Long stretch of beach break that can hold more size than the Ocean City breaks. Watch for rips in heavy surf. Mushy outside takeoffs that turn more hollow on inside sandbars. Great when on. Blows out easily on any easterly winds.
Overview
Atmosphere
The most beautiful beach in an otherwise ugly stretch of coastline. Wild ponies and deer roam the park, often on the sand. Pristine. Best in fall after Labor Day when the hordes of beachgoers have gone home.
Hurricane Bill Session
Surfed the southern part of the island durring hurricane Bill swell directly out front of the Chincoteague parking lot. There are basically three sand bars on an overhead++ swell. Outside, middle and shorebreak. Saturday at low-ish tide was out of control. Peaks shifting everywere but nothing lining up. No one out. Sunday morning the swell had dropped by a foot or two. Still solid overhead. Tide was probably 3.5 ft going to a 4.5 ft high in the next hour or so. Much improved! Predictable peaks. Bombs hitting the outside sand bars and lining up. Only lasted for about 30 minutes before the tide got too fat. Should have shown up an hour earlier. 15-20 guys around the main peak in front of parking lot 1. 3 guys infront of parking lot 2. When the tide hit its peak the shore-pound was super fun to body womp.
comment by Ben, 2009-03-12 19:09:17
how early is safe?
I picked up a surfboard for the first time a week ago while on vacation and loved it. I live just a couple hours away from Assateague and was wondering when the water is warm enough that a newbie can go out spend a weekend catching mushy waves.
I had been thinking mid April. Would I die from hypothermia? I have a wetsuit but hate wearing it.
I miss Monterey Bay...
Assateauge is nice. I camp there a handful of times per year. However, I sometimes question whether or not to bring my boards since the conditions are usually too windy or too weak. It's a beautiful beach (can have bonfires) and the park is, in general, great. But the surfing is a letdown. The peaks are far outside and break for just a few seconds and the almost never make it to the inside. It's probably a great place to learn or to practice your pop-up. If you're into cutbacks, you better be ready to sacrifice the rest of your ride. I'm sure it's better in the fall but you're likely better off with a windsurfer or a kite. Let's petition for a nuke to be dropped of the coast so that swell can make it in without getting its legs cut off by the continental shelf. Change we can believe in...
comment by duc, 2009-08-24 17:34:04