Collective hopes soar when a tropical storm is named, only to deflate slightly when it stays a tropical storm. It’s called “Hurricane Season,” after all.
What happens when a tropical storm gains a 400-nautical mile fetch, you ask? Apparently it can suck that small CAT 1 hurricane, which missed your local swell window, back your way. Even better, it generates more swell than that small, measly CAT 1 ever could.
Yet life is full of tough decisions. You have a choice to make: watch what Kelly Slater just called, “The best contest waves ever” at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, or go hunt waves.
They’ve got replay and the Heat Analyzer, right? Good. Orange County loves a north pacific storm swell. And the Chopes comp might go on a lay day (which it did). Unless you’re in the contest, it’s no decision at all.
See more of Ben’s work at driftwoodfoto.com and on Instagram: @driftwoodfoto
