just got accepted into the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Really excited to be heading down there at the end of the summer and was just looking to get any advice anyone has on the area (surf, party atmosphere, bars, etc...) ive been in obx a few times, but never the wrightsville area.i have also heard the most gear you'll need is 3/2 in the dead of winter. any advice helps guys, thanks!
UNCW is great.... youll have fun. 2 degrees from the Dub and loved it. im in a 4/3 now but it has a few holes. i dont even wear my booties or gloves on most days and im fine.
I'm in a 4/3 with booties and gloves right now. 2 years ago water got down to 45. I don't know who told you about the 3/2 in the dead of winter but they were wrong.
you will need a 4/3 but nothing more. 5mm split toe booties, 3mm gloves, 4/3 and maybe a hood is more than enough, and its what i have. Last summer wasn't cold what so ever, i didn't wear a hood once and wore gloves less than 5 times. I just started to wear my 4/3 and wore gloves for the 1st time last week. I go to uncw, and my advice to you: GO. it's the ****. you'll love it and its a great school and its only getting more popular.
Congrats on UNCW. The Wilmington area has a really cool vibe and you will definitely have a blast. You will can get away with a 3/2 for the better part of the winter. Anything more will be a luxury on the really cold days. As far as the scene goes, I would make it a point to check out all of Wilmington. There are a lot of cool bars tucked in all over the place and the same goes for surf spots. Don't forget that you're right down the street from Figure 8, CB, Kure, Fort Fisher Coves & many more. Hit me up if you ever paddle out in CB.
Great school! My son went on a partial sports scholarship and lost it because he spent too much time surfing... Graduated on the 5 year plan. I fell in love with the place visiting him and bought a little condo down there. Wet Suit Definitely want a 4/3, but last year I went from a 4/3 in March to board shorts and a rash guard in early April. Wrightsville is good but can seem a bit snobby, but I've never had any problems. Parking can be a b!tch. CB & Kure are more laid back. As GnarActually says: "GO."
Congrats man UNCW is awesome. Like others said you probably do need at least a 4/3 with booties for the winters. Good bars at the beach and downtown plus lots of parties around campus. However 99% of cops here are fun nazies and won't hesitate to screw you if they can. So come down, surf, have fun, but be careful.
3/2 riiight You'll need a 4/3,booties , gloves, and a hood when the airtemps/windchill is bad in the middle of winter.You'll love wton, i'm a seahawk, some of the best years you'll have. Just word of advice, try to b chill, share a few waves, split a few peaks, and when you go out front, say at c st. show just a little respect to the locals, especially the older ones. Do this and you'll be set. Parking is a pain at wb and paddle with someone the first time you go over to mase. Check out sweetwater surf shop, hope to see you in the water.
^ beach bars are fun. theres a special police force called the ''ALE" that are a big bunch of boners. they bust more parties than the police when i was in high school. bunch of kook pansies. i live on wrightsville beach, pretty cheap and i stay there most of the time on the weekend. lovin' it though
you'll also be logging onto wblivesurf.com 5 times a day, this site is the best, creation of local hero tony butler
Hahaha true that its a great website. Also has a great live cam. Anyways wrightsville IMO is the best for uncw students because its closer and CB usually has like the same conditions. Though the waves aren't great or anything they can sometimes get pretty fun and the water is warmer than obx. If one of your friends is from here and/or has a boat you can check out masonboro or some other barrier islands that can pick up a nice little wave. You prob won't be able to surf mase alone with friends but some of the other places you can. I'm in a 4/3 gloves and booties right now. Last winter you could get away with a 3/2 but maybe not this go around... Yep you'll have fun
never go to Carolina beach all of your **** will be robbed. I only use a 3/2 cause im not a ***** but whatever. make sure you drive the speed limit at Wrightsville, cops wont hesitate to pull you over. goodluck at uncw
dude you dont want to come here. the dead of winter sucks. everyone is crazy and the surf sucks plus the Town of WB will find anything to give you a ticket.
Congrats on getting in to UNCW! It's a great school in a great location. I'm a former Seahawk too. The waves pick up during hurricane season like the rest of the east coast and it's nice and warm. Like already posted, things to watch out for are the cops and locals. It's easy to get off to a bad start with either. Respect is the name of the game. The beach has a chill scene with bars and clubs. Dive bars are fun and unassuming. Downtown is pretty vibrant with clubs and the movie industry. My advice is to find a place to live East of S. College Ave and closer to the beach. Traffic can be jammed up and getting to the beach seems like forever when you know the waves are good. I lived on Wrightsville Ave. Also, the year I lived on Wrightsville beach was my worst semester for school. I never went to class because I had salt water on the brain. Have fun!
You will have fun at UNCW. If you stay through the summer surfing wb gets near impossible, not only because of lack of waves but also because of an abundance of kooks swelling the beach in the summer. My advice is to drive to some of the surrounding beaches or make the trip up to OBX conditions permitting, wrighstville can get really crowded both with both ends of those surfing spectrum (those that aspire to be pros and snake every wave, and those that yo-yo their boards and will drop in on you without realizing). Its surfable on average about 3-4 times a week here, decent maybe once or twice a week, and good a few times out of the year, if you know where to look though you can usually find a wave. WB is only 3 miles long so the crowd tends to be the main factor.
Congrats on UNCW I hear its a good school, although not very prestigious due to the newness. Nothing like chapel hill or duke, may be less desired of the 3 when getting a job. As far as surf colleges in the us, I hear its number 3! As far as partying goes, there's not much going on. I never hear about any band or dj's throwing mad parties. I also don't hear of any party promoters or record labels in the area. If you want to party... I used to work at UCLA and that place parties! Monday-Sunday! You got Hollywood, Venice, downtown, the list goes on forever. I also was in Orlando and UCF parties... Downtown Orlando, east side, hard rock live, house of blues, + Miami is close, as well as new Smyrna! As far as wetsuits I like a 4/3 here in Wilmington if you only have one. The water goes from 80 down to 50 or less. You will need 3 mm boots and gloves. I have only been here for 4 winters and when I got here someone said it didn't get that cold... It snowed the first 2 years. In my book coming from Florida then Southern California... That's f'n cold cold! I find it pretty racist here also. Rarely a day goes by that I'm not made fun of for my race. Someone even said Asians don't surf hahaha... I guess he's never heard of hawaii or Japan. I'm constantly asked if I know Bruce lee. I'm only here because my wife loves it. It's literally my hell.
