For Florida surfers, Hurricane Erin could be 'perfect storm' for an epic ride

Alex Harris, Miami Herald on Aug 19, 2025

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As Floridians breathe a collective sign of relief from escaping the worst impacts of Hurricane Erin, there’s one group of people that are particularly thrilled with the exact track of this storm — surfers.

The large and powerful hurricane is expected to stay hundreds of miles offshore, far enough to not even swipe the Sunshine State with rain bands or high winds, but close enough to send high swells rolling toward the coastline.

Meteorologists warn that the rough waters come with dangerous rip tides for beachgoers and hazardous conditions for boaters. But for many board aficionados, it means one thing: Surf’s up.

“It looked like the storm stayed the perfect distance off the coast,” said Jordan Schwartz, owner of the family-owned and operated Ohana Surf Shop on Stuart’s Hutchinson Island. “It’s definitely dangerous conditions, but fun for experienced surfers.”

Schwartz said business has been booming at the store ever since Erin was officially named, a welcome reprieve from a “really flat summer,” and terrible winter and spring for surfing.

“It’s the first sign of life wave-wise,” he said. “In the Treasure Coast we’re going to see 8 to 10 foot surf.”

Erin’s surf and storm surge could cause erosion along sections of the Florida and East Coast and shapes up as potentially worse for North Carolina’s barrier islands, which are under mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the four feet of storm surge and 20-foot offshore waves Erin is expected to bring.

But the large storm also looms as an awesome setup for Florida surfers. The further north up the coast, the more intense the swells will be but even South Florida is expected to catch a piece of the action.

Mike Mann, the owner of Longboard House, a family-owned surf shop in Indialantic near Melbourne Beach, said surfers there are preparing for six to eight-foot swells, a big jump from the one to three-foot waves they normally see in the area.

Mann said the shop has been selling 15 or so surfboards a day to Floridians traveling from “Tampa, Orlando, Brevard, you name it,” hoping to get what could be the best ride of the year.

“It’s one of those perfect storm conditions that only happen once in a great while,” he said. “It’s not going to hit us, which is the best thing. It’s awful when you’re surfing and you know you’ve only got six hours before you’ve got to get out of town.”

Erin is far enough off shore that its waves have a long time to roll in, known as a groundswell instead of a wind swell. These well-spaced waves give surfers a long, smooth ride.

Another bonus, said 82-year-old Mann, is they give older surfers enough time to pop up and ride the wave.

“The old guys can’t jump up fast enough anymore but when you have a groundswell, you have time to get up,” he said. “So the older guys can actually get up.”

Unfortunately, Mann won’t be one of them, as he’s recovering from back surgery. He’s hoping for a repeat of these perfect conditions in the next year.

“I need it to happen again before I get old!” he said, laughing.