The Nationals (which seem to be called, officially, the "MTI Tournament of Champions") are coming up this weekend at Shell Island, NC (near Wrightsville Beach). More info on the event can be found at www.penstockproductions.com.
Given that this is, after all, the Nationals), keep the fingers crossed for decent conditions. I don't know if there's going to be a webcam set up (although this would be a great idea), but if you want to obsess about the weather, here are some information sources for surf conditions in the southern Outer Banks:
NOAA Nat'l Buoy Data Center:
"Hatteras" buoy (250NM E of Charleston, SC; over 100 miles off
southern NC)
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?$station=41002
"Edisto" buoy (41 NM SE of Charleston, SC)
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?$station=41004
Frying Pan Shoals C-MAN station FPSN7 (This station is less than 50 miles off the southern NC coast, and so should provide the best data for
Wrightsville Beach.)
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?$station=fpsn7
Dial-A-Buoy:
tel (228) 688-1948
This is an automated phone service that provides an audio summary of
real-time buoy data. Be sure to wait for the prompts, and do not enter
numbers too quickly. (It's very touchy.) You'll need to know the
station ID of the buoy or other station about which you want info. The IDs
for the links above are, respectively, 41002, 41004, and FPSN7, or you
can use the map at http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ to find other stations.
To enter letters, use the usual phone keypad method -- so "FPSN7" should
be "37767".
For more info on Dial-a-Buoy, see http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/dial.shtml.
NOAA Wavewatch:
NOAA takes the actual observations from various stations, and uses it
to construct wave models or forecasts. You can get the data straight
from NOAA here: http://polar.wwb.noaa.gov/waves/Welcome.html
Buoyweather.com:
This is a privately-run web site that takes the data generated by
NOAA's NW3 and WNA wave models (see above) and displays it in useful ways,
like in map and table form.
Go to http://buoyweather.com/wnabrowser.jsp to see an overview map of
the North Atlantic.
Scripps:
The Scripps Institute of Oceanography uses the same NOAA wave model
data, but I think it has the best map displays:
http://facs.scripps.edu/surf/gblpac.html
Some of the old menubar stuff is working again. Links need to be updated, etc., but the conditions links work. Unfortunately, formatting of this section - yeah, the one where this text is - is messed up (very narrow) in some browsers. Not all, just some. Mmmm...
I skipped the Ocean City, NJ event this weekend, since the predicted waves were about a foot, and having seen OC with similar waves last year, I was in no hurry to leave the house at 5:00am on Saturday just to paddle flatwater. I hope everyone had fun.
Instead of paddling I was able to get the buoy data feeds (in the column to the right) working (sort of). These grab raw wave model data from NOAA, then parse it into a condensed format. The forecasts are based on NOAA's Wavewatch III global wave forecasting model, or its similar Western North Atlantic (WNA) data model. Obviously, I'm still working out the kinks. The chart should present overall significant wave height, and then, for the primary or largest wave field, thesignificant wave height, average period, and direction. Right now the column fiormatting is off. An asterisk, by the way, indicates that the waves in the field are likely to be primarily (local) wind waves (and thus closeouts and messy soup are more likely).
The Little Falls Gauge in the sidebar is now working correctly. It gives current height and flow data for the Little Falls Gauge, just above Washington on the Potomac. The raw data is available through the USGS. At first glance,a river gauge may not seem surf-related. On the other hand, it was this summer's abysmal east coast surf (and drought-level conditions on the rivers) that prompted me to keep better track of any paddling opportunities that might be out there. (Oh, yeah -- it was also a good experiment in parsing data with perl.)