Surf Legends of Jacksonville Beach

Remember Hurricane Cleo and trying to get out with the on shore winds. Bruce made it out, I couldn’t get past the shore break. Few minutes later he takes off on a Hugh wave beating the white water through out the ride…..later the eye of the storm came through Jax Beach and the winds shifted to off shore, turning into a mini Sunset Beach. The shore break was massive and you had to paddle out through the pier crashing down free falling 10 to 12 feet as the waves feathered with strong off shore winds, only to look up and see swells coming as far as you could see. Once outside hundreds of yards past the pier all I could do was catch my breath and get up enough nerve to try one of these never seen before waves. I had borrowed a board that was heavier than my own just to get outside. On one of the waves three of us caught the same wave and with all three of us riding over the other the wave was still over the head of the top rider! The ride was so fast that the skeg of my board was humming violently. Never forget that day with about 20 of us that actually made it outside as a large crowd stood on the beach just to watch. The waves were tubing over the end of the pier, the longest in Florida. Bruce was a star along with a Larry Miniard, who used my board as his first attempt to surf. He came off the pier while fishing and ironically he got hooked! Wonder if David still has those films of us ? John Mobley