Cold Water Surfing - the exit

Just chug a fifth of Bacardi 151, and go out in your trunks.. you wont feel anything I promise.

 

today some chick (hot) parked in front of me changed into her underwear bottoms under a towel, then was bent over in just her bottoms and a long sleeved T 30 degrees out tops w/ a brisk wind, rummaging around looking for something in her car for like at least 5 minutes. The takeaways from this story is a) its December and I got to scope some nice ass and b) you are a non-hacker who needs to quit surfing

 

did ya get her number?

 

remember what santa says about christmas ho,ho,ho.

 

practice a quick exit....get the car started....have a over sized hoodie and fleece pants ( the only time the are acceptable) the slippers with the fuzz inside, I'm used to extreme hot and cold, so its no biggie for me.......sometimes ill change in the passenger seat, I have a sweet 4 door hatch back, so with the seats down I can function in the back....or eff it, I'll be so stoked that I'll just take it down standing there.............besides, not to many people are out especially when theres snow coming down..........

keep the body moving..........you stay still, your body shuts down.......

 

Hot water

I agree with the hot water jugs in the cooler. Load that thing up too, as much bottles as you have. You don't need to create some crazy science experiment, but it's a lot more enjoyable to surf in the winter if you don't have to suffer for the ride home as your toes and fingers slowly thaw. The nice thing about the cooler is that you can just toss the now empty bottles in your trunk and stash your soaking wetsuit gear in the cooler so it doesn't mess up everything else. I also bring an extra towel and set it on the ground. Use the first bottle to rinse the sand off your legs/booties. It's not essential, but the post-surf cleanup is a lot easier if you eliminate the sand ahead of time. Plus your toesy's will thank you for not having to hobble around on frozen gravel/concrete.

To those who like to "tough it out", good on ya. Maybe it's the age factor, but I'd rather be comfy when possible, especially if it only takes a tiny bit extra effort. The tough factor does help on those occasional cold-water trips, though. I did a road trip up in Northern California a few years back, and surfing low 50's water with only a campfire to warm oneself afterward...it's a whole new experience. I'm sure the habit of "toughing it out" on a regular basis might come in handy during times like that.

 

I live like 10 minutes away from the beach so I just hop in my car get home and jump straight into the shower. I get warm and I clean my suit at the same time, but if im pretty far away from the house I'll change outside. Ill turn the car on turn the heater on and close all the doors ill put a towel on the ground wrap a towel around my waist and take the suit off. Its actually not that bad the only ****ty part about taking your suit off after a cold surf is the dexterity in your fingers are kinda shot so its a battle getting the suit off. So I suggest you buy a pesticide sprayer from lowes or home depot and fill it up with really hot water so the moment youre done with your session you have a hot shower on the go set up.

 

if the surf is good and i know for sure, i put it on at home

if it's questionable, on in the car

almost always take it off at home in the shower, unless the sun is out and the wind isn't too blustery. taking it of fin the shower also help sclean the suit.

i seriously hurt myself trying to get the legs of the suit over my feet. it's the hardest f**king thing in the world. i am going to invent something like an oversized shoe horn to slip in the leg of the suit and pull it out of the feet. anyone else have this problem?

 

Fun story (I'm sure I'm not the only one...). My first true cold weather day was January 2004 in OCMD. There was ice all over the inlet parking lot from a recent blizzard. Long story short...I didn't plan ahead and was physically incapable of opening the car door with my f#%$ed up numb fingers. I was driving this old Volvo at the time that required a bit of ummph to turn the key, and I just couldn't do it. I tried using my palms, teeth, everything. Not to mention it was about 20 degrees with a slight offshore breeze, so I was getting worse by the minute. Finally I asked some random guy to help me, which he did with a slight chuckle. Keep in mind this was after freezing for a solid 20 minutes because the whole area was basically deserted of people. By the time I got in the car, I still couldn't turn the key in the ignition, so I called the guy back and asked for "the last time, I promise!" He was super cool about it, and I must have thanked him a half dozen times. Anyhow, I realized I was in no shape to drive, so I sat there wet and cold until the blasting heat finally warmed me enough to drive the 30 blocks home and sit in a scalding hot bath for the next hour.

Lesson learned.

 

if its too cold to change just drive home with your suit on, sitting on a towel. its warmer in your car than in the water.

 

i put my foot in as far as it will go then grab the end of the leg and fold it over until it passes my heel. Then grab the whole roll and pull it up. Perfect setup for you to leave it that way so you can fold that roll back over your boot once they are on.

Definitely ackward though, bending over to grab the legs of the suit with it halfway on.

 

I wear polarfleece socks when it's super cold. the suit and booties slide on and off more easily. changing out of the suit is definitely more of an issue than changing in when it's cold. my most embarassing changing story was the first day with a new chest-zip 5/4. i just could not get my shoulder and arm out of the head-hole. i had to flag down a jogger on the boardwalk to help me. classic pick up line: "please don't take this the wrong way, but can you help me get this suit off?"

 

You are not alone. I once wrestled for a good 15 minutes to get the leg of the wetsuit over my heel after a session. When your arms are shot and trembling from paddling (and your cold), its hard to get enough muscle strength to stretch and work that neoprene over my heels. Luckily the last few times I've had someone to help me. I don't think everyone has this problem, because I've seen guys get fully out of wetsuit gear and drive away in under 3 minutes. I'm always taking 10-15 minutes minimum to wrestle out of my suit. What are we doing wrong here with getting our legs out of the suit?

 

def. not alone on this...i was convinced i was going to freeze to death once after a session in cape may in 2005 b/c i got stuck in my suit while changing after a session. water was 38 & the air was about 30 (much colder in the brisk offshore wind), not really all that extreme for jersey in the winter. to this day, i don't know how i got my legs out of the suit. pure will to live on that one, i think.

 

I change into my suit sitting in the drivers seat. I sometimes open the door for extra room, but with the heat blasting it's not bad.

changing out I start the car as soon as I get out and let it warm till heat is pumping. I usually change out next to the car, doors open to block wind and can feel a little heat. Nothin fancy, just a beach towel. Top down dry off, sweatshirt on. Towel around waist, bottom off pants on. Hop in the car and warm up. Socks/shoes on in car.

I never really had a problem. I'm out of my suit in a couple minutes. Occaisionally I'll change in the passenger seat, but it's slow. I usually prefer to deal with the cold quick change outside instead.

One thing I do though is get my pants and shirt ready to be pulled on quickly. Pants and underwear go on in one shot, as do t-shirt and sweatshirt.

This is actually the first time I've really thought about my routine. I guess I have a good system because it's automatic. Been doing it for a decade and a half though.

Never had trouble getting a suit over my feet either. I pull it down so it's bunched at my ankles, and then slide my hand inside the suit down into the back of the leg. I basically reach down the back of my lower leg and kind of grab my heel and push it right off with my forearm. If you have it part way off and try to pull it of f, it actually tightens like a chinese handcuff and is very difficult. I'm sure my explanation is not clear, but it's hard for me to explain.

Park in amanner so the car blocks the wind. The wind is the worst thing in my opinion, an dthe winter swells are always accompanied by wind.

 

about two years ago I was changing after a february dawn patrol in Long Branch. I had my key in my wetsuit pocket, and took my gloves off and with the high winds my hands got so cold i couldn't move my fingers at all. And that meant I couldn't get the key out of the wetsuit key pocket. After about 15 minutes, I gave up and had to rip the whole key pocket out of the suit.

I also remember all this being waaay worse when wetsuits were crappier. You'd always get out of the water shaking like mad. I remember several times where I couldn't get the key in the ignition because I was shaking so much. Fun stuff.

 

Get some booties with the little nylon loop on the bottom. I have ripped some recycle the earth bamboo hippie ones before because i didnt use the loop.

 

Getting feet/legs out of winter wetsuit

I have found that the best way to get feet out is to push the wetsuit leg down far enough to get the bottom of the leg over your heel then pull the leg of suit down over your foot inside out. Of course this would be done after your top half is out, dry and in a warm hoodie.

 

Just get a suit thats a drop bigger; this one tip alone made me the guy that un-suits and drives away within 3 min

A larger suit also allows you to move around much better

 

I wouldn't sacrifice getting out of the suit faster for getting out of the water sooner cause you suit is not fitting properly and you get flushed and you freeze from the water being trapped in your suit