Covering the Coast with Tyler Balak

Photos by Jennifer Balak. Words by John Streit.

Never one to miss a swell and always willing to go the extra mile to score fun surf, it comes as no surprise that longtime Surf & Adventure team rider Tyler Balak covered a huge stretch of the southeast coast during the swell-rich weeks surrounding the formation of the long-duration Nor’easter and Hurricane Joaquin. With his wife Jennifer Balak behind the lens, the journey began in the Outer Banks just as the initial Nor’easter first began stirring up the Atlantic. After days of heavy onshore winds, the window finally opened for some clean faces rolling in to Sandbridge, though that window slammed shut the next day as the Nor’easter again intensified — now fueled by the moisture of newly-formed Hurricane Joaquin. As dreaded “cone of probability” shifted away from an Outer Banks/Virginia Beach bullseye to safely offshore, the Balaks waisted no time in searching the northern portion of Florida as the storms began to exit to the northeast. After a fun few days in the Sunshine State, the chase came full circle — ending where it started on the Outer Banks — this time to the tune of sub sea-level drainers. The Balaks’ pavement pounding illustrates the possibilities a single swell event can open up by exploring the multitude of surf setups the East Coast has to offer.