A rain barrel in February. This was shot just after the rain cleared. There is a fair amount of silt in the water from southerly swell dredging it up from the Cape Fear River plus your normal rain runoff. Perfect shark feeding conditions as it is also near a major inlet. Then there are the pilings…
This is a sizable (6-7ft) classic “jetty” wave that hollows out as it goes ripping through the pilings. The pilings extend all the way out to the line-up (trust me) though it appears to end in the shore break. There is a hole in the staggered pilings that creates opportunity to claim a wave, end up in the ER, or doing ding repair. If you catch the first peak off the pier then you might be lucky enough (or surf the place regularly) to drive through the inside, only to see the wave swing out wide and start to fold over. Pull in and commit or carve out on the bottom and take your chances with age old pilings and barnacles.
Photo: A. Tolhurst
Notes from the North End 
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