Everything you’ve learned in surfing is for selfish reasons. But you can take a day to share it. (Photo by Ryan Johnson)
One of my friends has surf journals going back 15 years. He has recorded, charted and studied his observations of the ocean every day. Another friend wakes up early pretty much every morning, goes to the same break and surfs or bodysurfs even if there is a mere ripple. He often takes photos of his beloved spot and understands innately the mechanics that make it work.
I have had friends who have taken water temp readings with a thermometer on a fishing pole, others who drive long stretches of beach in the offseason scouting potential sandbars, one who pores over swell charts and takes off for weeks at a time to his Central American hideaway. There are those who shape boards specifically for our breaks, surf photographers who watch for just the right conditions to shoot and capture an image they have in their heads.
We have spent thousands of dollars to dial in quivers of surfboards for everything from 1-foot summer mush to throaty winter bowls and travel boards. We’ve compiled years of knowledge as to where to surf on each swell direction, each season and swell. We research the perfect workouts and understand which foods will keep us in surf shape.
How many hours does a surfer spend in the ocean in 10 years? Many of us have popped up on a surfboard thousands of times, understanding where to be, when to stand, applying muscle memory and motor skills down to swift, natural movements.
And all of this accumulated skill, half lifetimes of research and innate knowledge, is good for about nothing but catching waves.
Sure, understanding the ocean gives us a good sense of weather that helps in other areas of our lives. Surf travel can give us a better understanding of geography and world cultures.
But the actual act of catching a wave requires amassed knowledge and skills that are good for … well … absolutely nada.
Everything we have learned – where to go on a southwest wind, angling under a pitching lip, paddling out in a rip, avoiding the lowest tides on full moons and how to tend to stinging surf rash on your genitalia – is worth exactly zero dollars outside the context of the quasi-delusional surfing world that we have created for ourselves.
It does nothing to better society. Aside for about a tiny portion of the surfing population, it does not put food on the table. Yes, it may be good for our souls, but it doesn’t do a whole hell of a lot for anyone else’s.
Boy, that was a buzzkill.
OK, OK, there actually is one practical application for everything you’ve learned from surfing that isn’t totally selfish. Are you ready for this?
We can share that skill with someone else.
It’s a novel idea, but not all that insane when you think about it. You have ability and knowledge that can be passed on to give someone else that good feeling, that sense of harnessing a tiny bit of ocean energy … ah, what the hell, a bit of stoke, if you will.
Of course, if you have kids, that’s something you want to teach them. But what about beyond our own family?
Surfing can be transformative. Just lying on a board, bellying toward shore can be the highlight of the summer. And you have the tools to give that to someone.
I’m not saying you’re going to teach someone to surf and they will adopt the same strange lifelong addiction as you. Lord knows we don’t need any more of us surf monkeys stroking our own egos on Instagram or surfing Holyoke on a Tuesday morning in October when people are supposed to be at work.
What about just giving a kid a single day of joy?
Though so many events have been canceled or postponed this year, Waves of Strength is holding its LBI event on Aug. 9 at 68th Street in Brant Beach, from 8 a.m. to noon. They are taking their cue from the state and CDC guidelines, doing digital sign-ups, wearing masks and spreading out the crowd. But the main aspect of the event – which is giving kids who don’t always have the opportunity to surf a chance to ride a wave – will remain intact.
And that’s where you come in. Kids battling diseases, living with disabilities or experiencing other unfortunate circumstances don’t have the opportunity for a conventional surf experience. If you’re even a moderately experienced waverider, you can dedicate some time to getting kids into waves and make a huge impact on their summer. Non-surfers just don’t know how to efficiently get through the surf and keep the board steady through the foam.
There are countless nonprofits that offer surfing experience for folks who have some sort of barrier in their life – inner-city kids, wounded veterans, cystic fibrosis patients, children with autism, etc. They’re all commendable … and they all need help at these events.
Waves of Strength seeks to harness the healing power of the ocean, something many of us take for granted. It was founded by local surfer Rob Simek, a way of giving back to our community by granting kids this opportunity.
And, of course, if you have a child who has some kind of special needs, you should register for the event at wavesofstrength.org/events. They supply life jackets and surfboards (even those for special needs). And it’s free. But knowing that this is a surf column, I am reaching out to the shredders to give of themselves one morning this summer. Ask any of your friends who have volunteered.
Put all that surf experience into someone else for a day. It feels good.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SURF TRAIN?: Up until Monday, this had been a pretty nice summer. Then we hit 94 with a heat index of 104. And the tri-state area was about the hottest part of the country, even sweating out Florida by a few degrees. Is it me or do we seem to get the coldest windchills and hottest heat indexes? Like, no matter what sort of discomfort, we are the U.S. capital of it. This one is called a “heat dome.” You can pack that term away with “bomb cyclone” and “derecho.”
Maybe have a little patience for your server this week, who’s running a half mile from the kitchen to your table in the mind-melting heat. Waiters, waitresses and busboys are very quickly shedding that quarantine chub. Maybe a gratuity should reflect the mercury?
Following an absolute banger run of surf, this past week was a bit of a let-down. Not all that bad, considering it’s the middle of July, but after so many magic sessions, it was mostly back to groveling.
We were also in the cycle of only one low tide per day. If you were just looking to be chilling on the beach and sharing a few on the longboards or soft tops, that was fine for the mid-day to afternoon lows. But you certainly weren’t getting low tide when the surf was clean in the mornings or scoring that evening glass. It’s those two-a-day low tides that allow us the higher wave counts and more hours in the ocean.
The beginning of the work week has been pretty uneventful, although not flat. Sometimes the best way to get out of the heat is to chase those knee-high peelers. The middle of the week looks to be equally uninspiring. If there’s a day to keep an eye on, it’s Friday morning. We’re also getting back to an early and a late low tide during daylight hours, so take advantage. The ocean temp has been clocking in around 70 to 75 degrees, which is warmer than average this time of year. One reading from the U.S. Geological Service station near the inlet caught the bay at 90 last week. Those lagoons have to be boiling in this heat wave. These are the kind of readings we normally get in August, so I’m curious if we start to push into the low 80s in the surf next month.
I know this is one of those weather nerd things, but it should never cease to amaze us that we live in a place where the ocean water temp can swing 50 degrees – high 20s in the coldest of winters, low 80s in the warmest of summers. Just another unique aspect to life on the New Jersey coast.
SEEKING THE TOOTH: I guess I would be remiss to not mention the elephant shark in the room. Last Thursday, a local surfer was among several beachgoers to capture video of a shark attacking a young dolphin an unsettling few feet off the beach.
Yeah, we all know sharks are out there, but surfers don’t spend nearly as much time thinking about daunting dorsals as most people think we do. But I won’t be making jokes about anyone who’s a little apprehensive about diving into the Atlantic after watching it. It was gruesome. My son and I were in the water just a mile away when the attack occurred. What I really love is the way the video spreads around and the headlines that come of it, even in the midst of probably the heaviest news cycle in the last 100 years.
“Sharks devour dolphin in Jersey Shore surf as stunned beachgoers look on.” – NJ.com
“Video – Shark Attacks Dolphin Near The Beach On LBI [Graphic] – WOBM.
“Harrowing Video Shows Shark Attacking Dolphin At Popular Jersey Shore Beach” – Daily Voice.
And my favorite, “Bloodbath unfolds on Jersey Shore as sharks attack dolphin.” – NY Post.
Hope they got their clicks.
But in all seriousness, think of it in these terms – we know sharks are there. In the last century, no one has been killed by a shark off LBI. That’s thousands of people swimming or surfing for 100 days for 100 years. You do the math.
Still doesn’t erase that image from my head, though.
NOT SO HOT TROPICS: Despite having some activity earlier in the summer, the tropics look about as interesting as a cross-country snowboard race right now. But realistically, when wave-maker storms do form in July, they’re usually the exception to the norm. While there’s a potential depression moving west through the Gulf, there’s really not much to track at the moment of interest to us. In another two weeks, we should start to take an interest in the Main Development Region of the Atlantic Basin, and in three weeks, we will actually be in the Cape Verde season.
Things generally heat up in every sense after mid-August,and we usually have some kind of tropical swell party for Labor Day weekend. Keep in mind Labor Day is on the late side this season (Sept. 7), so there’s an even better chance as the statistical height of hurricane season is Sept. 10.
We certainly hope these spinners stay offshore this year. The combination of people trying to take shelter, COVID cases in the south and let’s just say “lack of leadership” at the federal level would be another disaster we don’t need anywhere in the hemisphere right now.
WHAT’S HAPPENING: This damn virus sure keeps taking all the fun out of 2020. Unfortunately, the Makers Fest at Manahawkin Lake Park had to be canceled already for September. And while we’d hoped we would be having more events this summer, I certainly don’t blame towns, small businesses and nonprofits for erring on the side of caution. I mean, had the White House done that in March, we might be on our way out of this thing like the rest of the developed world. Ever feel like the rest of the country is about to destroy the progress New Jersey has made?
The Surf City Farmers Market, outdoor shows at Surflight Theatre and Long Beach Township’s Fire Pit Fridays and Sundays on the 68th Street beach continue with a smattering of beach workouts and outdoor yoga classes, but it’s not the same volume of fun we are accustomed to.
The Jetty Coquina Jam is slated for Sunday. There’s been an awful lot of extra planning this year to keep it safe for everyone with proper social distancing protocols. It’s really the first in-person event for the surf/beach community this summer, so the support has been great.
Saturday, Aug. 1, is the Alliance for a Living Ocean LBI Longboard Classic. The registration was half full before the event even hit Facebook. ALO has been following some of Jetty’s leads to ensure there’s no germs spreading, and working with Ship Bottom to keep the event distanced.
Then on Aug. 9, the aforementioned Waves of Strength event is happening in Brant Beach as well.
Be smart if you go. The success of these events could determine the future of such gatherings. And seriously, consider giving your time to Waves of Strength or one of the many other groups that share surfing with the disadvantaged. Now go jump in the ocean and cool off.
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