Don't get me wrong, I spend all winter and spring dreaming about the day I can shed off all my rubber and feel the waves on my skin. Grass is always greener, right? But the warmth is not without its disadvantages: Crowds, kooks, and going days without a decent swell are some of the plagues that come with summer. Of course you all know this, but for all you year-round surfers, do you miss the cooler months as well? And what do you miss about it? With the cold water, the waves are heavier and the herds get thinned out by natural selection. But the things I miss most are the extra adrenaline rush of duck diving under an icy wave and the effect it has on my body. There is something to be said about driving home from a winter session, still shivering, half numb, and feeling the blood rushing to my skin as my body tries desperately to warm itself back up. How about all of you?
i love winter hands down my favorite time of the year as you said i love/hate duck diving under icy waves, but the cold water is so much more dense and its awesome, dawn patrol is my favorite time for winter surfing, hot coffee, cold air and the morning sun cant beat it.
Not yet. Been getting enough good, enjoyable rides during DP in trunks at somewhat uncrowded spots. I am, however, looking forward to the "stepped up game" and challenges of winter surf. From a couple days ago:
"I am, however, looking forward to the "stepped up game" and challenges of winter surf." Great way of putting it. I've been psyching myself up on every waist high surf so that i can charge as humanly possible this fall/winter. Gotta get ready for the extra 20lbs!
As much as I enjoy surfing in boardshorts, I definitely miss the cooler months. There's no better feeling than waking up to super clean sets on a cool winter day. It's like waking up on Christmas morning. A very serene Christmas morning. The business suit is still damp from the session before and, for the love of God, you can never seem to find your left glove. It's like you're a kid gearing up to go play in the snow. I wish it snowed in CB...
I dunno, the older I get the more torn I am over the Summer vs Winter thing. I love the solitude of a Winter surf and the fact that I can take a dump in the dunes and bury it like a Sea Turtle mum buries her eggs and no one is there to witness it. But I also like the warm water on my skin and the I enjoy perving on all the young hotties and their bikini-tight a$$es when my wife aint lookin. I enjoy getting out of that cold water and eating a big bowl of venison chilli with a Stella Artois. But I also enjoy a fat slice of boardwalk pizza and watching tourists get attacked by green flies and sea gulls. I hate long, cold, gray flat spells. I hate long, hot, brown flat spells. I like looking at a closed amusement park on a cold morning and hearing the ghostly echoes of the laughter of the children that rode the rides in a Summer long past. I like the lights and sounds of all the rides on a hot Summer's night- and watching the tired, sun-burned parents empty their wallets. I grow nostalgic. Back to work
can't wait for Sept to start thinning out the line up. Sept - Dec is my favorite ..... water is still warm, hopefully some decent storm swell (don't really need another Sandy ... ouch!), and a thin lineup. Don't get me wrong ... Feb-April is good with the nor-easters (love the offshore wind) but sessions are shorter as well as the day ... still haven't found a way to surf 100% of the time. Need to work to support the lifestyle .... Then again ... maybe I just need thicker rubber and live in a shack
^^^^Agreed on mid to late fall, many of the same benefits as winter, with relatively warm water still. And you can count on the offshores more.
Being FL I much prefer the fall, winter, and spring months. Usually the weather is pretty mild, with a few days being seriously cold by anybody's standards, but other than those few days, it's normally very refreshing. Waves are more consistent and have a lot more punch to them. I enjoy getting out of the suit into board shorts, but that's when the summer pros come out to play, so I'll take wearing a 3/2 with little to no crowd any day of the week / year.
Yes, that's me. Thanks! A buddy took the shot. We got an unexpected surge in swell during DP at dead high tide (usually doesn't break so well at high unless the swell is large enough) that sent A-Frame one after the other, that gave nice rights & lefts, for about an hour. Only a handful of us out there due to this unanticipated occurrence. That's why you gotta go, 'cause you never know!
You hear and see the ghosts of summer on winter boardwalks, too? I thought only I did. Stop eating deer and eat pizza. Deer are very nice people. Crab and fish under one foot in length is acceptable. Leave cows alone they just want to be on the grass just like most people on this site. Winter surfing is more cerebal......more soulful......more aesthetically pleasing...........more moody........you experience more of nature's identity and character Mattybrews: You almost got it right with the ride home post cold-weather surf.............Got to put the heater on your feet. Yeah, put that heater direction on FLOOR/FEET. Especially good after Dusk Patrol, surfing until the quiet, winter twilight. If you add herbal enchantment into the mix, and are surf satisfied, it's almost like lying in a field of poppies.
For some reason I always try and surf on Halloween. I like surfing on Halloween. Does this make me a pagan? Christmas eve is a good one, too. Gotta surf Christmas Eve until dark. New Years Eve, too. Christmas morning and New Years morning good, also. Good time to be like Dawn Patrol SUP because everyone's either f'up those mornings or doing the family thing. One New Years morning, I had Cedars alone(typical back in the late 80's) and it was good 4-6 and clean, back in the days when the weather did the right thing, and those offshores blew NW all of the time. Not some G=dang SW or WSW. So some dude paddles out. It's cold. The air is cold. The water is cold. The dude ain't wearing a hood. So I'm all, I'm like, " Hey ain't your head cold?" And you do you know what he says to me? He went, he's all, he's like...." No." Man, that boy's crazy. OMG, I almost called him the N word, and then I would need counseling. YO, someone tell a few good winter surf stories. Pretend your Matt or Sam George and give me something good. Take me away or back or something..........USE PARAGRAPHS .......LOTS OF THEM. Spicoli, you drown anyone this past winter? Ahhh, I kid....I kid......
Absolutely not, PJB. Halloween is up there with Christmas & St. Patty's Day. Anyone who says otherwise is going to get my fist in their mouth. There's just something about Halloween that gets your blood pumping and surfing is a great way to celebrate. I like to begin my Halloween sessions with The Mistfits' "Halloween."
Man, even though I quit trick or treating five years ago, I still get "that feeling" aboot Halloween. I can almost get that sense of mystery and excitement that I did as a children. Almost. It's almost there. But Halloween, really turns the tides of the season. Shoot, September can be just as summer-like as August. Man, those first colder days feels so good. The colors of the seasons are top notch. The browns, oranges and yellows of the trees and household decorations set the tone and stage for the best time of the year - Halloween to New Years. In case any of youse didn't know it, that's the best time of the year. Kids, you get a pass if you think summer is the best. I understand. School's a drag, dudes. I hear you. Actually every kid should be claiming summer. You're too young and stoked to notice inferior surf and the summer is full of carefree hijinks and BQ's. Yeah, definately a good time. Yeah I like winter surfing, but in general January and Febraury are drab. The post-holiday come down, January seems so long, and it can just seem depressing. Though sometimes I get a sick satisfaction out of the mid-winter blues... Oh, you southern religious types that don't let your kids celebrate Halloween........Shame on you. Man, they ain't worshipping the devil. Their just getting excited by the mystery of the night, and having a good time collecting candy with their friends. Don't be such idiots. Let the kids have fun and enjoy the proper American rights of passage. Don't be so prudish and puritan. You should be ashamed of yourselves. We all need some mystery and excitement in our lives.
Summer is fun cause of all the seaonal friends out, and more girls, but I love and look forward to winter!!! Got the technology by Xcel, colder water is faster. Love the clean uncrowded breaks, Nothing beats surfing New Years eve and New Years day and no one out on your choice of peaks! Then that hot shower and a cold beer. and major stoke!!!
I look forward to fall and winter.this summer has sucked!!this past winter was probably my prime,since we had plenty of good swells with good sandbars.i almost forgot how much it really sucks going to the beach in the summer.traffic,no parking,beach badges,summer crowds.im not a people person.until labor day,u can look but not touch.a few weeks ago I drove to every beach from sandy hook to montoloking looking for surf when we had a little 3ft swell.the br started in northern nj,and theres no surf spots left.lbi is great,but too far for my car,as it would surely start smoking in the traffic.winter time u can smoke a spliff or drink a brewski unmolested.my buddy told me he got caught smoking a blunt on the point pleasant boardwalk,and for some reason the dumbazz tried to bribe the cop with a Benjamin,and ended up getting tased lol.true story.idk why u would choose to smoke on one of the busiest boardwalks during summer,hes not a surfer and I guess doesn't know better.if I had the money I would leave jersey as I spent too much time here.the waves are great during the winter,but I have an addictive attitude towards surfing and I havnt been getting my fix.nothing worse driven all up and down the coast and getting skunked.yea its nice bein on the beach with girls in bikinis,but hey theres chicks everywhere.i like winter better because chicks wear spandex lol,i prefer those
Not at all. Christian roots. See my other post (correction: NOVEL! On the reel) in a bit. So you're just like Santa in New Zealand then! We've seen proof of him surfing throughout the year too. Good thing his amphibious sleigh is so voluminous or else he'd not be able to carry the freight load for the NZ children. Which is a Hinduload of weight since the Auckland young are very, very well-behaved given that there is no television to pollute their minds into acts of wanton moral and criminal destruction. All they have playing on those pesky television sets are perpetually looped 39-minute jockumentaries of their famed countryman athlete RoyTaylor83. Sounds a bit Idiocratic to me. Anywayz, it's steaming today here in the land o' no swell. Care for a cold Brawndo? Did anyone here charge at the turn of the millennium? NYE 1999 or 2000, either counts here. I always try to be closing it with a smokeshow at that annual midnight. You really can't start a year in better fashion other than shotting a Honeyton barrell at 12AM GMT. Which one? Neudlern (ask Erock)? Nosebuddah? Necrophiliac? Number1fan? True that my esteemed and omniscient Sammich Sage. I've long made a habit of adherence to the 4-5 sentence rule (6 if it's a killer topic you can't make the audience wait on), although sometimes the fracking GMOs that were in my Boston Public School lunches from the latter years of small kid time get to my noggin and I can't help a literary stream of consciousness (or unconsciousness, however you view it!). I take it you skipped over the works of Kerouac (the original Pride of Lowell, MA even before Mickey Ward or Dikkey Eklund!!!) and Rules of Attraction by Brett Easton Ellis out of sheer frustration by the first 18 words of the endless preface/plot/epilogue of each. Brah, that bastardly spontaneous bop prosodist Kerouac composed his famed masterpiece on a continuous scroll of words that could've been used as a window shade for a 10-story building that had an 8.5" wide window from top to bottom. And you thought the Dead Sea Scrolls were impressive. Over 100 feet of non-stop typewritten unspaced prophecy. Maybe forum member delawaredell was spot on about me and I'm busy composing On the Wave and just haven't realized it til now. Half of what we joke about is serious. Scientific fact. Or at least "studies show" But nah brah, no aggravated aquatic assaults was I guilty for back in the cold. Tough not to contemplate doing so in these lineups in the summah kid!! Wayyyy too many close calls lately with nearly having calves fileted Wicked Tuna style by pointy chips racing towards me not to mention the attempts at malicious destruction to property of my Texas-sized quiver or the mission for Arthurian decapitation via LB not dulled sword (similar to a roundnose). The French didn't popularize the guillotine until the early 18th century or so and it remained legal until the late 20th century, just a few decades before similar surf prohibition was enacted at their world-famous Reunion breaks. Until then it was rusty swords and gallows, like it is now on many peaks and faces with Rusty longboards and elongated swallows. I digress, these renegade loggers and masters of the custodial arts with their linear path on the drop and towards the beach. When did "down the line" go down the drain? Next time they buy a non-aspirated PWC they should get one with a steering wheel so they can avoid the groveling schools of fish in their path. A debate we've waltzed with ad nauseum, so I'll leave it there. You were alluding to me possibly being guilty of inflicting shallow water blackouts on others during my surf lessons and not due to aggro response in the lineup, but I can't seem to find any kook/noob plebes to charge with me in off-season apprenticeship as it seems the stoke of most others tapers off at a water temp of 58-61F. Only one I almost drowned last winter was myself. Every day for a while actually. Several times a day on some occasions. Fear is, at best, a choice. To me, it's never been an option. Fairly certain I'm on my 9th life at the moment, so I really should hang up all the daredevil acts and join a yacht club. Psyche!!!!!!
