Puerto Rico and Tybee Island in late Sept

[petulance]

Hi all,

So I have to be in Puerto Rico in late September for a wedding. I'll have about a week on the island and I won't be taking my board as I'll be tacking a South East US trip after Puerto Rico. I'll be staying in San Juan and will probably head out to Rincon for 2 days. Is a side trip to Rincon be worth it? I know that I can surf in San Juan itself as it has city beaches. If you have been following my posts over the years you will know that I am the resident kook so I don't go out in anything above 3ft Iggy scale.

I have done a bit of research but any advice from forum members is appreciated. It looks like I will have to rent a car to get to Rincon as public transport in Puerto Rico outside San Juan seems to be pretty limited. And I have only ever driven on the left side of the road.

I'll be in Georgia after Puerto Rico so I have decided to head out to Tybee Island. Has anyone surfed there? I had a look at some clips on YouTube and I saw mellow waves that were cruisier than the average day out at my local.

Thanks in advance.

[steve shearer]

Never been there Pet, but here's some footy of Rincon from the sixty-eight world titles. Looks like a nice user friendly wave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y8CvPW76LQ

[offshore1]

Hi Pet, been to both , forget surfing Tybee, beautiful sub-tropical marshland environment, still some active rice-growing going on, which used to be the economic mainstay.
But fcukall surf -- waay too much continental shelf out in front. Come up to North Carolina and say hello, lots more going on up here.

PR's a different story altogether, it's long been considered the Hawai'i of the east coast. Plenty of surf options, heaps of boards to rent. By all means head over to Rincon, you won't be sorry. It's not a bad drive at all from San Juan.
And make sure you get up to Wilderness too before you leave.

[Elmako]

Hi there, the Rincon area is only about 1.5 hrs drive from San Juan so if the swell is up, yeah go for it man, I have been there on 3 occasions and the power of the waves mixed with all sorts of reef break options, is insane. The Rincon area has got so many waves is BS...Renting a car there is very cheap.

Normally the winter season is November to March however as you know mother nature can be kind outside prime swell season.

September is also hurricane season for that area, so you could score some weird waves that only break a few times per year, like for example Chatarra y Aviones near San Juan.

Yeah Wilderness is one of my favorite breaks there.....

J

[petulance]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Steve, that YouTube clip looks good. A quick check shows that the 1968 contest was held at Domes in Rincon. Domes was on my list of spots and I like the waves in the first few minutes of the clip.

Offy, I can probably stretch my trip to head up to South Carolina (Hilton Head Island and Foley Beach) from Tybee Island. Would it be worth the trip? I'm not sure if I can make it all the way up to North Carolina. I do have relatives in Charlotte, NC though. Will I need to bring a spring suit or would boardies be good enough for late Sept / early Oct? Depending on the swell size, I may have to skip Wilderness. A quick search showed pics from a swell that was beyond my skill level.

Elmako, I'm not a swell chaser so I'll be happy to settle for mellow waves especially since I'll be renting a board.

Of course it depends on swell and wind but so far Domes and Marias in Rincon and La Ocho in San Juan are on my list.

[offshore1]

Domes is a stone's throw around a headland from Marias. I preferred Marias because it was cleaner and a prettier wave. Domes is called domes due to some domelike structures on the headland from an abandoned nuclear power plant.

Anything can happen in late September, including hurricanes...you might have to go up north and catch tradewind swell if nothing else is on offer: Jobos, Middles,, it's pretty, there are sea caves and plenty of wild.

get out of San Juan and see the real Puerto Rico..

As to the mainland; Trev has been to Charlotte. It's a friendly big city, but it's far from the coast. NASCAR, yes. Surfing, not so much.
Hilton Head and Folly are close to Don's (the bloke who runs this joint and recently raked in a cool 12 grand ) home in Charleston, SC. No surf there either. High dollar real estate though.
you related to Loofy or wat?

Get yur arse up here to Wilmington mate, I'll take you out in my little skiff to some pristine barrier islands http://www.surfline.com/travel/surfmaps ... cfm?id=351

You'll need a springy up here then Pet just to be sure. Northerly busters can be chilly.
cheers

[petulance]

Thanks for the input, Offy. Hmmm ... is Domes pronounced the English way or the Spanish way ... "Doh-maze" ...

I plan to head get out of San Juan as soon as I can, which would be 2 days after the wedding. Leaving myself one day of recovery in case I decide to excessively partake in the festivities.

I looked at some YouTube clips of Foley's Beach yesterday and the waves looked decent though I think that was due to Hurricane Earl.

lol, not related to loofy ... I was looking at the map and seeing how near I can be to Georgia and still get waves. Is it worth heading up to Surf City? I'm looking at rental car options in Georgia. Seems that the insurance policy for foreign drivers is a bit different as 3rd party liability insurance isn't available online but only purchasable at the counter.

OK, so Wilmington is only a 4 hour drive from Tybee Island. Hmmm ... decisions, decisions ... this started out as a food, music and craft beer trip.

[offshore1]

Domes, the english way.
I've got a little cottage up in Surf City, about 30 miles north of Wrightsville.
Come on up mate, we'll discuss who's hotter between sets: Gwyneth or Cameron.
There are waves all over the place up here; Georgia and South Carolina conversely have the worst surf on the east coast. deadset
Florida is another option: St. Augustine is pretty close, has some decent surf at times and is a cool old town. And of course there are other options on down from there to where Jimmy Slade grew up.

Why are you going to Tybee? That is a fairly well heeled exclusive sea island.
is mining making all Australians rich?

[petulance]

Gwyneth, definitely.

I'm not looking for dredging shallow coral reef takeoffs ala Indo. Be pretty happy to be in mellow 1 - 2ft surf, just so that I can say I surfed on the East Coast.

Why Tybee? I plan to head to Savannah and I looked at the map and Tybee is a 30 min drive from Savannah. I read one description of Tybee as a blue collar beach resort, maybe even the "Bali for people driving pickup trucks and waving Confederate flags". I thought Hilton Head island was for the more well heeled.

Arrrgh, I just want to sort out my itinerary so I can start booking flights and accomodation.

[alakaboo]

Domestic flights in the states are hella cheap. Just get your ticket to a hub.
travel insurance normally covers CTP, unless you buy a car. Just make sure you specify US and excess reduction

[offshore1]

you're probably right about Hilton Head vs. Tybee, to a degree; they're all high dollar real estate but HH more so.
Savannah's a good call for a fun side trip, it has a much looser, less buttoned-down feel to it than Charleston.
As you probably know, Georgia was England's penal colony up until the revolution, at which point George III and co. had to rethink matters and start sending convicts someplace else: Terra Australis Incognita got the nod. Thus you cnuts came to be. You're welcome.

Yeah, you're pressed for time, you're right not to worry too much then about scoring surf in the states Pet. PR is a different kettle of fish. Get yur skinny arse over to Rincon et al or you'll be no different from dammit clinging to his mummy's petticoat in Honolulu when the north shore was just a short hop away..
May not have much surf that time of year but it's possible, and even if it's big, like Oahu and Bali, you can always find spots with gentler more protected breaks.

Having made it a couple of times now, I don't envy your plane ride from Oz.
Hold on, almost forgot, you're probably travelling first class.

Happy travels, and you're still welcome anytime up here in the Carolina del Norte. cheers

[chrisb]

I visited Tybee Island in June 2007. It has a good eatery called the Crab Shack that is worth visiting.

As for the surf, the water was brownish (post-storm).

At the beach end of the main jetty bodyboarders were riding a poor quality beach break. At the other end of the jetty, about 100 metres out to sea, anglers were catching baby sharks....... I didn't go in.

[petulance]

Cheers for the tip on hubs and domestic flights, 'boo. Expedia wasn't giving me the flight I wanted out of the US so the better option is to book the domestic flight to the hub and the flight from the hub back to Oz on separate bookings.

I'm also seeing some silly flight options that only give me a layover time of less than 1 hour at LAX. I highly doubt anyone can clear outgoing immigration and security in 45 minutes after landing in LAX on a domestic flight.

Offy, thanks for the offer. I might hit NC on another trip now that I have relatives who have moved there. I'm also trying to extend my stay in Puerto Rico to get more time in Rincon in case the swell gets too big or flat.

I'm really not looking forward to the inbound flight ... 2 stops, with 6 hour layovers in each making it a total of 36 hours to get to Puerto Rico. I'll be in cattle class all the way unless I score an upgrade ... which has only happened once and that was with the now defunct Ansett.

Chris, the Crab Shack and Stingray's have come up in the list of recommended places to eat while over at Tybee Island.

[offshore1]

Water's always brown in SC and Georgia, due to numerous muddy rivers and inlets emptying thousands of sq. miles of muddy ricefields and marshland effluent with large tidal ranges.
Ocean bottom's super shallow a long ways out.

do your surfing in Puerto Rico Pet, sightseeing in Savannah.

[offshore1]

Tropical storm Bertha passing just south of PR as we speak, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
should bring a little something something up here by Tuesday.

[foamy]

Dear offshore1
In case you missed it, I hope you'll wander over to Ask Nick Carroll and add some local thoughts on Cape Hatteras.
'best BBQ sauce in the world'!! That is high praise! USA barbecuing does have a regional diversity, care and richness, with all its sauces and smoking, that leaves Australia's burning stuff on a metal plate style of bbqing seem quite inadequate.
From Ask Nick Carroll

The part of the USA's coast that reminded me most of Australia is Cape Hatteras

Exposed to a range of shorter interval swells from different angles...shifting sandbars, very much like South Straddie...local crew a lot like Australians, big beach fishermen, love their BBQ (best BBQ sauce in the world), drive through bottle shops, really the same feeling of exposure to the elements. I love that area, the crew is super cool and the waves and fishing are good, it's sort of a no bullshit environment.

[AussieinTexas]

How D from Texas, Puerto Rico certainly gets good quality waves with a variety of reef, beachy, points on offer. Depending on where you are staying waves will not be that far away. You have planned your arrival to be in the middle of hurricane season = swell, if you can get out of the room due to intense weather. Saw on the news yesterday here in Tx guys surfing in PR during hurricane Bertha, it looked BIG. PR is awesome,cheap and fun.

[offshore1]

Dear offshore1
In case you missed it, I hope you'll wander over to Ask Nick Carroll and add some local thoughts on Cape Hatteras.
'best BBQ sauce in the world'!! That is high praise! USA barbecuing does have a regional diversity, care and richness, with all its sauces and smoking, that leaves Australia's burning stuff on a metal plate style of bbqing seem quite inadequate.
From Ask Nick Carroll

The part of the USA's coast that reminded me most of Australia is Cape Hatteras

Exposed to a range of shorter interval swells from different angles...shifting sandbars, very much like South Straddie...local crew a lot like Australians, big beach fishermen, love their BBQ (best BBQ sauce in the world), drive through bottle shops, really the same feeling of exposure to the elements. I love that area, the crew is super cool and the waves and fishing are good, it's sort of a no bullshit environment.

I don't have much more to add foamball. There's a fcuking hurricane off the coast I just got in, it's dark now and I'm making tuna tacos
And I'm writing on my fecking phone cause I'm up here at my cottage.

Cheers