Research & Destroy: June 2

Shaun Devine matching wits with a punchy section. Photo: Streit.

Words by John Streit. Photos by Streit & Steven Schmucker.

Research pays off.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who constructed the 1,840 foot-long Field Research Facility in Duck, N.C., knows this fact as well as any organization on the planet. That’s the reason they decided to place a massive pier on an otherwise anonymous stretch of empty beach in northern Dare County in 1977 — they knew it was an extremely dynamic area in terms of oceanographic phenomenon. While the pier’s primary function is to observe and record wave, wind, tide and current data; the Corps happened to create the potential for a world-class surf spot.

Forget about pulling up, parking the car and scoring. This spot is reserved for either those with a personal connection in one of the residential/rental communities nearby or for anyone who’s willing to make a very, very lengthy walk from the nearest parking lot in downtown Duck. We’re talking miles. Otherwise, your car will be towed with a hefty fine to match.

As the calendar turned to June, the Atlantic sent a giant fetch of ENE wind pointed directly at the East Coast. “The Research Pier” was directly in the crosshairs of this shot of swell. As fickle as it can be perfect, we were beyond stoked to check the isolated break from a distance and see solid head-high-plus surf reeling off the pier’s adjacent sandbars — the culmination of years of chart-reading, prognosticating and spot-checking.

Research definitely pays off.