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I didn't say anything about hurricanes, I'm talking about a Chad (Franklin) and a Stacy (Idalia) having some sex.
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dnrdFranklin & Idalia: A Love Story
Nearly every surf spot from Louisiana to Nova Scotia, DR to PR, got kissed by one storm or the other or both.
Outer Banks. Photo: Patrick Ruddy
Matt Pruett
6th, Sep 2023. Updated 8 days ago.
Photography by Patrick Ruddy, Arthur Shim, Wolf Photographe, Jorgito Rivera, Anna Posada, Dick Meseroll, Will Vogt, Ben Hicks, Alex Dantin, Austin Gandler, Mike Nelson, Bobby Siliato, Tim Torchia, Ben Currie, Scott Sullivan, Ralph Fatello, Neal Campbell, Cate Brown, Mike Leech, Cody Hammer, Patrick Ruddy, Ed Obermeyer and Nick Denny
The Franklin-Idalia saga was bookended by tragedy. Destructive landfalls in the Dominican Republic and Florida that ultimately claimed the lives of five people. But the meat of the story — hell, the bones and ornaments, too — that was pure romance. At some point during this near-two-week swell bender, every exposed surf spot from the Gulf of Mexico on up the Eastern Seaboard to the Canadian Maritimes got a kiss from Hurricane Franklin, or Hurricane Idalia, or both. Wet and sloppy ones (Florida). Long, slow, drawn-out ones (Outer Banks). Hard, passionate ones (New Jersey). Or maybe just a peck on the cheek (Louisiana). But everyone received affection.
And we’ve got the evidence to support that. After dispatching dozens upon dozens of photographers and videographers to cover the action throughout the Caribbean, East Coast and Gulf, we spent four days documenting the event in realtime. By the time Idalia passed over the Southeast U.S. and scooted out into the Atlantic, we cried uncle. But the story continued, the submissions kept flowing, and at press time many surfers are still making out with Idalia.
But since some of us couldn’t tell where one swell ended and another began, we’re gonna try to make some sense of the extended, expanded, two-week-and-2000-mile-long Franklin & Idalia courtship, the latter of which is still loving hard.
Can’t be everywhere at once — but our cams are. Enjoy a cam rewind road trip.
It’s easy to think you surf good until you see someone who really does. Cannon Carr, altering perspectives at the WRV OBX Pro. Photo: Patrick Ruddy
New York took a while to get going. But once it did, it didn’t stop. Montauk. Photo: Arthur Shim
Surprise!
“Feast or famine, zero to a hundred, dead to dancing… However you want to describe it, a switch flipped in the Atlantic tropics 16 days ago, and there’s no sign of when it’ll turn back off,” explains Surfline’s Charlie Hutcherson. “There’s nothing surprising about the timing. We expect the tropics to wake up over the back half of August and be in full swing by the second week of September. What is surprising is them springing to life in record-setting fashion with no signs of slowing down. And on top of that, we’re in a strengthening El Niño, the climate pattern that’s supposed to suppress the tropics.
“Seasonal forecasts said we were in for an above-average storm season, but it was hard to see that coming with El Niño and other unfavorable conditions in the air over the Atlantic. But little doubt remains. The question has shifted to, How busy will this season end up? We’re now on our 13th storm, one name away from hitting the average count for an entire season. Adding up storm days, this has already been the fifth busiest season on record. And we’ve yet to reach the peak.”
Rewind the Storms: Tracking Franklin and Idalia in Realtime
Caribbean
“It took a while for Franklin to get its act together and get noticed,” Hutcherson said. “Spinning in the El Niño-induced graveyard known as the Caribbean Sea, Franklin was a mess for days, sending shorter-period surf around before moving over the Dominican Republic as a 45-knot tropical storm on the 23rd. Once it escaped the wind shear death, Franklin meandered and settled into a more favorable environment north of Puerto Rico, and it was game on. Intensifying into a hurricane on the 25th, Franklin rapidly intensified into a Cat 4 on the 28th. The major hurricane was on a NW track toward the East Coast as it reached peak intensity with 130-knot sustained winds. The storm slowly weakened as it hung a right, away from the U.S., and tracked north of Bermuda as a Cat 2 hurricane on the 30th.”
The best thing about Hurricane Franklin was that, from the beginning, the storm posed no real threat to the continental U.S. The worst thing about Hurricane Franklin was it hitting its Caribbean target. Upon making an 8am Wednesday, August 23rd landfall in the southeastern part of Hispaniola near Barahona, Franklin battered the island with enough rain to cause widespread flooding and landslides in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Destructive, yes, but not exactly catastrophic.
“Luckily, the island didn’t get hit as hard as we thought,” Dominican Republic pro surfer Pedro Fernandez reported after the storm passed. “Lots of rain in a few parts of the island, but not too crazy here on the north side in Cabarete. Franklin made a big spin when it was going north over the island and brought some fun, clean surf for a few days, so everyone got some good-quality waves before our winter season.”
A week later, Idalia gave the DR crew even more to smile about. Bigger waves, better winds, more options. Naturally, Puerto Rico got in on that tropical action, too. The slabs were particularly ferocious. “On Monday we were receiving waves from Hurricane Idalia on the north and northwest coasts of Puerto Rico,” reported PR shooter Adrian Cruz. “There were good offshore winds all day and incredible conditions.”
Dominican Republic pro Pedro Fernandez, sea-stomp after landfall. Photo: Wolf Photographe
“It’s so good when we get a swell with such a far fetch come into our window,” said Puerto Rican legend Otto Flores. “It seems when the waves travel from afar and the winds cooperate, it just grooms them to perfection. There is nothing better than a groundswell, and this storm really ticked all the boxes.” Alejando Miranda. Photo: Jorgito Rivera
“When it all came together we got to see the potential of every spot,”Flores continued. “No matter how many times we’ve surfed them, somehow they always amaze the hell out of us. This season opened with flying colors!” Darren Muschett. Photo: Anna Posada
Florida
Once it became a full-blown hurricane, Franklin’s swell trickled into the Sunshine State window on Sunday, along with a scourge of stinging jellyfish and other, more formidable wildlife. But the surf was there. And so was the hype. “The legions of armchair meteorologists on the beach espoused a plethora of storm formation theories, spaghetti track models and wave predictions galore,” said legendary photographer Dick Meseroll, “but the stoke and froth was palpable for our first significant swell of the 2023 Atlantic Tropical Season.”
“Franklin’s unusual track helps explain the odd spread of surf last week,” Hutcherson explains. “Since the system came north out of the Caribbean instead of tracking west toward the coast, it wasn’t able to lay down days of swell like we might see with a long-track storm originating off Africa. Since it meandered as it organized into a hurricane, plus the NW track that followed, little fetch was aimed at the nearby Caribbean islands, with a truncated fetch on the top side blowing at Florida.”
Nonetheless, by Monday the Franklin swell was finally distinguishable from all the other wave makers in the water and spreading up the coast. Uncooperative winds and long periods made for a tricky hunt, though, prompting one Jax Beach crew to gamble on a novelty. “It was a pretty wild spot to film from,” said the crew’s videographer, Preston Johnson. “I had to dodge cars along A1A and avoid construction workers the entire time!”
“I’ve had mixed emotions about this ‘season opener’” says Mez, who spent most of this past week shooting with local chiropractor Corey Howell [pictured]. “When somebody suffers a direct hit from a Cat 3 beast like Idalia, which went on to savage other states before exiting into the Atlantic, I can’t complain that our surf in Central Florida kinda sucked. I’m just relieved we dodged another bullet.” Photo: Mez/ESM
“It’s crazy right now, a full-on barrel fest,” Jax Beach shooter Will Vogt reported on Wednesday night, after scoring thick, muddy barrels at a North Florida secret spot with local ringer Cody Thompson [pictured]. “It was still doing it at dark!” Photo: Will Vogt
“We knew most of our usual spots weren’t going to work with how long the period was with this swell,” added Jax Pier mainstay Austin Clouse. “And the parks closed early, so we knew the pier would be packed. We ended up getting a drop on a mysto dredge a few miles south. And we lucked out. There were some psycho ones coming through and our little crew packed pits all morning with no one out. None of us could believe what we’d stumbled upon. One for the books, for sure.”
With Idalia entering the scene, Wednesday was even better at an entirely different North Florida secret spot. “I knew there was a chance we’d get a clean-up sesh as the storm passed over us,” explained Jax ace Cody Thompson, who packed several muddy, standup barrels. “The stars aligned perfectly, the wind clocked offshore and the tide filled in with a few solid hours of daylight to spare.”
Gulf of Mexico
Uninspired by Franklin’s long periods and lame local winds, a lot of Floridians scrambled west on Tuesday to catch Idalia’s fleeting swell before the storm made a mess of the Sunshine State. “Venice turned on for a bit,” said South Florida photographer Ben Hicks, who journeyed over to the other side for the Idalia pulse. “Storm surge covered the jetties and the roaches came crawling out of the rocks into the lineup, along with a couple rats. It was about as big as it gets in Venice, Florida.”
“While everyone was watching Frankie spin out at sea, danger was developing in the Gulf of Mexico, or more accurately, the Eastern Pacific,” Hutcherson explains. “Usually the other way around, a trough of low pressure moved from Central America into the Caribbean Sea back on the 24th. Lifting north, the system became Tropical Depression Ten near the Yucatan on the 26th and upgraded to Idalia on the 27th. Much like Franklin, Idalia meandered under the western tip of Cuba for a few days before exploding after it escaped the clutches of the Caribbean. First a hurricane on the 29th, Idalia reached Cat 2 intensity later in the day. That was the first time since the 1890’s we’ve had two major hurricanes at the same time in August.
“As it tracked north overnight, Idalia reached Cat 4 strength with 115-knot winds ahead of landfall in the Big Bend of Florida between Tampa and Tallahassee. The storm lashed Florida’s west coast on its way north with the dirty-side winds and rain, and a full-moon high tide adding insult to injury. With the storm certain to remain offshore, locals hunted down some storm surf, those storm-force S/SW winds and 20-foot seas making for victory-at-sea conditions right over land, and in some spots, right over the highway.”
Venice, Florida. Worth getting wet for, even if you were just watching. Photo: Ben Hicks
And if West Florida was good, then the Panhandle was excellent.
Easing swell graced the Panhandle on Wednesday morning as Idalia’s track to the northeast drove the offshore winds. “The vibes were at an all-time high at the [Pensacola] pier,” reported Panhandle water photographer Stephen Edwards. “I got out before the sun had risen and saw the biggest sets I’ve personally ever seen there. It was definitely a morning I’ll never forget.”
“The Panhandle, accustomed to taking the storms head on, found itself on the good side for a change,” Hutcherson said. “Northerly offshore winds and heaps of S-trending-SE/ESE swell poured in and spread all the way to Louisiana (and Texas, too). The only drawback was the timing. The bulk of the swell passed in the night and went mostly unnoticed by the sheltered crews around Panama City Beach. South swell came up for the evening session on the 29th with pumping overhead surf running for dawn patrol the next morning at the western beaches.
“Unfortunately, being the Gulf the surf was short-lived, dropping back down to the waist-high by early afternoon. Idalia still had a few surprises left, however. The storm’s easterly track over Georgia left some winds dangling over the Gulf, which sent another fun pulse of south swell to the Panhandle the next day.”
And if the Panhandle was excellent, then Alabama was historic.
“Here on the Gulf Coast, we had a feeling that our little spot in Alabama could hold that amount of energy and size, and it did just that,” said Panhandle photographer Alex Dantin. “The hype was real for this storm, and the swell had some looooong periods, especially for the Gulf. We actually ended up renting a condo on Tuesday to set up home base in Bama!”
“You really couldn’t ask for much more,” Dantin continued. “Good waves with all your homies. Hooting to them from the balcony while getting water and a quick snack to refuel, then back out there. It was kind of crazy how fast the swell dropped throughout the day, but we made the most of it. This is our favorite time of the year, and we all had a blast.”
Left: Alabama, as perfect as it gets (twice a decade). Right: Floridian ripper Jacob Pace, worlds away one state over. Photos: Alex Dantin
Orange Beach, Alabama, as seductive as any other beachbreak. Photo: Austin Gandler
New Jersey & New York
Basically, whatever Franklin didn’t do for New York and New Jersey, Idalia more than made up for. Either way, the water was really moving on Wednesday. And it hasn’t stopped moving since.
“Everyone was chomping at the bit to get going on this one, but it was a slow starter,” said New York photographer Mike Nelson. “I’d been on the hunt for a good sandbar all day Tuesday, then I waited all day Wednesday for Franklin to get its act together. And it finally did. It was a little disorganized and bumpy Tuesday and early Wednesday, and by the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around, it was pumping. And the Idalia pulse on Thursday morning might have been the best of all.”
Patience paying dividends in Long Beach. Photo: Mike Nelson
Similar story for the Garden State. “At first light Wednesday it was dark and dreary and I didn’t have high hopes as far as shooting surf goes,” said New Jersey photographer Bobby Siliato. “But in the afternoon the conditions really improved and it turned on. Unfortunately, there were a lot of closeouts despite the winds holding up the waves, but every so often there were a few open sections to be had.”
From there, contributors’ reports varied depending on which beach they were at and how long they hung around.
Ocean City: “The water was warm, it was 80 degrees outside, and it’s great to see Rob back in the water again after suffering a knee injury,” said John Bellingeri. “After a long summer with no waves, it was great to get back on the road, hunting down the perfect wave with the crew.”
LBI: “It was super glassy in the morning after the rain, before the blue skies and shift to offshore winds,” said Dan Przygocki. “I got a fun few hours for myself. I just couldn’t find the heaving one when I had the camera [laughs].”
Monmouth County: “This is always a great time of the year to be a surfer, and/or in my case, a surf photographer,” said Timmy Torchia. “It was a great day to knock the dust off and feel the energy of the ocean again. Scoring with friends is just an added bonus!”
Northern New Jersey: “It got kinda good the day of the Super Blue Moon,” said Ryan Struck. “I’d already swam for a few hours and was just about to get out when Sal Martelli got drained across the whole beach. Session extension, for sure! But I knew that once the sun popped out and the tide filled in that afternoon, conditions would be ripe for water photos — a calculation that paid off.”
Logan Kamen, straight off the plane and into a freight train in New Jersey. Photo: Timmy Torchia
“Waves weren’t the best in Seaside Heights this swell,” said New Jersey shooter Ben Currie, “but they sure were fun.” Photo: Ben Currie
New England
If the swell anthem for New York and New Jersey was “Can’t Hardly Wait,” then New England’s must’ve been “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”
“We always run the risk of getting skunked up here in Northern New England because of the long arm of Cape Cod,” said New Hampshire photographer Ralph Fatello, “so some of the young guns and elders headed south to Rhode Island to catch it early. Newport and Point Judith in particular had clean, overhead swell and the winds were favorable, but the crowd was insane, confirmed reports of 100 people in the water. Little Compton was a foot or two overhead, but the wind was on it. I heard a few conflicting reports that it got a good glass-off with size late in the day, but I stayed here in Hampton and ultimately missed it.”
The lemon next to the pie in Rhode Island. “Tropical Storm Lee was named on the 5th and is forecast to take a traditional, westerly long-track hurricane course,” Hutcherson explains, “taking it just north of the Windward Islands as a Cat 4 major hurricane.” Photo: Scott Sullivan
Peter Stokes, totally prepared for anything hurricane season might throw at him in New Hampshire. Photo: Ralph Fatello
“Franklin’s first pulses did show up late Wednesday, but it was small and disorganized,” Fatello continued. “At that point, I had to stick by my decision to stay put. There were waves at the Wall that first night, with the unexpected attraction of the Super Blue Moon. The next morning was significantly bigger and better. Thursday ended up being the biggest day: head-high to slightly overhead and good at the points, and some fun beachbreak surf. And Day Three was good in the morning but faded with the tide, then the wind got on it. All in all, three days of waves is nothing to sneer at.”
“Franklin arrived in Rhody a foggy, angry mess with light onshore winds that slowly switched to stronger offshore on Day Two,” added Rhode Island photographer Cate Brown. “The buoy hung around pretty solidly, which helped push things through the severe Super Blue Moon tides, and faded to great logging conditions by the end of the day. It feels like we haven’t seen a big storm swell event like this in a couple years. Some middling stuff, sure, but not a spectacle like this. All of New England showed up, plus some Quebecois.”
“Some of our fickle points were breaking, which is a good sign for things to come,” finished Maine photographer Neal Campbell. “We never got the size or the perfect conditions, but there were a few moments.”
Lara Marcantonio, standing up for herself and handling the situation with grace in Rhode Island. Photo: Cate Brown
Meanwhile, in Nova Scotia…Dean Petty walks up the point to say “hi!” to Franklin. Photo: Braydon Booth
Outer Banks
No one benefited from the Franklin-Idalia love affair like those posted up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Between the abundant swell, the Labor Day Weekend spectacle, and all the professional talent in town for the WSL QS 1,000 WRV OBX Pro in Nags Head — the scene could’ve been scripted by the Dare County Tourism Board.
“The first hurricane swell of the year always brings lots of hype and crowds, especially with the OBX Pro contest going on,” added Outer Banks photographer Mike Leech. “But what’s so unique about the Outer Banks is you can almost always find a good break with no one on it somewhere along the 80-mile coast. The first day of the swell, Tuesday, was very underwhelming. Pretty much everyone I talked to said, ‘It’s just weird,’ and it was. There were light onshore winds all day, but it never really turned on. It was nice to go for a swim in the clear, green water and shake off the rust, though.”
“Wednesday morning was much, much different,” Leech continued. “I was expecting something like the day before, and I walked over the dunes to see peeling right after peeling right after peeling right. I had to make the most of it before duty called at 9am. Everyone was beyond stoked. After a long summer, we finally got tubes at home.”
“SE swells are always a toss-up for us, so I try to lower the expectations,” Outer Banks legend Jesse Hines said Wednesday. “We found a wave early and instead of driving the whole island in search of the perfect peak, we went bird in hand. It turned out to be super fun and it got better through the morning. It felt good to get pitted again!” Photo: Mike Leech
Mark Dawson, forever in the mix in Cape Hatteras. (Oh, and for those interested, we’ve got this Florence Marine X long sleeve hoody right here.) Photo: Cody Hammer/REAL Watersports
“Once a north-bound hurricane reaches your latitude, its swell-producing days are all but over for your spot,” Hutcherson explains. “Franklin headed right for the Outer Banks but kept its distance and hooked out to sea before crossing over that magic parallel. That kept Hatteras Island as the epicenter of the Franklin swell, but tempered the size and duration of the swell in the Northeast, and offered several days of fun-not-firing surf in Florida and the Southeast. The kicker for the Outer Banks was the front draped off the coast, which made sure Frankie stayed away from land. And the high pressure behind it allowed for blue skies and light winds, usually offshore.”
Taking full advantage of the pulsing Franklin swell and offshore winds, the OBX Pro rampaged through round after round of men’s and women’s heats for their opening day of competition. Impending weather from Idalia effectively shut down competition for Thursday and Friday as visitors battened down the hatches alongside the locals. With Idalia swell fully flexing, the action resumed on Saturday, finished on Sunday, and by all accounts this contest offered the most dazzling display of high-performance surfing anyone on this beach has seen all year, if not ever.
Canada’s Sanoa Dempfle-Olin and Florida’s Zoe Benedetto, 1st and 2nd respectfully at the WRV OBX Pro. Photos: Patrick Ruddy
“It wasn’t long before Idalia transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone off Cape Hatteras, but a name is just a name,” Hutcherson explains. “Idalia was starting a new life. Taking a slow easterly track under Bermuda before lifting north, the storm interacted with an early-season cold front over the Western Atlantic producing an expansive fetch aimed at the Caribbean and the southern half of the coast.” Ryan Huckabee, counter-clockwise rotation in Nags Head. Photo: Patrick Ruddy
That was Sunday. The next day, the surf was even better. And the day after that, it was even better. “From running right tubes last week to A-frames and left tubes this week with some rippable stuff mixed in between,” VB pro Michael Dunphy finished, “we’ve all been reminded of that Outer Banks magic.”
“I’m still here!” finished Floridian shooter/supercoach Asher Nolan on Tuesday, September 5th. “It’s still amazing. Today might’ve been the best day.”
It just won’t stop. And therefore, neither will we. Stay tuned.
“First Street Jetty just wasn’t ready,” VB’s eternally frothy water photographer, Ed Obermeyer, reported last Tuesday. “Too deep and the sandbar wasn’t exposed enough. It was game on later in the day, though. Pendleton was totally firing!” Tutancainyahmen Brian Alexander Holmes, seizing his moment. Photo: Ed Obermeyer
***
While Idalia continues to pump out swell, we must not forget that the storm wreaked havoc in parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. As we write this, hundreds of American Red Cross disaster workers are providing comfort, support and relief to people in need throughout the Southeast. If you’d like to help out those affected, you can start by making a donation to the American Red Cross’ Idalia relief fund.
Incoming: Hurricanes Lee and Margot | Watch: Tropical Video Update | Learn: What’s Still to Come
Latest Forecast Analysis:
New England | Long Island | Mid Atlantic | VB-Outer Banks | Southeast | Florida | Puerto Rico
SWELL SIGNATURE: FRANKLIN
Storm Location and Movement: Formed on Sunday, August 20th in the Caribbean Sea before tracking over Hispaniola on Wednesday, August 23rd. Franklin quickly strengthened while tracking northwestward before taking a quick righthand turn and skirting north of Bermuda on Wednesday, August 30th.
Storm Winds/Seas: Franklin is the strongest hurricane of the year so far, with maximum winds reaching 130 knots and a few 35’+ observations based on buoy readings.
Swell Travel Time: 1-3 days depending on location, 2 days for most
Peak Storm Intensity: Franklin bottomed out at 926mb, topping out as a Category 4 major hurricane.
SWELL SIGNATURE: IDALIA
Storm Location and Movement: Formed near the Yucatan, tracked through eastern Gulf, made landfall along Florida’s Nature Coast
Storm Winds: Peak wind 105 kts
Storm Seas: 24.6’ based on SOFAR buoy
Swell Travel Time: 12-24 hours depending on location
Swell Height, Period and Direction:
Tampa Buoy: 20.6’@12s S shifting SE/ESE swell on 8/30
Pensacola Buoy: 15.4’@14s SE swell on 8/30
Know before you go
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One day, Idalia woke up from her basement and had a dream about going ER in Florida. She had been dreaming about it for weeks. Her head started pounding again after she finished the dream about it. This time she thought she might be sick. She got out of bed, made breakfast, and went outside to sit in her garden. As she was sitting there, eating her breakfast, she saw that Franklin had just landed in her backyard. "Good morning, baby," he said to her while coming through the front door. "Did you miss me? " Idalia nodded yes. She knew he would be back soon enough. After the last time, Idalia knew that they were only going to see each other for one or two days a week. "Good because I missed you too," he smiled at her before kissing her forehead. He sat down on the swing beside her and watched as she ate her breakfast.
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