 | The coastal contour is that of long beaches facing predominantly ENE with very little in the way of natural or man made barriers to add any variety. There are no reefs, bays, harbour walls, points etc (unless Chapel point is included but its the bluntest point in Europe!) to shape the North sea swells that hit our shores. The North sea also has a relatively short fetch, which combined with a shallow sea and long gently sloping beaches produces fairly short period swells that lack real power. Having said that Lincolnshire does benefit from prevailing offshore SW winds and we do have miles of beach break surf which although it doesn't vary too dramatically along the length of the coast, sand banks do form which can create long and sometimes hollow waves.
Surf in Lincolnshire is generated when deep low pressure systems, which track easterly across the Atlantic, pass or settle over the north coast of Scotland and across to Scandanavia and the howling northerlies kick up a swell which cleans up into groundswell by the time it reaches us. We also experience the occasional S/SE swells or N/NE/E swells generated by localised low pressure systems which tend to be much shorter lived and of course theres localised onshore windswell. There are waves year round but mid-summer can see long flat periods. The prime time of year for surf is Autumn through to mid-Winter when the big groundswells push in and when the conditions are right there can be some classic days of surf. The downside is that the North Sea doesn't have the luxury of the Gulf Stream and winter sea temps can be Baltic at 6 degrees or less, which combined with near freezing air temps and negative wind chill factors certainly sorts the hardcore from the fair weather surfers. During winter a 6/4mm steamer wetsuit, gloves, hood and boots are essential. Summer can be surfed in either a spring suit or 3/2mm steamer.
There are three main surf areas along the coast from Mablethorpe in the north through Sutton on Sea to Skegness in the South. The two main spots are Sandilands at Sutton on Sea and North shore at Skegness. Sandilands tends to draw in the locals and works best on flooding mid to high tides, with a SW wind. There can be a steep drop off at Sandilands beach which makes surfing big high tides a no-go unless theres a sizeable swell running. There can also be a heavy lateral rip running along the coast depending on the swell/wind direction which either means constant paddling or drifting with it and walking back up the beach. Sandi also has a water tap and a toilet block which is a luxury for round here! Skegness North shore faces a more easterly direction and is situated just around the curve of the coast as it heads in towards the Wash and because of this it offers some protection from N/NW winds and can clean up a Northerly swell as it wraps around the coast. Skegness works at high tide and can produce some super clean lefts which peel off the banks in between the groynes which remain there. Good days at Skeg are a very rare occasion with more swell being picked up further North.
For those who watch the forecasts and own a tide timetable, classic surf can be scored in Lincolnshire (but dont tell too many people!) |
