As Hurricane Bill readies to whip up coast, surfers line up

VIRGINIA BEACH

Surfers love hurricanes. Not that they want destruction, they're quick to remind you, just the waves.

So after a mostly flat summer - "lame" was a common adjective at the Oceanfront on Thursday - Hurricane Bill is tantalizing surfers with the prospect of an epic swell. Surf condition Web sites are running slow, overloaded with longing office workers.

Traces of Bill rolled in Thursday. Waves today should be fantastic - shoulder- to head-high. And Saturday could get crazy, maybe dangerous. Forecasts are calling for waves up to 15 feet tall. Flooding is expected in parts of the Outer Banks. The hurricane is not expected to strike land.

LIfeguards at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront already have red flags up and are warning swimmers and surfers to stay out of the water.

Frank Lundy, straddling his beach cruiser bike on the boardwalk and watching surfers on Thursday afternoon near the 1st Street jetty, said the waves could get so big that surfers might be scared off.

"None of these guys are going to be here Saturday!" he shouted, excitedly hopping on his bike and riding in small circles. "It's going to separate the men from the boys. That's what I hope!"

At the North End, surfers Jon Walker and Eugene Eustepa parked at 79th Street, tucked their boards under their arms and headed for the surf.

Walker, 26, was mildly disappointed as he crested the dunes to get his first view of the ocean. Too early. The duo briefly considered getting a beer instead but decided to enjoy the waist-high waves.

"Let's play with it," said Eustepa, 25. "I got nothing else to do."

A few blocks to the south, Jaime-Rae Markert, 22, was walking to the beach with her board. Markert, a cocktail waitress, was trying to figure out how to surf Saturday, possibly at the Outer Banks, and make it to work by 4 p.m.

"We're thinking about a dawn patrol Saturday," she said, surfer lingo for a sunrise session.

Back at the 1st Street Jetty, Nick Sgaglione, 19, of Queens, N.Y., said he drove here from Charleston, S.C., on Thursday morning. He was on his way to Savannah, Ga., but came back north for the swell.

"It's supposed to be the biggest swell this summer, and I can't miss that," he said.

Nearby, contractor Jason Graham noted Bill's current path parallel to the coast, as opposed to heading toward land, was perfect for great waves. The forecast southwest breeze could help, too.

He tried not to get too excited. Everything could fall apart.

"It could turn and nothing happens," he said. "That happens a lot."

Still, he was optimistic. He has family coming into town this weekend, but said it's understood that if the waves come up, he might be gone.

He laughed and explained, "That's my one decent out."

Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com