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Damneck Naval Base 26.4

#5474 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇺🇸 United States of America · Virginia · near Virginia Beach

Wind is the enemy here, peaks in September, gentle enough to learn.

Beginner
Damneck Naval Base, United States of America
Photo: NOAA / NODD · Public domain · source
Surf score26.4 /100
Surfable days45% of the year
Clean days2% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell2% period 11 s+
Typical size0.6 m 1.8 ft median
Water16°C a 4/3 with boots

Best time to surf Damneck Naval Base

The best time to surf Damneck Naval Base is March, May, September. It rarely works. In September the water sits around 23°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 0.6 m. The nearest airport is ORF (26 km) and the nearest town is Virginia Beach (8 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan60%1%0.7 m6°C6/5
Feb60%0%0.7 m2°C6/5
Mar61%3%0.7 m8°C6/5
Apr53%1%0.6 m14°C4/3
May37%2%0.5 m18°C3/2
Jun26%0%0.5 m24°Cvest
Jul17%0%0.4 m26°Cboardies
Aug12%0%0.4 m26°Cboardies
Sep53%6%0.6 m23°Cvest
Oct55%2%0.7 m19°C2mm
Nov55%1%0.7 m14°C4/3
Dec52%2%0.6 m8°C6/5

What is under Damneck Naval Base

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 36 m.

Depth 8 km out36 m
Depth 4 km out28 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 26.4

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
6.0
Best days 22.4%
3.7
Clean days 18.4%
0.3
Consistency 10.2%
4.9
Season spread 4.1%
2.6
Water comfort 6.1%
1.2
Access 4.1%
4.1

The detail

Faces 75° with 50% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 66% of days. Mean peak period 6.9 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.1 m, with a peak period of 10 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 73%. Months that work: 8 of 12. Coordinates 36.782, -75.956 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€2,460/ month
typically €2,160 – €2,760
Rent, one bedroom€1,290
Groceries€517
Eating out€295
Getting around€172
Phone + internet€184
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€4,800/ month
typically €4,220 – €5,370
Somewhere to stay€2,830
Eating out€1,010
Car, transfers, fuel€652
Data + extras€308
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 23% above the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for United States of America (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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Spots nearby

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