Surfing huge waves from perfect storm. Florida Jim Sitton

[sumthinotherthanthat]

Proof that surfers are the most dedicated and ballsy athletes on the planet. Note...you don't see any spongers out there, do you?

[s96822]

I remember seeing the waves from the A train headed to Rockaway Beach, NY. I would call it 6-8 solid with 10-12' sets.

I surfed that swell on 90th street(if I recall rock jetty) on one of the days, i think the peak day. Offshore, looked liked places I have since surfed on Oahus north shore.

I rode a used Alan Byrne board that had been traded by Tom Carroll (purchased on a Hawaii trip) I think it was 7'6" and worked great that day.

Too bad I don't have Tom Carrols talent, only old board.

[7514328]

What that Gov't vehicle doing at 0:33? Making sure the parking meters are still there?

[7514328]

The Government vehicle at 0:34. Must be driving around to make sure those parking meters aren't damaged.

[Zepster77]

On this day at Lantana (just south of Lake Worth) it was an easy 10-12 feet (Hawaiian style) outside... the inside was unrideable, one big washing machine with lots of big debris floating in the soup... but outside It was breaking top-to-bottom spitting tubes, at least twice overhead.

[CtJester7807]

EPIC

To bad I wasnt even alive yet.

I live for the day i see the gulf coast break like this. It gets Insane one or twice everydecade, but jesuschrist, thats pure power

[textwarrior]

halloween swell 1991 ... thanks for posting this i heard alot about it..

[gubban159]

thanks, i've been looking for this one. one of the most memorable east coast swells.

and the ocean stayed warm late (we like that in new england).

[motoz30]

post that shit. heard stories of how pnut island breaks less than a handful of times a decade. any footage you've got is gold.

[Niemeyer2007]

I have personal surf footage of this day and the day after....I will post it in the next couple days. For those of you that know the area....I surfed Peanut Island that day (inside the inlet) and it was 3-5 Ft.!!!!!!!! Inside the inlet. Saw a Tropicana Freighter almost get rolled front to back over inside the inlet...that is a huge freighter that almost rolled.

[longboardpapa]

I'm lookin forward to your vid...

Jim

[francsois]

To the freaks wishing to hurricane-surf, beware the currents during major storms!

I've seen surfers almost drown in Myrtle Beach as the waves after a hurricane tail were 6-10 feet thick of fierce white foam after they broke... hard to surf, plus the winds & currents quickly brought them kms to the North. Though they were desperately waving at the lifeguards, they obviously wouldn't risk their lives by going. The guys have escaped narrowly; one got mouth to mouth "therapy" from a cop.

[eewright2001]

The swell or waves your watching was based on the movie "The Perfect Storm" with George Clooney and Mark Walberg. 3 storms (one a hurricane) converging into a huge low system in the North Atlantic. Sebastian Junger wrote the book "The Perfect Storm". This storm occured during the week from October 27 thru October 31. The storm hit the north Atlantic on Monday and Tuesday October 28 and 29.Then the massive swell reached Florida on Halloween. Note the Halloween swell. The year was 1991.

[barreled1]

i called the report at deerfield at 8am they said it was 4-6,,i skipped school and went str8 to the pier it was peeling for hudreds of yards perfect glassy swell,i surfed a 2nd time in the afternoon behind nomad surf shop and it was 2pm 10-12 ft w/cleanup sets in the 15-20 ft range.i broke my board paddling out the next day at linton blvd,,

[titsmagee9999]

That's BS he could have gotten out without the help of the Coast Gaurd. All you have to do is the backstroke and let the waves drag you in.

[fluffyvswhity2]

this is like 1900s i bet y.. the cars look (not sure)

[wavecrasher8]

like all the sand was gone after that. i went to jump the wall at flagpole and the sand was 20 bellow. lol.

[Kiboshya]

damn it! this so freaky!!!!

[ryannr21]

its called hurricane chasing people do it all the time on the east coast. and they dont surf the wave all the way to the shore break wall. they pull out

[GArtist1]

wow i only hope to even see waves like that in person i soooo would run out there n surf those waves like a physco id rip em n if they rip me oh well just make sure its recoreded to put on the one n only u tube...........

[michelly1023]

when did this happen and where in fla?

[xxtinsleyxx]

wow.

surfers are so amazing.

can you imagine the years of practice it takes to even be HALF as good?

and not to mention...

these people have GUTS!!

I'd be terrified.

but they live for it!

Props to you surfers. YOUR AMAZING!!!!!

[Darkfighter89]

These are crazy surfers...

[buzana]

Oh,ya I saw that video.I run into Kevin here and there on trips.

[buzana]

Why hasnt this been edited into a surf film yet?I was surfing this same swell at the Main Street Pier in Daytona Beach.I was a Jr. in High School and I left after 3rd period to get some of those 15 footers.I remember seeing the news footy and some friends actually drove south the day earlier to catch that swell in West Palm.Chuck Hundley was his name.(R.I.P.)

[longboardpapa]

most of my footage was used in a surf movie called SURF NRG by kevin welsh. it's still available on the net.

jim

[ROCKSTARCRANE]

I don't surf - wish I could - but I respect the sport and the people who do. But nobody owns the beach or the ocean. And everyone is entitled to God's gift, so long as they respect it and the others around them. In my day, surfers were honorable, decent people who were only too happy to share the waters with anyone else who loved the sport. This gang/turf-like mentality will only ruin it.

[santabarbaralocal]

nice.

just keep smiling in the water. each hour I get to surf is an hour that does not count towards me getting older. everything else makes me old as shit.

[longboardpapa]

check out my other surf vids, too

thanks,

longboardpapa

[ClanMacRae]

Don't worry, we'll weed you kooks out. Just stay outta our way, and you might not get hurt.

Localism = too many disrespectful outsiders with no courtesy. Stay home bud.

[ClanMacRae]

Stay away from L Dub or else!!!

[jimsitton]

or else what?

We surf Lake Worth Pier all the time. It rocks!

[puppalucci]

reef road ,spanish house..... off the chain....

[classicrockneverdies]

longboardpapa, what caused these waves to be so large? does it have to do with the tides? because judging by cloud cover, theres no storm or hurricane.

[jimsitton]

This was caused by "The Perfect Storm"

It was way offshore and sent in these huge waves with no foul weather.

[dantheman374]

im wondering too,i,those waves must have destroyed the coastline,wat caused them?

[longboardpapa]

A subtropical low pressure system way out in the Atlantic.

[superiorsurf]

Excellent excellent excellent.

[exotiquegirl]

i love it!!!!!!!!!!! what happend with the guys surfing during the storm???

[TheNo1Jaimie]

Man that pier was totally eating it. Once there was winter storm surf at Mission Beach, San Diego, that washed out some guy's beachfront living room. So the next summer, he put up a concrete block wall across the front of his property. So the NEXT winter, the storm surf was hurling the concrete blocks through his living room window.

[tessabianca]

Nature will ALWAYS win. People will NEVER learn.

[cpdaman2]

also known as "THE PERFECT STORM"

amazing that it sends swell 1000 miles out huh

[SHORESCOOTJLM]

what pier was that.

[longboardpapa]

lake worth pier

[nowdatzkool]

Surfed Delray this day. Never been scared out in the water until this day. It got so big so fast and i got closed out by a set at least 20ft. Greyhound bus could have fit inside the barrells easily. East coast cant handle this size at all.

[notyourbabysdaddy]

Was there a hurricane offshore? When was this, I'd like to hunt for more video footage?

[nowdatzkool]

no hurricane just a low pressure that was off the coast for about 5 days. Known by locals as the holloween swell of 91 or 92. The waves pictured in this video are small compared to Delray at 4:oopm that day. It went from head high to quaddruple overhead in less than 1 hr. Sets kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Just balls out nutty. Everybody undergunned. Damn big, but far from fun. Nobody could paddle into them.

[notyourbabysdaddy]

Awesome!

[RicanSurfer]

cool video. check out a plethora of surfing videos at surfdeo(.)com

Peace!

[19corvette67]

bro thats the best waves florida ever got man i wish i could surf better that looked fun as hell they were all glassy and barreling at like 10-16 ft

[yeeeeeeeek]

thanks for posting this. do you have any old boca area vids?

[longboardpapa]

I have lots of REEF ROAD and JUPITER but no BOCA.

[vidstogo]

wow, great video Jim.

i must have been out of town. only really huge swell i saw was hugo. the other hurricance were just big.

peanut island and wave jumping vids over here dude

[seanweberRVC]

did you actuly take this video or did u get it from someone

[longboardpapa]

I took this video. I'm a news photographer that surfs!

Jim

Ps check out my surfing florida vid too

[OneEyeProductions]

Ridiculous! You got some great shots.

[metalebd]

woah, big. Love the atlantic.

[Islandhoppers]

You shot this Jim? I have an old VHS surf movie called "South Florida Surf" that opens with some of these shots.

rob

[longboardpapa]

Really? I've never seen that one.

I did give permission to "Surf NRG" to use this video and it was the highlight of that surf movie!

Jim

[SoBesurfer13]

thats crazy! when was that!?

[Johanoeberg]

Dont you just love middle age ladies that are walking that very-determined way!!

[longboardpapa]

In high heels no less! hehe

[surfr71]

OMG, I totally remember this! Crazy. My husband actually surfed Peanut Island during this.