Bikers surf streets, surfers hit the waves as storm moves over area
Sandbags used to divert the unusually high tides earlier this week that swamped Garden City Beach remained stacked by the door of The Bar as even more flooding was expected Friday, although the owner confessed it was an effort in futility.
“Welcome to the ‘Wet Bar,’ hope you can swim,” read the sign over the bar.
Welcome to the ‘Wet Bar,’ hope you can swim”
Sign at The Bar in Garden City Beach
The wake created by passing cars easily pushed past the sandbags to wash across the bar room floor in waves, but the patrons don’t seem to mind, said Margie Lambert, who owns The Bar, as well as the Garden City Beach Bar and Grill across the street.
“Everyone just rolls up their pants and says ‘give me a beer,’” Lambert said. “If they are brave enough to be out here, we’ll be here for them.”
Hurricane Joaquin won’t be coming ashore along the Grand Strand, but storms moving up from the south have prompted flood warnings throughout the region for the weekend.
Many roads into Garden City Beach were cut off by rising water before noon, but that didn’t dissuade bikers in town for the Harley-Davidson fall rally from surfing through the saltwater flooded streets to ride out the storm at The Bar.
“It’s just a little rain,” said Vernon Bennett, a biker from Anderson. “We’re just going to ride around Surfside, from one beer to the next.”
Added Steve Kelley: “We’re either not smart enough to know better, or we don’t care.”
Several locals shrugged off the rainy weather, and took advantage of the views offered by the Pier at Garden City to watch more than a dozen surfers taking advantage of the churning waves that nearly topped the sand dunes.
Nothing you can do about it, but let it roll.”
Charlie Hyde
a retiree who lives in Brighton Woods“Nothing you can do about it, but let it roll,” said Charlie Hyde, a retiree who lives in Brighton Woods.
While locals and bikers shrugged off the gloomy weather, surfers quickly packed the parking lot by their favorite spot known as “the rock” to hit the surf, ignoring reports of unusually high shark activity.
“It’s epic,” said Joey Skipper of the Surfrider Foundation’s Grand Strand chapter.
Audrey Hudson can be reached at 843-444-1765
This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Bikers surf streets, surfers hit the waves as storm moves over area."