold on!

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"If I say it's safe to surf this beach, captain, then it's safe to surf this beach!"

This is my leading theory as well. I think they're using dirt (for lack of a better term) as opposed to beach sand. Dirt packs in and is less likely to move around thereby limiting erosion but also limiting the development of sandbars. Plus throw in some of Cole's theory.

I surf nearby spots that have not been renourished and they are much the same as they've always been.

So we're not going to stop the renourishment, but can we influence the sand quality?

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"If I say it's safe to surf this beach, captain, then it's safe to surf this beach!"

Edited: 05/05/2024 at 05:23 AM by SurfCaster

I don't think it is limited to sand quality (if that is a factor), but is mostly due to the change in the beach slope. Every time I go out, I am contending with backwash which was seldom a problem before. Also, the number of rips (which also used to be far fewer; we never had to put up warning signs on the causeway until now) tells me that the receding waves are coming back with much more force. I think we are dealing with a situation that is kind of the same as having a seawall - lots of water coming back with lots of force even on small days. The sandbars aren't being groomed anymore, they are being assaulted.

I documented swells on a calendar back in the early 80s and was shocked when I read it a year ago. There was a four month span from early spring into summer where there were clean weekly swells, a few of them head high plus. Yes, that's a small window in time, but it was definitely better back then.

On the other hand, I too agree with the sand. I've lost count of how many times I've checked multiple spots when there was swell and didn't even bother to get wet.

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I was right.

FIT has (or had) the contract to do the geologic testing on the beach renourishment sand. This is the sand dredged from Canaveral Shoals, barged in, then trucked around for renourishment. My understanding is that they try for the best match to provide turtle nest habitat and slow erosion. Other sand I've seen used to rebuild dunes was mined upland and to my eye was not a match for beach sand.

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not a match for beach sand

Yep, and it fits like oil and water. One good storm and whoosh, it's gone.

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I was right.

yes sir

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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

Well, there was another 100 year storm that just walloped Texas. lol

It's a shame these things aren't happening over the ocean.



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I was right.

From Brevard County Natural Resources...

"The State's definition is shown just below. We use that definition and measure typical grain size, color, etc of local beaches and find sediment sources to match.

62B-56.020 Definitions
....
(7) "Beach quality sand" means sand that maintains the general appearance, and the engineering and ecological functions of the native sand occurring on the beach and in the adjacent dune and coastal system. Such sand shall be predominately of carbonate, quartz or similar material with a particle size distribution ranging between 0.062mm (4.0phi) and 4.76mm (-2.25phi) (classified as sand by either the Unified Soils or the Wentworth classification), shall be similar in color and grain size distribution (sand grain frequency, mean and median grain size and sorting coefficient) to the material present on the beach berm seaward of the project site and shall not contain:
(a) Greater than five percent by weight of silt, clay or colloids passing the #230-sieve (4.0phi);
(b) Greater than five percent by weight of fine gravel retained on the #4-sieve (-2.25phi);
(c) Coarse gravel, cobbles or material retained on the three-quarter inch sieve in a percentage or size greater than found on the native beach, or
(d) Construction debris, toxic material or other foreign matter; and shall not result in cementation of the beach."


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"If I say it's safe to surf this beach, captain, then it's safe to surf this beach!"

The waves are the same. It takes a better wave to satisfy someone that has had a taste of the real thing. You grow old and reminisce on how good it was before you knew what a real wave looked like.

It's overharvesting, or, as i like to say oversurfing. See, back in the day, there were only a few guys surfing so they'd just ride the best ones and wait until the smaller ones grew into good ones before riding them. Nowadays, every little dribbler has some sponge foil kite sweeping tourist on it and the waves never get a chance to grow up. It's like clubbing baby seals or something. Oversurfing pure and simple. Shouldn't be allowed.

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25 years ago there would be 150 people at O'club and 100 at 2nd Light. Today there might be a hand full at both, and the reduction isn't from a lack of surfers. It ain't the same.

How many months has it been since we had an overhead swell, chop included?

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I was right.