Judges
Those judges were all old school long board surfers. I quess they were not amused…
But the crowd loved it were I was standing…
maybe an agenda
maybe they dont want to encourage that kind of surfing at their break, if others thought it was cool to surf a touring boat there could be a lot more sea yakkers trying to emulate his style. possibly with disasterous results.i for one am inspired. hope to catch that kind of action myself one day some warm southeast afternoon
Long boarders don’t surf Steamer’s.
They surf at Cowell’s, and the short boarders surf Steamer’s. I scribed for the A judges the first day, and they were a really nice group of gentleman.
a longboarder did surf it
with elan, i’m grateful that i surf a non surfing mecca so we can all respect each other and different styles
It varies so much…
Some spots the surfers are very nasty
some spots they cheer you on when you get a good wave… I live in a Surf Mecca and was lucky to move by accident to a place where surfers are mostly friendly and layed back …probably because we have so many good spots to choose from.
The reason long boarders don’t
– Last Updated: Mar-28-04 8:08 AM EST –
genereally surf at Steamers's has to do with safety:) I don't surf but my teen does, and he says it isn't safe, has to do with the break and rocks. That's why the short boarders surf there-increased manueverability. The long boarders surf at a nearby beach called Cowells's where the waves break differently, and they get a better ride. It isn't out of any disrespect for one anothers' style to my knowledge.
I realize it was a long boarder at the festival (I was there). I did wonder if it might have been a long boarder just showing that it could be done, or if it was a statement about long boarders judging the kayak festival. I really have no idea, but I don't recall the judges being angry or displeased about anything, and I was sitting right behind them on Friday writing down their scores. My point was that the break was unusual, so that an atypical board surfer caught a wave there.
Sing,
It is excellent to see you developing your passion for surfing! What did you think of the West coast waves versus ours in Boston? I know the sun must have agreed with you after our wretched, frigid winter.
You might have to drag me away from race preparation and rolling practice this season to get out in the surf, but your enthusiasm is certainly infectious.
Sanjay
Differences…
– Last Updated: Mar-27-04 2:41 PM EST –
I think the biggest difference in waves is really do to the prevailing upper level jetstream, which is west to east. The west coast gets more surf than the east coast because the storms are always coming their way, be they going north, south or straight through the middle. When the storms are way out in the Pacific, there is a lot of fetch for the swells and waves to build. While Santa Cruz Festival was not defined by big waves this year, just the weeks before, alot of the coast were getting surf 10 feet and up. Even on the first day of the festival, the expert heats were getting 4-6' waves. Small by their standards but certainly on the significant size for us on the east coast. Even earlier in the week, driving up the coastline near San francisco, I noted how they were getting these nice 3-4' waves. All under sunny skies and with nice intervals of 12-13 seconds. This was due to the fact that the waves were coming in as swells being generated by some system way out in the Pacific.
Here on the East Coast, we don't really see may swells, except when a low pressure system hugs the coastline and comes up from the south. When this happens, more often than not, we have to settle for catching waves in snow or rain. How far the low pressure system is from the coast also affects the intervals we get. I can count less than a handful of times since I started surfing where we got nice waves, 3' and up, with intervals over 12 seconds. These are usually associated with large hurricanes coming up from the south Atlantic. Most times the intervals are closer together because the storm is just off the coast. When the intervals are 9 seconds or less, getting out beyond the breakzone is really a challenge and an anaerobic affair. Generally, in a fair weather pattern, with winds blowing west to east, we are not getting any waves of significance because it's going away from the coast. In terms of a micro difference regionally, the south side of the Cape and RI will see more waves than Boston and north because a southwesterly wind may find enough fetch to create something worth surfing. What it comes down to is that we New Englanders see much less surf, and certainly can't expect to surf under sunny skies as much as do the west coast folks.
Differences in people who surf. Seems most of the folks who are into surfing are coming from a boarder's background or whitewater kayaking. I haven't met that many dedicated surfers coming from a "seakayaking" background. I look at the names on the Santa Cruz expert heats, do a search, and found this to be generally true. Of course, self selection is at work. I think the surfers are adrenaline junkies. I know I am. I like downhill skiing much more than x-country, mountain biking more than road riding... I rather pick up a stick or put on the gloves to spar someone than pick up a bat and glove to play baseball... Endurance work for me was always simply one of the means to allow me to do better in sports that require reflexes, agility and a steady mind while performing on the edge. So, it has not been surprising that surfing and ww generate more passion from me than touring, though I also enjoy the latter.
I think more surf sessions in this area will introduce this activity to more folks. I think sea kayakers will definitely benefit from the boat control/handling that surfing entails and will be better served when it comes to surf launchings/landings. But, I suspect the hard core surfers will be white water folks, or folks coming with a background from, or interest in other "extreme" sports. It certainly seemed that way at Santa Cruz and even at the RISK winter session. I am not sure we will ever generate as much interest as seems to be out on the west coast. But we can try.
sing
BTW. The waves are expected to build Sunday through Wednesday, with a low gradient off the coast. Wednesday may be cleaner waves with a wind shift but I have work meetings all day. Tuesday, I going to try to get over to Nahant around 4 PM and catch something... ANYTHING!
i’m inspired, thanks sing
i have a couple of boats that are surfable, never gave boat surfing much thought cause i surf a longboard when its warm. i realize now i could be surfing year round with a boat