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South Florida surfers ride the waves of Hurricane Florence

Posted at 4:31 AM, Sep 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-14 11:13:14-04

Hurricane Florence is making landfall Friday in North Carolina, but it is still having an impact on South Florida beaches.

RELATED: Latest on Florence | Local Weather Alerts 

There is a high surf and rip current advisory in effect through this evening for all of Palm Beach County. 

That means any water-related activity is unsafe including surfing, swimming and boating. 

Palm Beach County could see 7- to 9-foot waves and powerful rip currents.

Remember, if you are caught in a rip current don’t fight it by trying to swim against it. Relax, float and then swim parallel to the shore.

Fishermen and surfers were up early Friday to try and capitalize on the high waves and surf.

“I now a lot of guys like to fish what they call a white wash when the waves get really good. It pushes a lot of bait in, so it doesn’t get good in some spots but for others it kind of wrecks it,” said fisherman Chris Capeletti. 

“I was down at the beach earlier today, and they’re rolling in sets of four. It looks like the fourth wave is the better wave. They’re crashing in pretty hard. I’m very excited for the first light,” surfer Doug Duyck said.

“It’s pretty small today it’s kind of disappointing actually. I thought it would be a lot bigger. There’s no rip currents it’s pretty beautiful, very mellow,” said surfer Glen Million.

Always swim near lifeguards, mind beach patrol flags and any signs on the beach.