I'm going on a golf trip this weekend down to Ocean City Maryland(thank god they chose the beach) with a few older guys from work. I said yes back in like February and I had a bad feeling when the guy said jokingly \"now dont be thinkin about bringin one your surfboards down on this trip\"... well it looks like my bad feeling was right. Nice southeast swell hitting the nj coast this weekend and Im gonna be away... its how it always happens.. Thank god im near a beach this time. I have never been to Ocean city maryland before and I was wondering if someone could give me some guidance. I know I gotta go to secrets and all at night(we are staying in walking distance i believe) but does any local wanna share some knowledge on the place? awesome Places to eat, where to go, what I should check out when I am down there, any good surf shops? Maybe even shed some light on a good direction to look for some surf???maybe some local knowledge so I dont look like an idiot when I am down there. any info would be greatly appreciated. Im there from thursday til sunday. as of now, were scheduled to play 18 all 4 days but thats all up in the air now due to this swell that I have been looking at and following since last friday. Im pumped for this weekend. Im way over due for surf. I think the last time i surfed was Easter weekend. With classes and finals 3 days a week and working 40-50 hours a week, there hasnt left me much time for surf. Im excited to finally put on my 3/2 and not have a hood! I have been yearning for no hood for a while. I attempted no hood last session hoping that spring was finally here and it was a mistake. So anyway If your in OCMD this weekend..... im the 6'9'' giant trying to surf my friends little 5'10'' fish. dont be afraid to say hello.(The height can be intimidating) Ive been reading this SI forum for years now, and i figure its time to start getting a couple posts under my belt. Sorry for the length, cant fall asleep and pumped for the weekend
Be forewarned, this weekend is cruiser weekend with tons and tons of obnoxious fume spewing hot rods in town. And oh yeah, they just finished beach replenishment, so you'll be dealing with that reality as well. Golf? What's that?
What course you playing...hopefully rum pointe. Top 5 restaurants...IMO 1. The Shark 2. Liquid Assets 3. Longboard cafe. 4. Nantuckets 5. Any of the Hook restaurants I would throw thro grove ( right by lighthouse sound) in their. The grove has the flea market atmosphere which is kinda cool, but getting reservations for an out of towner with little advance is next to impossible. It looks like a shack. Surf...anywhere up and down the coastline....just a beach break. Just check it out. Gonna have to here the darn cars racing up and down my road...noise. Guess not as bad as biker week. If you like hot rod cars, your gonna love this weekend.
With all due, sir, sure way to look like an idiot is to show up with a little fish under your arm when you're Andre the Giant. I presume you gotta have longer golf clubs or something. Get yourself a bigger board. Mother nature has put you on a long board and that's just fine. Anyway, it's all under construction, so hard to tell, and all nice shore pounds, so pick one and enjoy warmer weather.
Head to Chauncey's surf shop and rent a fun shape if you have to. You definitely need a bigger board. But check any of the breaks between the inlet and 54th st. You should be ok anywhere in between there.
Thanks guys, At this point it's the only board I can fit in the car. I don't have a roof rack on this car so it's the only board that can fit. My 7'2 won't fit in my dad's Saab with everything else.. I called a few surf shops down there and it sounds like they only rent soft tops for like 30 bucks for a day.. U know any shops that rent a decent board down there?
Yeah, I'd probably bail on the golf, at least Saturday and Sunday. I recently moved up to this area from the Outer Banks so I'm no local, but have been finding some fun spots over the past year or so. Best bet, as mr coop said, is to just check up and down the coast line. I'd suggest getting up for a nice dawn patrol session your first day to avoid the traffic/stop lights and pull off about every 20 streets (streets are numbered) to see what looks fun. Also, here's a decent cam: ocsurfcam.com. Mid-town has been good for me, not too difficult to figure out where it is seeing as the streets are numbered. If you want a more rustic experience, head down to the Assateague area and cruise right on the beach until you see something working. Maybe I'll see you out there. Have fun
At your size, you're better off renting the soft top and having a blast rather than sinking a 5'10" Fish and not catching anything
It's been a few years, but I could've sworn that Chauncey's rented other boards than soft tops. Other than that, it's already been said that OCMD is beach break...pick any peak at the end of any street for miles. Some might be breaking better than others. You won't find any semi-secret reefs or points, so your call has pretty much been pre-determined.
No shops in OC MD will tell you over the phone that they rent anything but fomaies. But, last time I visited, the fellas at Malibus hooked me up with a team rider board when I come into town... It took a little arm twisting and a "hey, don't you know (insert name drop here)" but they were super cool about it. Every kid I spoke to on the phone at first was like, nah we don't do that... But I went up the chain of command until I got my way. And they hooked it up. Had a ton of fun on it, and glad I got the board cause it was a solid 3-4 feet for two days. I would talk to Malibus and give them the ol', trust me, Im not a kook sob story.
The waves are good usually at OC as long as the swell is big enough. I go to Assateague Island (About 15 mins away from OC). The waves there break farther out and are rolling. Go to Chauncey's Surf Shop on 28th street and 54th street if you need wax or something. Go to any restaurant in OC and it's good.. If I had to pick one it would be Fish Tales. Awesome place. Alright... if I were you I'd be checking out Assateague Island so you can see if you like it... I think you will. Not to mention, OC went over beach replenishment... So AI might be your only choice...
And as for Assateague, A) Make sure there is a decent enough breakable swell. B) Go at low tide. C) Have cash on hand to pay the small toll to park/enter, unless you have a yearly pass.
Well, let me rephrase that. The had nothing along the lines of a proper shortboards. They said they had funshapes and soft top longboards....
^^ this Although if you can get your mitts on a gnome plank, there'd be a pretty good audience for 'Gulliver Goes Surfing.'
If the waves are 1-2 ft there is nothing. If you ride a 5-10 fish, and you can actually ride it well, then you just can. No shame in trying, at least...
What is wrong with a soft top anyway? What, he won't really be slotting the barrels nicely? I've seen people ride plenty well on soft tops. Especially waves prevalent to the area. I think a softie would be just fine. People make such a science out of it all, IMO, and then you seen guys standing in barrels on skim boards and body boards. Whatever, bring a good attitude and wave when people see you standing on your 7' frame. I'd much rather have a ****tiest Chauncey's soft top then a ride a 2' shorter than you fish. But that's me, if it doesn't fit with your golf clubs, it doesn't fit and you should acquit. You've got all the advice you need here already..
I am not a foam top nazi by any means, I would just ASSUME here that those things may be quite squirrly if you aren't use to it. There is so much bend and give in them, I would feel like even bottom turning on one would be quite sketchy.... Kind of like the fact that I have been skim boarding lately when its flat, and its obviously not a fiberglass/pro style board, so when I turn in the flats or try and ramp up and get some air, it feels like my ankles are about to shatter when I have any kind of impact. The thing bends and shifts under my feet to the point that I feel like its going to cause an injury. Too much flex in the thing. Not that your ankles will buckle bottom turning on a foam top, but I would assume it would have a similar effect, drag and end up having you slide out quite a bit.... dunno though.
