Winter is in full swing on the Jersey Shore with snowy beach days, howling offshore winds and pumping surf. On January 8th Winter Storm Helena passed overnight, blanketing the shore with six to eight inches of snow along with freezing cold temperatures. The storm also delivered plenty of swell coming out of the east and was bigger than originally predicted.
Sea smoke was coming off the Atlantic when I arrived at the beach and there were only a few surfers in the water. After watching it for a few minutes I saw Pat Parenty pull into a left, disappear and then get blown right out of the barrel. That one wave set the tone for the morning, a morning in which I froze my ass off for four hours while some familiar faces put on a great show in the water.
These are some of my favorite photos from that session.
