Typhoon Daze!

Well its that time of year again for our folks in sunny Taiwan.  The water heats up and you start to see those little flare ups here and there that intensify as the season goes on. The typical season lasts from about July-October but can extend out to as early as April and as late as November in some cases.

When you ask the locals about the best months for surf you’ll see their eyes light up as they say Jo Yue, or September for us haoles.  When the waves start to come in, the long flat spells between the steady winter winds ‘long feng san’ and that first typhoon are easily forgotten.

Last week the boyz got a little taste of what they’ve been waiting for after a slow start to the season.  Reports of waves all up and down the best coast came in.  With not the biggest of waves, but certainly a nice warm up.

I believe last week was just a Tropical Storm headed for Hainan.  This guy has a front row seat for the action about to unfold.

This shot below is of one of my personal favorite waves.  It’s a fickle one that only breaks this time of year, but it offers a lot of variety when it does and can be punchy, which is always fun.  Check out the grab rail technique of that lucky one…he’s got it all to himself and about to get  little head dip.

The nice thing about Typhoon season in Taiwan is that it really opens up the scope of possibilities.  All sorts of nooks and crannies light up and it really tends to thin out the crowds considerably.

Best case scenario is when the storms just skirt the island and hang out or cruise by really slowly.  That is when you get some seriously good surf.  Here is Tha Meystro pulling in on one of the remnants of last week’s swell.

July is when the action starts to heat up and the frequency of storms really starts to pick up pace and so he and the rest of the boyz won’t have to wait too long for the next little bit of action.  As I write this, Tropical storm Chanthu is sitting in the South China Sea kicking up another round of goodness.

They are just getting up on that side of the world and I bet someone is pulling in right….NOW!  Taiwan Pi Jo all around cause Typhoon Daze are back.

All Photos Courtesy of the Gazza!!