Adrenaline Junkies Embrace Hurricane Irene On East Coast (VIDEOS)

Hurricane Irene's been a boon for adrenaline junkies with an affinity for water sports. Rather than wimping out and running for cover, these brave — or foolish — souls are confronting Irene straight on, heading to the shore and hitting the amplified waves.

As everyone else ran to Home Depot to get some boards for their windows, these storm surfers ran towards the water carrying their boards. In the age of YouTube, it seems inevitable that these hurricane surfers would completely disregard their own safety but remember to bring along video cameras.

"The risk, the excitement factor… getting really good waves is addicting," hurricane surfer Shea Lopez told ABC News. "It's something that's uncommon. I couldn't be any more excited for any day of the year."

Such is the surfer's mentality.

The 49th annual East Coast Surfing Championships continued in Virginia Beach on Friday — webcast here — though organizers said they planned to cancel Saturday's events so that no surfers would be injured.

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Surfers in Fort Lauderdale

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Comments

[Carol Ramsey]

12:48 PM on 08/29/2011

Ken is that you

[douglillie]

10:47 AM on 08/29/2011

These selfish nitwits are one of the reasons our health insurance premiums are so high. Anyone foolish enough to risk their lives "for an adrenaline rush" shouldn't be allow insurance. I'm all for having fun. But, not at the cost of other's. And, yes... it does cost others. Each of us as taxpayers and paying health insurance premiums have higher rates because of nonsense like this. As for taxpayers... those surfers with NO insurance... guess who pays for them! If you put yourself in danger's way... you should be arrested.

[houckcd]

02:58 PM on 08/29/2011

That's right. Big Brother knows what is best for you, he will protect you from yourself.

[Alan Lachapelle]

08:55 PM on 08/28/2011

The first video starts off with "No, this isn't Waikiki..." I got news for you, Waikiki doesn't have waves for crap. Try North Shore, suckas.

[nevitta357]

08:00 PM on 08/28/2011

Nobody should be put in a position where they are asked to risk their lives to rescue one of these idiots, EVER.

[CaptainSacto]

03:30 PM on 08/28/2011

Seriously, you guys ever hear of video editing.

[IRS2007]

02:13 AM on 08/28/2011

NICE WORK, WE APPRECIATE THE SHARE..........................................Isk & Tsk Youyousova

[OnTopicOffTopic]

08:14 PM on 08/27/2011

Ft. Lauderdale suckks for surfing. The bottom is such that regardless of swell direction it just closes out, never lines up.

I surfed Boca Raton on the 26th and it was epic and today I surfed South Beach - it was small but
absolutely perfect waves peeling left and right with not much of a crowd (highly unusual for my beach)
because most folks went north for bigger surf.

I am stoked!

[Noble9]

07:04 PM on 08/27/2011

It's not a tragedy to die doing something you love...the tragedy is being afraid to take a chance and really live.

[Robert Fanney]

12:52 PM on 08/27/2011

Adrenaline junkies? Come on, this is just a fun day at the beach ;)

[OnTopicOffTopic]

08:15 PM on 08/27/2011

Yup

[johnyonkle]

12:00 PM on 08/27/2011

Looks like people on the east coast don't know how to surf. Those 1/2sec. rides were awesome. Not!

[jtsmadnow]

05:49 PM on 08/27/2011

hahahaha true johny

[OnTopicOffTopic]

08:19 PM on 08/27/2011

hahaha, not true, and posted by someone who likely knows nothing about surfing.

[OnTopicOffTopic]

08:17 PM on 08/27/2011

Nobody surfs Ft. Lauderdale because the waves never line up as you could see in the vid.

Up coast it was double overhead and bigger, even some tow-in surfing at MonsterHole (south side of Sebastian Inlet).

BTW, the best surfer ion history, Kelly Slater, came up surfing Melbourne beach in central FL.

[Paladin2]

07:48 AM on 08/27/2011

Those are 'hurricane waves'? Must be a tiny hurricane or someone's been duped because the biggest ones look to be about five feet which in the surf world is a ripple. Somewhere there must be some real surf. The only time I surfed hurricane waves in the East they were 15 to 20 feet and a half mile offshore. These wimps are playing the danger game? Pretty sad.

[jtsmadnow]

05:52 PM on 08/27/2011

yes media has blown this out of wack . its called media drama . weathermen { if you want to call them men } / male weather reporters make such a big thing out of nothing . if the east coast cant take 50 to 100 mph winds then they neeed to contack a construction company called big bad wolf and replace those straw houses with bricks or even logs . and about 30 miles from coast . depending on elevation of land as you move inland .

[OnTopicOffTopic]

08:18 PM on 08/27/2011

Ft. Lauderdale didn't get much of the swell but a half hour further north it started getting big and an hour north of that it was double overhead and bigger.