Montauk Point

I'm not from up there, but I did a quick search on it and I didn't see anything about the seasonal thing there. I see photos of guys in trunks out surfing it. There is the point at Alamo and then the air force base with Turtles right next to it. It seems like the Alamo part is the easiest to access. But there is nothing mentioned about seasonal restrictions, although it does say it really fires in the winter...

Good luck... Ohh and apparently they used to test mind control and time portals at the base there. creepy sh**.

 

fisherman take over from March thru December. Park service is on site daily to write tickets to those who disobey the posted rules. Need a sizeable swell to break and when its good it gets extremely crowded. Save your self a trip and stick to Long Beach/Rockaway when the waves allow.

 

whats up with these dudes? That has to be July, August or September

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/nyregion/long-island/29surfli.html

Wow, I stand corrected. Yeah, that is some serious BS for sure. The surfrider foundation says that they have successfully defended all citations ever issued to surfers there, but I wouldn't want to have to drive back up there and go to court over it...

I would say f*** that place just off principal. Just goes to show the difference between the east coast and the west coast.... Protecting fishcasters? WTF? Why can't the two groups just work together. Why can't the D-bag fisherman just stand down further off the point?

My local break was the SD city municipal fishing pier for 10 years. There were hundreds of people fishing there every day, all year. We never had issues. The occasional drifting line would be addressed by the lineup, but the fisherman would happily oblige and move down the pier. How the fu** can the state or municipality defend such actions? WTF do they care about the fisherman, and why is that a more important recreation?

I file this one under my firely thread a few months ago about how surfrider talks the talk all the time about the dredging and saving breaks and all this sh**, but there aren't a few surfing hot shot lawyers in NYC that can smash this down with little to no effort... Come on surfrider. What other pressing issues are there in the NY surfing community that you guys can't focus more energy on this sh**.

 

Is this for real? Montauk is on my list of breaks to hit. How come I hadn't heard of this 8-month surf ban in my research thus far? Guess I wasn't looking at the right resources. You'd expect to hear something like that pretty quick. So 24/7 no surf for 8 months out of the year?? And people still live there if they surf?

 

This is obviously a different stretch of beach than where they held the ASP last year. I mean, how did they pull that off in September? I guess "Montauk" is a much bigger area with regards to numerous breaks....

I have always seen it on the map and really would love to hit it sometime too. Not sure if I am going to wait till february to go hit it though. I don't even own a 5-6 mil these days or any of the equipment necessary to charge it in the winter...

 

the quik pro was held in long beach.. montauk has spots.. just no one will tell you where.. and yes its a zoo during fedora season

 

thats really ****ing funny....and true

 

also under certain conditions it gets big. REAL BIG (for the east coast).

 

id be interested to see what happens when the big wet monster meets the montauk monster.

people don't talk about it much but that thing is out there. it could be as good as when godzilla met king kong.

 

Looks like Spicoli's gonna get 7 of his closest friends some swell soon and charge the Tauk til la polizia paddles out and puts us in cuffs. This is one of those rare once a century occasions where Boston unites with Long Island.

 

I wouldn't go back to montauk if someone paid me. Yes they have good breaks but the municipality are pretty anti visitor. I got a $250 parking ticket for pulling up and checking the waves because I didn't have a "resident pass". I was out of the car maybe 1-2 minutes because the spot sucked. I'm pretty sure the cop followed me from town because he saw nj plates and boards. There are only two or three spots non residents can park in the entire town and they are no where near the good surf breaks.

Save your self a lot of frustration and good somewhere else or go with someone that knows the ropes

 

I have grandparents that live on shelter island between the 2 forks of long island. I usually drive up from Florida for a couple weeks each summer, and can say the place definitely has both quality and variety surf. It seems like every year I always catch at least 1 or 2 days with chest - head high +, glassy surf out in Montauk. In my experience, I've found that if the forecasts are calling for head high or less don't bother with ditch plains or the rocky points eastward towards the lighthouse (unless you longboard), as I've always found it breaking way outside and mushy. If you park in the public lots right next to IGA in town 5 minutes or so west of the "popular" spots you can score some legit, heavy, almost empty sandbar barrels from mid-high tide but you'll definitely want a short-board to make the drops. The times I've surfed Montauk the rocky points haven't been big enough, ditch plains was covered in kooks on long-boards and foamies, and I've always ended up sharing awesome sandbar barrels with some spongers right outside the lifeguard zone near the IGA. I'd imagine if you time it to score a 8-10 ft hurricane swell like hurricane Bill a few years back the rocky points might be worth it. The time I did paddle out at one of the points I parked by the highway and hiked about 20 minutes through the brush along someones private $50 million estate to get to the cliffs. When we climbed down the cliff my d1ck dragging buddy ended up too intimidated to paddle out from the rocks on the sponge so of course I was by myself paddling out 150-175 yards offshore to get to the outside, only to hang my legs down in the fishiest smelling water I've surfed on the east coast with a giant buoy 50 yards further out marking god knows what and a head fishing boat another 25 yards past that. Needless to say I waited for the first set, which was noticeably bigger than the sandbars a few minutes back west in town, just to ride a 2-3 ft overhead mushburger for 3-4 soft cutbacks into the trough 30 yards offshore where I decided to head in before I became jaws' next meal. I definitely didn't feel comfortable sitting out there by myself for those waves, however, I could see 150-200 yard rides, possibly barreling on a slightly larger swell and a dead low tide, however I'd imagine the paddle would be a nightmare then and the takeoff zone just as sketchy if not even further out. This was one of the rocky points 2-3 down from the lighthouse so maybe the others are different, however, I didn't want to fork out 50$ or whatever the BS price is for an out of towner day permit at the lighthouse parking lot, where I'd have definitely received a ticket just for parking without one (I still parked illegally in a small permitted lot but it seemed way more inconspicuous). That's not even considering the surf bans ticketability mentioned in the above posts. From my experience over the last 4-5 summers, don't bother heading east of town unless A) the swells at least 6-8 ft+ with offshore(north) winds and B) you have a local friend/acquaintance whose willing to drive and park via their vehicle. One thing I've noticed surfing long island is the non local parking permits are the most expensive I've ever seen, especially on the east end. Some places, If I recall correctly from summer 2013, were upwards of 80$ for a single day. New Yorkers really know how to stick it to nonlocals, that's for sure. That's why I have no problem pointing you in the right direction of the sick sandbar barrels I surfed last summer literally across the dunes from the IGA and practically by myself. If you go at lower tide, check 100 yards north of the IGA for a slightly further outside sandbar break. I personally had alot more fun with the 6 1 pintail around mid-incoming tide right in front of the IGA grocery store getting shacked out of my mind with 2 spongers while the kooks flailed around on the foamburgers east at ditch plains on their logs and foamies. If the size and wind conditions look epic go ahead and take the fines/tickets for the team and hopefully score some epic ones out on the point. Just be sure to post back here for the rest of us with pics and details. Scr#w the old farts out there shafting out of towners just to park and use the beach for a day, and up yours to the guy that said noone will hook you up with spots. Almost all of them out there can't surf anyways. You'll definitely score around there regardless if you make the trip when its chest high + and north winds.

 

PS saw your post about camping at Hither Hills. The family used to make day trips there and I have seen it get pretty good on the inside sandbar. The outside is pretty far out there with no defined break though and pretty unorganized. You'll probably be able to score some decent waves there if you camp there but the lifeguards wont let you surfing between the flags there so you'll have to stay either north 50 yards or so our south. Definitely head in and check out the sandbar in town near the IGA during mid incoming tide and you can score on the every day swell if the winds are from the north. Also September and October are prime season if you luck out with a hurricane offshore. The waters warmest then, reaching 67 degrees or so if you're lucky. I was able to skin it for an hour or 2 in july/august but you might wanna bring a spring suit or 3/2 in case the air is chilly. Especially in October, I've never been up there that late in the summer but I'd imagine the water temps might start to drop by then.