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Hatteras Windsurfing Guide- Ocean Launch- Ramp 34

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Ramp 34 can be a great spot to check when the bars aren’t very well lined up at Ego Beach.  Also, in a big South swell, the waves may have just a touch less size and more organization than sites further south.

Sometimes it’s firing right over the ramp, but a short drive 1/2 a mile up the beach can reveal some nicer bars.  4×4 isn’t necessary to sail right over the ramp, but it is really helpful if you want to explore a bit further up the beach.

Southwest winds will be cleaner if you head up a bit North, as you get clear of the town of Avon.  Northwest winds work here, too, but they’re very very offshore and usually very gusty and fluky on the inside.  North winds work reasonably well, too, but beware of lots of current.

Getting There: Use the park service parking lot and/or beach access ramp just north of Avon, labeled #34.  Follow all posted rules/laws!!


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Check out the videos below to get a feel for some of the conditions you can find at Ramp 34:

Ramp 34 Wavesailing from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Solo Sesh from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

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Hatteras Windsurf Guide- Ocean Launch- Ego Beach

Want to try sailing the Ocean?  Ego beach can be a great spot to get your feet wet.  Wait for a SW afternoon with small swell, and when you get overpowered at the Hole, just carry your stuff up and over the dunes, and it’ll be perfect at Ego Beach!

North to NE winds work OK at Ego Beach, but you’ll encounter a ridiculous amount of current, so you’d probably be happier at The Lighthouse.  South to SW winds are really the preffered wind directions for Ego, offering side to side-off starboard tack conditions.

The shorebreak can be pretty big, so you might want to watch someone else get out to see how they time it.  Also, the wind is usually a little fluky on the inside, so it helps to grab a bigger board than you think you need.

The sandbars are constantly changing out there, so sometimes Ego Beach has a beautiful outer bar peeling away…  and other times it has nothing but massive shorebreak.  Take a look before you carry your stuff up and over the dunes to see if it’s the right spot for the day.  Sometimes it’ll be 1000x better just a few hundred yards up or down the beach, so use those high dunes as a lookout perch and pick your spot!

If you do go out at Ego, take a close look at the beach and the dune line before you go so that you can recognize where you launched from.  Sometimes it’s pretty hard to distinguish where home is once you get out on the water…  Luckily, you’re never further than 50 yards from the highway, so if you do get lost you can always go hitch a ride back to the Hole!

Getting There: Park at the Canadian Hole and carry your gear over the dunes. Use the paths, and adhere to any postings/closures.  Sometimes you can drive on the beach from Ramp 38, but it’s usually quicker and easier to just walk over the dunes from the Hole.


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**All photos on this page are courtesy Andrew Scalia**