photos taken by Robbie Johnson. To see more pics of the same day check out http://www.surfcarolinamagazine.com/photos.html

April, 2009 would be the best month of surf so far this year, but it was still up and down, surf and water temps. Started out with some South west winds blowing in warmer water which was a relief since it had been so cold this winter. On the 3rd of April it blew hard SW all day building a swell about head high. The wind went offshore hard about an hour before dark and there were a few fun waves to be had but I’m sure it got better during the night sometime.

The best thing was the water jumped from upper 40’s to upper 50’s.  The next morning the swell couldn’t hold up to the hard west wind blowing all night and early morning brought a disappearing swell. As the tide changed, there were some fun waves to be had in the waist high range for those who waited. The whole following week the waves were small but if you hit the right tide there was a few to be had and the water even warmed up some more with the west and south west winds all week. For those staying the week after Easter on their spring break they were treated to the best week of the month for surf.

Good Friday there was no surf but the increasing SW wind built a nice swell for Saturday with and offshore wind. There was some quick hollow waves to be had in the chest to head high range and the water was an enjoyable lower 60’s. There was something to ride every day and Tuesday delivered a surprise mixed swell in Frisco with offshore winds. Like many days in Frisco there wasn’t much of a lineup and everyone got trapped on the inside bar trying to get out at least once but there was some fun head high to overhead waves if you got the right one. The water was beginning to drop though and the boots had to be put back on with water around 55 degrees. As the low developed offshore the waves got really big on Thursday and Friday breaking on the outer bar and weren’t really rideable although a few tried but spent most of their time battling current and closeouts.

The swell cleaned up on Saturday the 18th with head high to overhead waves and a WSW wind grooming the waves nicely. This is the day the photos in this post were taken. Unfortunately the water temps dropped again and many put back on the gloves and hoods and all day all everyone seemed to talk about was how cold they were. The wind came more southerly as the day went on putting a cross chop on the swell but luckily not enough to fully ruin it. Definitely one of the better days of the year. You can also check out a few more photos of this day at the Matt Lusk photography website.

The following week there was almost no swell but the water slowly warmed back up again and the final day of the month we were treated to a surprise swell that picked up slowly all day from almost nothing and by afternoon on the outgoing tide there was some shoulder to head high sets with a light onshore wind and water in the mid 60’s.

- Scott