about contact home members join what's new links
 
Hurricane Ivan decided to take a different path than Charley and Frances and headed up the gulf to hit the panhandle. The one good thing to come from this is that the surf starved gulf coast would get an epic swell. Everywhere from Naples to the panhandle got waves. Justin knew that Venice Jetties would be going off so he loaded up the camera gear and made the trip. He arrived just about an hour after the above satellite picture was taken. He was there but the swell wasn't. The skimboarders were ripping a nice little peeling shorebreak so he decided to film them while he waited for the swell to arrive. In just a few hours the swell had built to a solid 4' to 6' and offshore winds.

Click the picture for a larger version click the text link to see the video

With about a dozen skimmers on the north side of the jetties, there was no shortage of action to be filmed. These guys were controlling the shorebreak and pulling off some pretty impressive maneuvers. Check out the videos above and see them do everything from pop shove its to tube rides. A few guys would smack the lip hard fanning a huge spray in the process which makes for very cool video especially when you watch it in slow motion. Justin went back to the jetties the next day and the skimmers were gone. The waves were a little bigger but the wind had switched from offshore the day before to out of the south so it was a lot more choppy. The longboard video above was taken that day.

More frame grabs
Justin just got back from a surf trip to the Bahamas and captured some crystal clear barrels breaking just off the beautiful sandy beaches. Here is a video clip of Mike Morris as he discovers why it's really better in the Bahamas!