On November 30, 2020, I traveled north to North Carolina with Eric and Evan Geislman. We left at 4:30am and started our long journey north. The forecast was calling for 7ft @ 9 seconds with 20-30mph offshore winds the next morning. As we neared North Carolina, a low pressure had formed and was moving north along the coast, bringing 40-60mph south winds across the Outerbanks.
By 12pm, the Oregon Inlet Buoy was recording a swell of 11.9ft @ 9 seconds, which is absolutely huge! We arrived in OBX at 2pm, grabbed some lunch, and headed to Pea Island. The winds began to switch SW slowly and the buoy was still at an astonishing 11ft @ 9 seconds. We drove to a spot and it was absolutely huge. Some sets on the outside had to be 10ft and on the inside, some easily 7ft+ waves. The current was ripping south and there were only a few waves that were ridden, including a slab that Lucas Rogers caught (You can find this wave on my Instagram @peytonwillard_).
That night, we went back and slept in fear that the swell would drop faster than anticipated due to the strong, post frontal offshore winds that blew all night. We woke up and the buoy was 7.7ft @ 9 seconds and winds were blowing offshore 20-30mph w/ gusts to 40mph! The surf held its size all night. We raced south to find a sandbar and the surf was pumping! Some sets were hitting 7-10ft. The rights were almost perfection, peeling down the beach! Below is an edit from that morning session.
As the day went on, the surf shrunk but continued to pump with overhead perfection. It was possibly the swell of 2020. Thanks for watching and reading!
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