1st St. Jetty:
It is the best of surfing. It is the worst of surfing. 1st Street is where it all happens, like it or not. For more than 30 years, Virginia Beach surfers have been corralled into a one-block bumper course that boasts every walk of life. From clueless tourists to bumbling novices to sponsor-me hotshots to grumpy never-beens, this is the place. The rock jetty traps sand and forms what is usually the best, or only, setup in town. Everywhere else can be a lake and the jetty will usually muster a surfable wave. Make one mistake on a crowded day, and the scrutinizing locals will make you wish you’d never paddled out. V.B. surfers take heckling to an art form.
First Street is comparable to California’s Doheny, a mushy right peeler that is often packed with beachgoers. The only difference is you don’t have the option of Lowers or Salt Creek just down the road — this is often the only show around. If there is a ripple at least as high as a johnboat wake, the gang is on it. Where once there existed a semblance of a pecking order, the lineup has deteriorated to total anarchy with the safeboard revolution. Surfing’s sanitary state has welcomed untold masses to the lineup. The result: danger. Especially in the summer months, injuries from other people’s boards are as common as tourist inquiries such as, “Do those suits really keep you warm?”
Being the focal point for both surf and surfers in town, it plays host to numerous competitions throughout the year. From the Eastern Surfing Association to the military to the local shop challenges to the riotous East Coast Surfing Championships, something is usually happening at 1st Street. The ECSC is the second longest running event in the world, attracting hundreds of professional and amateur surfers from around the world. During the ECSC, everyone in Virginia Beach is a surfer. The whole town is surf crazy. Fortunately, it marks the end of summer, at which time the crowds thin and the jetty is, once again, made for surfers.
Sandbridge Beach:
If you’re fed up with Virginia Beach but unwilling to leave the state or even the city, Sandbridge is the place to go. While it lasts, that is. Every hurricane and nor’easter that rocks the East Coast threatens to wipe Sandbridge off the map. Several cottages have been claimed by the sea, and many more sit precariously close to the surf.
There are four main surfing breaks along Sandbridge — Little Island Pier, S-Turns, Rock Lane and the Market. With the exception of an occasional pier shorebreak, the others generally break on an outer bar that leads into a deep spot. These spots can hold a bit more size than Virginia Beach proper without the oppressive presence of police, lifeguards and crowds.
While only a couple of miles from Virginia Beach’s resort strip, Sandbridge is cut off from the circus by Camp Pendleton, making it a 20-minute trek from the 1st Street Jetty. This relative isolation gives Sandbridge its allure. Many surfers live along the multi-mile stretch of beach, allowing them V.B. residency without the crowds. This townlet has just one market, known as “the market,” and isn’t looking to expand any time soon. While Sandbridge is known as the place in Virginia Beach to escape the crowds, summer can get downright crowded. Fortunately, there is room to breathe, so it’s easy to paddle away from the pack.
Unlike the resort strip, there are no hotels in Sandbridge. Everything is a weekly, monthly or seasonal rental.
15th St. Pier:
The wooden fishing pier has frustrated V.B. surfers in summer as much as it has been a saving grace for them in winter. Surfing is restricted within 300 feet of the pier, and during the summer, it isn’t allowed at all during the day. Local law enforcers generally frown on surfers and don’t hesitate to issue citations for any of a number of infractions, such as surfing too close to the pier, surfing without a leash or surfing during restricted hours. In winter, when the tourists have vacated, the officers slack off and the pier often becomes the place to be. During sizable nor’easters, it provides an easy paddle and a well-shaped right on the south side. When ice-cream headaches come with each duck-dive, a dry paddle is everything.
The north side shorebreak is known as “The Box,” not for its resemblance to the super-hollow outer reef in Western Australia, but rather the base of the pier that protrudes like a box. However, when the sandbar is right, south swells produce extremely fast tiny right barrels. Since this spot is off-limits during summer, it’s a bodyboard haven. In 1985, Hurricane Gloria took off a third of the pier, which has never fully been replaced. Prior to that, locals would sneak out to the end when it got big and hop the railing, often under chase by the police. Nowadays, the shelter of the pier isn’t enough to get you into the lineup on bigger days, but it’s better than nothing. Battles with fishermen, which were once as common as along the Sebastian Inlet Jetty, have settled somewhat. But don’t drop your guard, or a sinker to the head could ruin your session.
Camp Pendleton:
At the south end of Croatan, Camp Pendleton boasts a rarity in local surfing — ample parking. With a large lot and a wide surfing area, it can and does handle huge summer crowds. It isn’t an aggressive crowd, so competent surfers can still have their pick of the sets. Aside from a handful of residents, most of the crowd is transient, often commuting from inland cities.
Pendleton backs up an Army Reserve Base, hence the name. From the lineup, you’ll often hear explosions from the neighboring firing range and witness soldiers hanging from hovering helicopters. It gives an otherwise average session a G.I. Joe adventure feel.
Despite the crowds, Pendleton offers a pleasant reprieve from the 1st Street mayhem. The vibe is mellower, and there is more room to breathe. The wave breaks on an outer sandbar, normally dissipating over a trench near shore. It actually gets hollow on larger swells and can handle more size than 1st Street or Croatan.