Pensacola surfing sort of has a 1979 dividing line – surfing before Hurricane Frederic and surfing after Frederic. The sandbars at the Point changed radically, and not for the better.
Here are two different views of Ft. Pickens the day before landfall. The top photo is Steve Horner x Mike Whitehead – the waves were exceptional that day, as the storm was heading north through the gulf.
The bottom photo was a view from the navy base x Ronnie Tibbs. I wonder if the bottom photo was taken late in the afternoon as the storm was getting closer, because the waves look like they are breaking well into the bay.