This was easily one of the best days of surf I’ve ever had in New Jersey. But like most of the big swells we get here, things were still uncertain just the night before.

What I mean is that our sandbars are used to weak windswell and struggle to hold larger, more powerful swells. There are usually only a few spots around that can hold swells with periods longer than 10 seconds, and when it’s on, it’s a battle to get a wave. Forecasts were predicting wave heights over 10 feet with periods over 12 seconds, and I didn’t know if anything would be working during this swell.

Fortunately, the forecasts were slightly too optimistic. By the peak of the swell on this day, buoys were reading about 10 feet but with a much friendlier 9 second period. The local sandbars all turned on! I surfed this spot (a local favorite) all day with a great crew.

Thanks to Steve Miller for capturing this epic shot of me on one of my best rides of the day! Head to Instagram to see the rest of the photos and watch some drone clips from the session.