Radio Personality Ken Dashow by Bernie Langs

Year-Round Surfer in Manhattan

By Patricia Sung

December 2008

Once you become “stoked” for surfing, you eat, drink, and sleep surfing; you think, imagine, and dream about surfing all the time. You wonder when the next surf “sesh” is going to be. You are constantly planning the next surf trip; you have surf destinations lined up. Your vacations revolve around surfing. You begin to define yourself as a surfer. Many of your best friends are surfers. Despite frequent sweeping, your apartment floor is constantly sandy. Now in the winter, you seriously consider surfing on the sunny days, weighing it against cold, wind, and snow. Your life becomes primarily one of checking for “swell,” in other words, incoming waves. When does it arrive, how big does it grow, and when does it leave? Hand in hand with checking swell is checking wind direction because that determines if the waves are going to be “clean,” which means nicely formed, or choppy. In the absence of wind, waves are called “glassy,” because the waves and surface of the water appear smooth and shiny like glass. Wind direction in relation to shoreline determines where you will go surf. Manhattan surfers are ideally positioned in that they have both Long Island coastline as well as New Jersey coastline with which to work. Then comes the specifics of each “surf break,” the location where the waves are rideable. Which breaks are going to be working, and which one is the closest? Where do your surf buddies want to go? The last issue involves when to go surfing. The first factor is to surf around the work schedule. The second factor is the tides and how that affects wave conditions. What is the timing and height of low and high tides, and what tidal conditions are favorable relative to swell strength? image by Carla Phillips In the past, before Internet forecasts, surfers would go directly to the beach to determine if they were going to surf or not. Proximity to the beach, therefore, was and is still the ideal situation. These days, with numerous Internet forecast sites and webcams of surf breaks, it is possible to be distant from the beach and still know with substantial certainty where and when to surf. No doubt, as the popularity of surfing grew, the need for these services became obvious. Together with checking forecasts by internet, it is also common practice to have your buddies text-message the wave conditions directly from the beach. What exactly is surfing and what does it involve? In short it is an extremely fun athletic activity. The feeling of riding a wave is exhilarating, even though it usually lasts for only a very short time; therefore, a long “ride” is a big thrill. Surfing, thus, is about catching as many waves as possible. There are three components to the act of surfing. The first is catching the wave. That involves seeing the wave and “paddling” with your arms in order to get up to the speed of the wave. The wave then catches up to you and carries you forward. At that point, you “pop up,” meaning you stand up on the surfboard. Last, you ride the “face” of the wave, in other words, the “green,” or newly forming, part of the wave aiming to go down the line of the wave. As you ride, you can either speed up or slow down to stay close to the “curl,” or breaking part of the wave, where the force of the wave resides. How you look while surfing–how you stand on the surfboard and use your arms and ride and react to the wave–defines your personal style. Surfing is a lot of fun because it is so challenging. It involves getting past the “whitewater” to the place that the waves are breaking; it involves recognizing rideable waves, as they appear as bumps on the horizon and approach the shore; and it requires speedy reaction to a wave in order to paddle to the wave and to catch it, or to avoid getting pummeled by it. Each wave is different and demands adjustment to it. Surfing requires physical strength for paddling and a calm attitude for getting through “wipe-outs,” when you and your board are pushed off a wave and tumbled around as if you were in a washing machine. You must also watch out for other surfers in the water in order to prevent collisions, as serious injury can result from getting hit by a board or cut by a fin. Surfing is a great workout for the upper body in that you need to paddle like a swimmer, often in quick spurts, and it also tests your timing, balance, and coordination. It’s a great complimentary workout to biking, which primarily strengthens the legs. In order to surf, you need a surfboard. There are three basic types–the longboard, shortboard, and the funboard, which is something intermediate. The board that you choose depends on the style that you want to achieve or the type of surfing that you want to do. The leash attaches the surfboard to your leg. In the summer, it’s possible to surf in a swimsuit, or a rashguard, which is a polyester t-shirt, and boarding shorts. During the late summer, in cooler temperatures, a wetsuit is required. As the temperatures drop in the fall, a thicker wetsuit is necessary, as well as booties and gloves. Winter surfing requires an even thicker set of wetsuit, booties, and gloves, as well as a hood. In the fall and winter, the water is usually warmer than the air temperature, so changing out of the wetsuit back into clothes is the hardest part. Thus, it is possible to surf year-round in New York and New Jersey. Many surfers escape to warmer locales during the winter, taking trips to places such as California, Florida, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and South America. Most surfers also turn to other board sports, such as snowboarding and skating. Last, the social part of surfing is a lot of fun. Hanging out with surfer buddies who share your excitement and obsession for surfing is a lot of fun. There is a lot of planning and organization involved even for day trips, however, since the surf forecast must be closely monitored and where and when to go has to be decided. Surf trips with buddies to balmy destinations are something to which I look forward. In Manhattan, while it is most convenient to travel by car, strapping surfboards to the roof, from time to time I take the train to the beach, and invariably, someone wants to chat with you about surfing. Sometimes, it is the person who has never surfed and has always wanted to try. Sometimes, it is the experienced surfer, eager to discuss the current surf forecast and exchange stories. So to those who didn’t know, surfers live in Manhattan, and surfing is happening all the time, year-round, within reach from Manhattan. Surf’s up, yes, even in the winter!