|
.jpg) .jpg)
July 2008
Cape Cod Life
Board Meeting
Surfing isn’t just a grom’s sport anymore. Nowadays,
people of all ages and professions are hanging ten on
the Cape and islands.
By Dan Mathers
.jpg) Think
‘surfing’ and you probably think of a tropical place
with palm trees and monstrous blue waves like Hawaii’s
famed North Shore. The waves of Cape Cod might not jump
to mind. But there’s a little secret that a few Cape
watermen and women are in on. And that secret is that
the Cape and islands have some killer surf. Truth is the
region is dotted with great spots for surfing, and with
them scores of surfers who spend their summers — and,
believe it or not, many winter days — riding those
waves.
If you think surfing is just young punks grabbing a
board on any given sunny day and heading to the beach,
think again. Surfers – nowadays many of whom are in
their forties, fifties, and even sixties – spend about
as much time as sailors do hunched over nautical charts,
studying coastlines and pouring over the latest
meteorological information, all to figure out where a
good break may be found and when the weather will create
the right conditions for the perfect surf. And, as many
beachcombers know, the sport of surfing is growing —
rapidly.
Christian del Rosario owns Nantucket Surfari, a surf
camp based on Nantucket. He says he’s seen the sport of
surfing explode in popularity during the last 10 to 15
years. On the surface, the sport’s allure isn’t hard to
grasp; you begin with ingredients like “sun” and “surf”
and you’ve already got the makings of a pretty good day.
But when you ask an experienced surfer why they surf,
they often get a far-off look in their eyes and they may
start throwing around ethereal terms, speaking of the
sport like an almost spiritual experience that you can’t
fully understand unless you’ve actually done it.
“For most people who surf, it’s about just being free,”
says del Rosario. “It’s you and the ocean and nature.”
He says he enjoys the sensory experience of surfing,
things like being out in the early morning, the way the
sun may reflect off the water a certain way, even the
smell of low-tide. And, of course, there’s the thrill
that comes from riding a wave. A thrill that packs all
the excitement of riding a rollercoaster, but without
the $50 park entry fee and the 12-year-old throwing up
in the seat in front of you.
In recent years, surfing has increasingly become a sport
for anyone. Curtis Graham, of Wellfleet, owns the
restaurant Blackfish in Truro. At 37-years-young, Graham
says the hardcore group of surfers in his area are
mostly older than him. That may reflect the sport’s
evolution, as many baby-boomers who took up surfing when
it first became big in the 1960s are still enjoying it.
And it isn’t just for beach-bums. Everyone from high
school students to doctors and college professors surf
today. And, as far as jobs go, it helps to have a lax
work schedule. “All professions that let you go surf
mid-day are out [on the waves],” says Graham. “You need
to be able to drop what you are doing if the surf comes
up.”
The Cape’s surfing hotspots include Nantucket and the
shores of Eastham, Wellfleet and Orleans. While the
region’s surf might not be as consistent as a place like
Hawaii, and the water certainly not as warm, the waves
can be surprisingly big. “When the waves are good,” says
del Rosario, “they get good.” And, on the Cape, they
most often get good once the summer is over.
Fall is an especially popular time, as the water
temperature peaks around September and offshore tropical
storms and hurricanes fuel consistent surf. Once the
autumn season fades, surfers keep an eye out for winter
storms. That’s right: winter. As powerful storms such as
nor’easters kick up some of the biggest waves of the
year, determined surfers don drysuits complete with
gloves, boots and hoods, and they brave freezing temps
and wind chills to enjoy the surf throughout the winter.
When they aren’t riding waves, Cape surfers can often be
found surfing the internet for weather information. Good
surf often depends on such factors as the tide, the wind
and the direction of a swell. “There are so many
different variables,” says del Rosario. “Every single
wave is different.” So surfers spend their time tracking
storms off the coast of Africa, reading buoy reports, or
studying charts of the Cape Cod coastline. An up-to-date
knowledge of the coast is especially important on the
Cape, where sandbars are always changing. But mastering
the region’s diverse surfing conditions has its
advantages. “If you can surf here with all the rips and
bars,” says Graham, “you will be in shape to surf
elsewhere.”
The increasing popularity of surfing also has its
downside: crowds. Surfing messageboards on the internet
are filled with surfers complaining about overcrowded
waves and reminding others of the importance of keeping
good breaks to themselves. But Graham says the Cape is
ideally suited to handle the rising number of surfers.
“It’s all sandbars here, so people can spread out,” he
says. “Just move down the beach. The Cape has miles and
miles of Atlantic coastline for us all to enjoy and
respect.”
Del Rosario says surfing is a rather easy sport to get
started in. Unlike golf, which may take dozens of
lessons to pick up, with surfing you are up and riding
in one lesson. It is important to be a decent swimmer,
he says, as the sport is 90 percent paddling. It also
helps to have a lot of free time.
“Once you start,” says Graham, “you might have a hard
time keeping a day job.”
|
