Fishermans Island Surf Guide

Fishermans Island Surf Guide

Just to the north end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, on Virginia's eastern shore, rests a fickle left point with world-class potential, that is, if you have 10 years to wait for it. The island is protected as a natural preserve, making a stroll down the beach a felony. Therefore, you must anchor just outside the lineup and paddle into position as though on an exotic island excursion. Braver souls will chance a sprint from the highway through old World War II ammunition bunkers and prickly underbrush. Big east/southeast swells create the only lined-up conditions, but winds must be out of the north. Any kink and you've wasted a rough, lengthy boat trip. On that rare day, when the planets are aligned just so, the wave is a 300-yard freight train running right through the bridge tunnel.

Crowds in this area are not a factor. It's so hard to get to this place, even though it is clearly visible from the bridge/tunnel, that few make the trek. In the early '80s, Matt Kechele and friends, on a run up the coast, stumbled onto the point doing its thing and parked their car alongside the road despite the signs warning steep consequences. After three hours of reeling lefthanders, the stern voice of port authority summoned them to shore. Luckily, their broken radiator excuse held water in the sweltering heat and they were escorted off the island. If you don't have a boat, don't even try it.

To the north of fishermen's, several rarely surfed islands suggest impressive wave potential. Access is by boat only, and the names are quite interesting, Wallops Island, Assawoman Island, Hog Island and Wreck Island, to name a few.