Dicks Picks: Spring Fling On The OBNC -

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How long has it been since I’ve seen decent enough waves to shoot? Well, todays posting date is August 22, 2022 and the photos below were, according to the embedded image file metadata were mostly shot between the first and second week of May. That’s a pretty long, g-dang ‘effing time for me, a guy who has always set a pretty low bar wave quality-wise, to pick the camera up and starting firing away. Why I did not post this batch from my annual Spring trip to shoot the Eastern Surfing Associations 2022 Mid-Atlantic Regionals at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head I’m not quite sure but it may have had something to do with 1 ) just not having a ton of great action from that 3 week trip in general and also that some of the best ones did get ran in a Surfline swell story. But they did not use them all and the sad fact that there hasn’t been jack squat to shoot since then well, why not now? And do you really need much of an excuse to run mostly yet unseen surf shots taken on the ‘Banks while waiting for that first tropical system to bust this seasons cherry wide open ? We say no and here ya’ go. – Mez –

The May 2002, North Atlantic Nor’easter was particularly ferocious beating the crap out of the area, shutting down most of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore for several days due to severe dune washover and sending a wrapping, sweeping swell all the way to south Hatteras Island to places rarely surfed at this size. Eddie Guilbeau and Wiley Robinson check out a random sandbar with no takers and cranking barrels.

The Point at Cape Hatteras. Or whats left of it.

Wiley Robinson getting the tires down to 18 psi opening the window of posibilites to go find waves off the beaten path.

And here is one of the challenging, unmolested Nor’easter set-up’s we found off the path via 4X4.

Location, location, location? South Nags Head oceanfront we’re pretty sure nobody envisioned when this house was constructed decades ago with 75-100 yards of sand in front of it.

Denied. The Marc Basnight Bridge was shutdown while waiting for the May Nor’easter’s winds to subside and the heavy equipment operators could man their dozers and dereks to start clearing a bazillion cubic yards of sand off of route 12 from the south side of the span to Mirlo Beach at S-Turns.

Unidentified dipping in somewhere between Frisco and the Ocracoke Ferry.

One of many classic signs and cool local visual flavorings still found all along the OBN while one by one they sadly disappear as a result of the building boom of the past 50 years.

Eddie Guilbeau wraps a sick, Slater-esque fin drift literally within minutes of wrapping up the tear down of the ESA’s Mid-Atlantic Regionals scaffolding at Jennette’s.

“Ocean Avenue Eddie” Guilbeau caught cat napping.

Guilbeau’s traveling partner, and ESA Regionals judge and pit crew, Wiley Robinson wraps a killer move himself after the ESA teardown and right as the leading edge of the May 2022 Nor’easter slammed into Dare County.

Breakfast of champions! Wiley Robinson displays a box of doughy delights from Duck Donuts. Food coma, anyone ?

Highway 12, one of my favorite roads to travel anywhere.

Another unridden and unoccupied off road sandbar on Hatteras Island.

Definitely NOT the way you want to off road with your 4X4 vehicle. Bad scene – but no fatality – on Hwy 64 East just before heading over the bridges to the OBNC.

At least the truck stayed upright and did not flip over.

Unidentified cracks a backside hammer on Hatteras Island.

Defining off the beaten surfing path. In over 5 decades of trips to the Outer Banks, including a lot of chill time and cold beer sunset watching here, I’ve never seen crazy good waves in this zone until the May 2022 Nor’easter opened my eys wide. And it’s so rare I do not expect to ever see it again.

May 2022 Nor’easter Hatteras Island mysto spot en fuego.

Green and glassy, two of our favorite things we love to see when we get to the beach.

Wiley Robinson snaps, Eddie Guilbeau watches at Jennette’s Pier.

Buxton, NC looking north from Third Groin. Build or buy beachfront at your own peril.

ESA All-Star coach Jason Motes finally gets to cut loose with a freesurf after being relived of his many Mid-Atlantic Regionals duties at contest’s end. And a well deserved surf at that to be sure.

Occasionally Frisco ain’t no Disco. This shizzel right here is for reals.

Wiley Robinson, Jennette’s Pier.

It was a day not fit for man nor beast as the May 2022 Nor’eater battered the coast of the Outer Banks with winds gust over 50 mph on the 9’th. But, of course, surfers don’t listen to that shit when there are waves to be had. Wiley and Eddie head up the beach after another half mile drift session that took all of maybe 10 minutes to complete start to finish.