See that up there, that’s Brighton and the biggest wave Mat Hammond, who took the picture, has ever seen breaking there.
Yesterday Storm Imogen collided with the The UK, causing massive waves, gale force winds and all sorts of power outages and fallen down trees. Whilst it was pretty much unsurfable along much of the coastline a few super sheltered spots (and rivers) lit up. We’ve waded through the reams of shots that flooded social media in order to bring you a selection of our favourites:
Greg Dennis captured the raw power of the storm in its most sculptural form:
Surfers and spectators enjoy the waves surging up the river on the high tide in Bude, or ‘Bigupbude’ as coastalwatch thinks its called:
Locals go wild // River surfing in Bigupbude, England thanks to storm Imogen yesterday evening. Video captured by Trev’s Taxis #stormimogen #bude #riversurfing #bloodycold A video posted by Coastalwatch (@coastalwatch) on
Great pic Brownhill Photography! Our very own Paul, and Matt from Big Blue Surf School had some waves up the river this evening! That’s how to make the most of #stormimogen Yewww ✌️ #zumajay #surfshop #surf #riversurfing #bude #cornwall #storm #uk #uksurf #surfer #atlantic #coldwatersurf A photo posted by Zuma Jay (@zumajaysurfshop) on
Can’t tell you where this one is I’m afraid for fear of getting attacked by NorthFace wearing, Al Merrick wielding locals:
Haha Anyone else score today?! #secretspot #stormimogen #londonscalling #50yearstorm A photo posted by DreamLandGlassing.Co (@dreamlandglassing) on
A mental shot of the almost-always-completely-pancake-flat Carbis Bay showing its teeth:
Had fun shooting and filming the storm yesterday. This one was taken at Carbis Bay in the afternoon. #stormimogen #imogen #storm #wave #waves #backwash #stormy #surf #surfer #surfing #surfporn #waveporn #carbisbay #carbis #stives #swisbest #cornwall #kernow #ifollowcornwall #vsco #vscocam #vsco_hub #vscogood #vscodaily #vsconature #canon #canon5d #5d #5dmarkiii A photo posted by Laurie McCall (@lauriemccallart) on
Gordon Fontaine finding a super fun little runner on one the Jurrasic Coasts many amazing set ups that pretty much never get the right swell and conditions:
@gordonfontaine on another fun runner #jurrassiccoast A video posted by SINCLAIR (@sincadam) on
Gordon on a hollow one A photo posted by SINCLAIR (@sincadam) on
Some fun little drainers somewhere else we couldn’t possibly tell you about:
#stormimogen with @spokeandstringer A photo posted by Kingsurf (@kingsurf) on
Some took the opportunity to go searching for new set ups, here one such explorer found a pretty tasty looking right hand point, which, thanks to lack of access, remained unmolested by fibreglass and fins:
After lots of checking on Google Earth, looking at wave charts, driving around muddy lanes we found the best spot for #stormimogen But being ill I was sidelined to photo duties, not that it mattered as we couldn’t figure a way down the slippery cliffs without risking death! #waves #wave #surfing #winter #storm #southwest #surf @carvemag @khanmt @stecorcoransurfer @kookfreegem #secret #pointbreak #right A photo posted by Andy Bramwell (@andyjbramwell) on
The sun emerged for a few minutes as it began to dip, luckily it was just long enough for Seth Jackson to capture this incredible image:
A brief fiery break in the crazy weather #stormimogen A photo posted by Seth Jackson (@sethyacoule) on
The remnants of Imogen apparently made it all the way to Kent:
Good session today on the tail end of storm Imogen. #storm #stormimogen #winter #sun #sea #sand #surf #ocean #wave #clear #blue #green #brown #white #sandy #chalky #water #kent #coast #shorebreak #beach #beachlife #session #gopro #knekt #knektdome #cskins #cskinswetsuits #warm #sandandsea A photo posted by @rossandrews3 on
Joss Ash managed to find a few long and lumpy ones somewhere sheltered:
Jacob King found some fun offshore close outs peelers somewhere on the south coast:
Thanks Imogen #UK #surf #winter #stormimogen A photo posted by Jacob King (@jakey6) on
Our local sheep in woolf’s clothing:
No takers… #stormimogen A photo posted by Gavin (@finshack) on
Newport wedge comes to Folkstone, sad to see the large surfing population of Folkestone didn’t decide to take this one on:
#Folkestone #stormimogen A photo posted by danstirrup (@danstirrup) on
Show us your storm pictures by tagging #wlinsta on instagram
