Tropical storms create superb surfing conditions at Lawrencetown Beach

It was a good weekend for riding the waves at Lawrencetown Beach Provincial Park.

In fact, it's been a superb surfing season, particularly September, saidNicoManos, who owns theEast Coast Surf School.

"In terms of consistency, we had excellent waves every day," he said in front of his van at the Nova Scotia beach that is a surfing meccafor the Atlantic region.

Some of the credit has to go to the recent hurricanes and tropical storms that have stirred up ocean waters.

"I would lie if I said I wasn't excited when things [storms] started popping up if there was going to be a great week of surf, especially with water temperatures being what they are," Manos said.

The water on the weekend at Lawrencetownwas in the high teens,he said.

"It's nice tobe putting on a thin, wetsuit with no boots or gloves. It really almost feels like bathtub water out there," he said.

"We've had a really warm season in general. I saw people surfing in shorts the other day, [which is] something I've never seen before in October."

Lawrencetown, about 25 kilometres east of Dartmouth, isvery well situatedto take advantage of the waves produced by storms, Manosnoted.

"We really face the entire North Atlantic. We've got a really great orientation for receiving swell and for that reason, we end up being more consistent than the entire Eastern Seaboard," he said.

Manos acknowledged that hurricanes are generallydestructive occurrences.

"Ideally, what we want is astorm that is offshore, hundreds of kilometres away, that is producing swell but we are not feeling the effects of the weather and the wind," he said.

Manossaid that big waves don't necessarily mean great waves.

"Just because a wave is big doesn't necessarily mean it's good. There's also a level of quality in waves as well," he said.

"The further away the storm is, the better the shape and quality of the waves we're riding. So a six-foot wave isn't just a six-foot wave. There are many different variations."