Outer Banks in September?

[oceanAddict]

My son  is planning to go for a surf trip 2nd- 3rd week of September and asking me to join. He is prone surfer, I stuck with SUP. We both somewhere past beginning stage and trying to progress. Is this good location that time of year? Somehow I always thought about OB as a destination for wind- related sports.. We are in Boston area so this would be a road trip.

[surfinJ]

High quality beachbreak zone that in september should be less busy, though not in the water.  The waves more the hollow types so a shortboard would do.

[ilmsup]

That is the heart of hurricane season which should bring several large swells.  Many will blow out with the wind and you may find you have to wait to  surf the leftover swell when the wind dies down.  I have surfed cape fear region a lot  (which is a smaller less windy version of OBX) and also Florida.  I found NC waves to be far steeper so you need a shorter SUP with a good rocker and thinner rails. But if there is a lot of wind you will need a higher volume board.  When I took my board designed for NC waves to FL I found it much harder to get into the waves there.  I was in Palm Beach where the waves go from flat (most of the time) to 6-8 feet with a strong northwest wind back to flat.  My board was too light for the wind and much harder to chase down the waves as it was a slower gentler break.  Nice in the wave all the performance need for a steep wave was not as necessary.  I found I would get one or two waves and then have to walk quite a distance upwind.  On the other hand the board was perfect for the fast steep waves in NC when there was little to no wind.  When there was a hard offshore I had the same problems as Florida. I am just intermediate however.

[oceanAddict]

Thank you guys, appreciate the info. Well, I'm still in 9'5" 150 liters category, so not sure that would be ideal destination for me haha.

[PonoBill]

I loved the Outer Banks when I rode my motorcycle there in the '70s--september was great--fewer tourists. Just did bodysurfing, but the waves were decent and the little towns were crazy fun. I'm not sure it's as lively now--I think there are a lot more rich folks and they tend to be a bit quieter. But don't worry about how well-suited your board is, that's fine tuning. Go have fun.

[oceanAddict]

Thanks PB for encouragement, I was mostly talking about my skills level haha. 

[dietlin]

That is the best time of year to be a surfer in New England.  I would stay home and chase swell around New England rather than go to an area that will largely be effected by the same storms, but have less variety of swell exposures. 

[SurfnCJ8]

Some friends and I go every fall, have been for 20 + years. We really enjoy it. We are generally around the Hatteras Lighthouse area. If I recall there is usually a big surf fishing tournament in September sometime and they fill up the beaches, so you may want to check and avoid those dates. If you have a 4wd you can buy a pass and drive on the beach in certain areas, which is nice when you are looking for surf and/or trying to avoid a crowd. If I can find information on the fishing tournament I will post it back on here for you.