I found this question on Quora.
Here’s my answer:
Florida has lots of waves but not many that are as large as in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is deeper and wider than either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico that Florida lies between.
Waves are created by the circular orbit motion of the energy in the water. A deeper ocean means that those circles can be much larger. So when the waves break in the shallow water near the shore, all that energy comes up with them.
The Atlantic Ocean still sees its share of surfers.
, 