Words by John Streit. Photos by Jonathan Breedlove, Jon Carter, Shaun Devine & Billy Ficke.

Almost on cue, the winds of fall began blowing just ahead of the autumnal equinox; signaling the official end of summer and the beginning of swell season on the East Coast.

Not that the action hadn’t already begun. As evidenced by the depth of recent swell recap features on this website, the closing weeks of summer — hopefully —  gave us a preview of what’s on the way in the coming months. We’ve already had a couple of minor nor’easters and plenty of wind kicking up swell to the sandbars of Virginia Beach, Sandbridge and the Outer Banks. And we still aren’t out of the woods for shots of swell coming from the tropics. With a stormy winter predicted in association with El Nino, perhaps the best is yet to come.

For now, we’ll continue to enjoy the gifts of surf while the water is still warm.

Surf & Adventure Co. team rider Blaine Walck teamed up with Va. Beach's Alex Burdett and Ryan Leopold for a super fun session at First Street Jetty with Jonathan Breedlove of Coastal Creatures Productions behind the lens. It's great to see our most iconic surf break finally showing signs of life after being a very deep hole for the entire summer. 1 of 2. Photo: Breedlove.
Blaine Walck. 2 of 2. Photo: Breedlove.
Blaine's been ripping the SUPERbrand Quadrofinia model. Photo: Breedlove.
Blaine Walck's fronside lipslide. Photo: Breedlove.
Alex Burdett threads the needle on a backside barrel. Photo: Breedlove.
Alex Burdett. Photo: Breedlove.
Blaine Walck off the top. Photo: Breedlove.
Ryan Leopold stalls for some tube time. Photo: Breedlove.
Same day, 90 minutes to the south; Matt Joyner boosts in the solid, chunky conditions. Photo: Carter.
Outer Banks legend and WRV master shaper Jesse Fernandez getting some R&D time at Avalon Pier. Photo: Carter.
Barry Price Sr. slotted on an inside runner. Photo: Carter.
Bri Vuyovich charging on her backhand. Photo: Carter.
Va. Beach's Jordan Montgomery looking strong in the juice. Photo: Carter.
Jeffery Myers flying high in Kill Devil Hills. Photo: Carter.
Quentin Turko with another big boost. Keep your eye peeled for this young up-and-comer from the Outer Banks. Photo: Carter.
Jessica Wallace throwing down a big frontside hack. Photo: Carter.
Surf & Adventure Co. OBX correspondent Matt Price goes huge at Kitty Hawk Pier. Photo: Carter.
Evan Felton shaped this board. Looks like it goes great! Photo: Carter.
Some more photo by Shaun Devine from the "Devine Connections" session on Sunday, Sept. 21 - the first moments of fall. Austin White. Photo: Devine.
Todd Pace with the 1-2 punch. Photo: Devine.
Todd Pace, 2 of 2. Photo: Devine.
These closing images by Billy Ficke were captured on an emotional day in his and his friends' lives. The session followed the memorial service of good friend Taylor Epps. It's safe to say his energy shone through the amazing hues of orange light illuminating the lineup at sundown on Sunday, Sept. 21. "He was one of my best friends -- I learned to surf with him too," Billy said. "It still doesn't feel real." Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Epps family and everyone touched by Taylor's life. Photo: Ficke.
There's no better tribute to a fallen surfer than to paddle out and do what we all love. Let's hope the guy behind Ethan Smith took off too deep to make this dreamy barrel section! Photo: Ficke.
While the light faded away into dusk, its orange tone was as rich as could be. Matt Hanson drives into the night. Photo: Ficke.
Ethan Smith. Photo: Ficke.
This image is a little dark and the lack of light caused it to blur a bit, but the colors in the sky were too good to pass up. Photo: Ficke.

Leave a Reply