  This paper explores an idealized model of the ocean surface in which widely
separated surface-wave packets and point vortices interact in two horizontal
dimensions. We start with a Lagrangian which, in its general form, depends on
the \emph{fields} of wave action, wave phase, stream function, and two
additional fields that label and track the vertical component of vorticity. By
assuming that the wave action and vorticity are confined to infinitesimally
small, widely separated regions of the flow, we obtain model equations that are
analogous to, but significantly more general than, the familiar system
consisting solely of point vortices. We analyze stable and unstable harmonic
solutions, solutions in which wave packets eventually coincide with point
vortices (violating our assumptions), and solutions in which the wave vector
eventually blows up. Additionally, we show that a wave packet induces a net
drift on a passive vortex in the direction of wave propagation which is
equivalent to Darwin drift. Generalizing our analysis to many wave packets and
vortices, we examine the influence of wave packets on an otherwise unstable
vortex street and show analytically, according to linear stability analysis,
that the wave packet induced drift can stabilize the vortex street. The system
is then numerically integrated for long times and an example is shown in which
the configuration remains stable, which may be particularly relevant for the
upper ocean.
