surfers?

[ginch]

^^^^^^^^

who out here surfs? where at? how long? what kinda board? how often? etc etc

I've been surfing for 3 years now and i love it....I picked it up when i was out in socal for 10 days....rented a longboard the 2nd day, stood up on the 2nd wave, and ended up renting on almost everyday thereafter.....bought a cheap board when i got back home too...

The only bad thing is, I live in south central PA, four hours from the beach...2 summers ago I would borrow my dads truck and take weekend trips down to ocean city, md, sleep in the back of the truck (tinted windows) and make it a cheap mini-vacation....did that 3 or 4 times.

then this past summer i took advantage of my uni's study abroad options and lived in australia for 4.5 months.....was about a 5 minute walk to the beach, so i surfed 3 or 4 times a week there, and got pretty good too....

now i'm back in central pa, looking forward to this summer, where i'll be living and working in ocean city maryland, hopefully surfing 3 or 4 times a week again.

theres my (possibly boring) story, whats yours?

[snissors]

Sounds like fun! I've always wanted to try surfing. Like you, I'm quite a distance from the beaches. I work in York, PA, and live near Baltimore, MD. I guess I could do like you did, rent a longboard next time I'm in Ocean City. Do people actually surf in Ocean City, MD?

[ginch]

there is a lot of surfing of ocean city....i've seen some talented guys (and girls) surfing ocean city....and i've seen total newbies...it's not a great surf beach by any stretch (as i can attest too after surfing and seeing some of australias best) but it can be fun...it really all depends on how lucky you are and what days you go down...

there are weeks where the waves are perfect all week...there are weeks where there isnt a ride in sight...

but if you go, check out 46th street....i believe they pump sand out there, and so it is consistently a better breaking wave than the rest of ocean city...if its not looking good other places, this is your best bet.


hope that helps

[t0mmy]

used to, gave it up now want to get back into it. used to go around torquay which is a few miles from bells beach (if u keep an eye on the ASP world tour or if you are a true surfer you'll know where bells is)

where are the shark hotspots in the US?

[bluemarlin04]

I surf and bodyboard, been doing since I was young since I live in hawaii. My gf's dad is a big wave charger, like 50+ ft faces. I have a 7'10" lonboard, and a 42" drop knee bodyboard.

[ginch]

yea i was in melbourne for 10 days and took a day to tour a bit of the great ocean road....stopped in anglesea, lorne, and some other small town...and of course, bells beach...i didnt have my board, but it was amazing to see...someday, maybe, i'll be surfing there (not as a pro by any stretch)

shark hotspots in the US? i'm not really sure...most reports come from socal and florida, but obviously theres gonna be a lot more surfers/swimmers in the water in those areas....i dont know which is worse, and i dont think either of them are nearly as bad as the south coast of oz.

[envirocopy512]

I surf and bodyboard, been doing since I was young since I live in hawaii. My gf's dad is a big wave charger, like 50+ ft faces. I have a 7'10" lonboard, and a 42" drop knee bodyboard.


Sup dude, I'm from Hawaii myself. Usually surf out in Kaaawa and sometimes the south shore, though there are so many dicks out there it usually ruins the fun.

Keep chargin' em!!!!

[whipple]

hey mate glad to hear you liked our beaches..where did you go and also what part of oz did you study in

[bluemarlin04]

Sup dude, I'm from Hawaii myself. Usually surf out in Kaaawa and sometimes the south shore, though there are so many dicks out there it usually ruins the fun.

Keep chargin' em!!!!
hell yea man, Nothing beats dawn patrol on a nice day. I use to surf pyramid rock and north beach everyday. Also went to sandy's to bodysurf. Hope you make it back here to charge em, brah.

[GREENFEATHER]

I used to surf when I could, nowadays it seems I never have time to do all of the things I really want to do. I had and old longboard, I guess it was 8 or so feet. We used them for rescue off the North Carolina coast.

Nort Carolina, Htteras, Kure Beach and Emerald Isle are some of the hot spots I've been to for sharks. Some things to consider about sharks:

1- You're more likely to get struck by lightning, although I think this is wrong . The more time you spend in the water, the greater the likelyhood that you'll get attacked.

2- Most attacks happen in shallow water, less then 2 metres deep and withing 200 metres of shore.

3- Night time is when you'll be at the greatest risk, most sharks are nocturnal predators except for Great Whites who are diurnal predtors.

4- Swimming right after a major weather event is bad news. I saw sharks in NewOrleans when I was there to assist in rescue and recovery after the hurricane. Sharks are 100% in tune with their environment. They can sense blood in minute quantitys, 1 part per 20 billion. They can also sense the change in salinity. They evolved over billions of years to know that, hey a big storm means there's gonna be lunch washing down river!!

5- This sort of keeps in line with the last one. Swimming or surfing near a river mouth or the opening to a bay is also more dangerous.

I've never been bitten, but I have encountered quite a few sharks on dives or SAR missions out at sea.I got brushed once by a nurse shark and that was painful enough for me!! Never corner a shark and don't touch them, they all have teeth and will bite you. Sharks landed on a boat are EXTREMELY damngerous as well. That one that I posted a pic of was still alive and able to try to bite at me 3 hours after I bashed his skull in with a 20 lb maul!! I was standing over him with my feet under his pectoral fins (the fins that poke out from the side) when I poked him in the eye, he tried to get at me, but couldn't.

[ginch]

hey mate glad to hear you liked our beaches..where did you go and also what part of oz did you study in


i loved your beaches...i loved the country...loved the people...

i studied in wollongong, nsw...while i was there i traveled to launceston, canberra (now THATS a fun town! haha), sydney a few times, cairns, byron bay, and spent 10 days in new zealand.....

by the end of my time there i felt like i was half ozzie...i went to watch the kangaroos play new zealand in rugby league at telstra stadium...we lost...(notice i say we)....and i was devistated after the game....in new zealand i kept taking the piss out of the kiwis and defending australia like it was my home country......i still consider myself part oz.....i miss it!

[whipple]

haha loving the national pride :D yeah man let me guess University of woolongong? im there now couldnt have chosen a better uni just quietly what course were you doing?;) when you ocming back over?

[ginch]

yea i went to university of wollongong

just quietly? haha my oz roomate would say that all the time

just quietly, i took 3 history classes---the US and the cold war, Stalin and Hitler, and Southeast Asia...I also took educational psychology....

easy classes, didnt work too hard and got good enough grades...

when will i be back? good question! no idea...i would love to be there right now...but i dont think thats gonna happen....someday, sometime, i'll at least be back for a visit.

[whipple]

Haha, yeah just quietly :p its pretty cruisy down there

[t0mmy]

that's good to hear that you enjoyed yourself, ginch. I see a few Americans at uni and they all seem to be enoying themselves, good to see :D

And whenever you go down to bells remember to wear booties, the rocks are really annoying and u can still stub your toe :( :D

[icery]

i bodyboard year round here in NY on long island. 6/4 with a hood, and thick gloves and booties

heres a video from the blizzard on feb 12 that brought us 16-18 inches of snow. i'm the bodyboarder at the 2:16 and 2:24 clips. northeast = surf cold

http://grem67.com/downloads/2-12-06.mov

[t0mmy]

i bodyboard year round here in NY on long island. 6/4 with a hood, and thick gloves and booties

heres a video from the blizzard on feb 12 that brought us 16-18 inches of snow. i'm the bodyboarder at the 2:16 and 2:24 clips. northeast = surf cold

http://grem67.com/downloads/2-12-06.mov

whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!! u guys are crazy!! but hardcore :P

that's actually really good surf.. never knew NY got any swell

[bluemarlin04]

i bodyboard year round here in NY on long island. 6/4 with a hood, and thick gloves and booties

heres a video from the blizzard on feb 12 that brought us 16-18 inches of snow. i'm the bodyboarder at the 2:16 and 2:24 clips. northeast = surf cold

http://grem67.com/downloads/2-12-06.mov
thats awesome, you have to come down here and board, nothing compares.

[DB15]

i bodyboard year round here in NY on long island. 6/4 with a hood, and thick gloves and booties

heres a video from the blizzard on feb 12 that brought us 16-18 inches of snow. i'm the bodyboarder at the 2:16 and 2:24 clips. northeast = surf cold

http://grem67.com/downloads/2-12-06.mov
you and me both

winter surfing up here is were its at

[ginch]

i bodyboard year round here in NY on long island. 6/4 with a hood, and thick gloves and booties

heres a video from the blizzard on feb 12 that brought us 16-18 inches of snow. i'm the bodyboarder at the 2:16 and 2:24 clips. northeast = surf cold

http://grem67.com/downloads/2-12-06.mov


i agree with the last 3 posts...that's friggin awesome! good surf...and the fact that you guys are out there in the middle of a blizzard makes it all the better.....good stuff right there, good stuff..

[icery]

yeah, dropping in with snow blowing in your face and 35 mph offshore winds (it was FREEZING that day) is pretty intense. i have the o'neill psycho 2 which is a $400 wetsuit (gloves and boots are extra) and i was still freezing my ass off. the worst part about winter surfing is that your face is still exposed and the hood is not water tight. when you duckdive it feels like someone is holding a block of ice on your face for about 10 seconds. water and air that cold when it hits your face or gets in your wetsuit puts your in a slight shock or soemthing where its hard to breathe for a bit. getting caught inside like that can be dangerous.

[GREENFEATHER]

If I have to put on a wetsuit, I'm not going in the water!! I got enough cold water exposure working for Uncle Sam.

[sanddragon2004]

I have a 10-2 gordon smith long board,

a 9-4 pearson arrow wingnut, and a fiberglass santacruz 6,4 fish

try and surf 2nd bowl at pleasure point, indicators, 38th, the hook,

and steamer lane as much as possible. been a while though.

[RamSeS]

After shortboarding and bodyboarding. I would say bodyboarding is a lot easier. It is a lot easier to keep in shape for bodyboarding because when you get tired you can use both your arms and legs.

I had nonstop work and school for a few months so I couldn't go shortboarding at all and when I jumped into the water, omg my shoulders ached like crazy. I usually surf south shore and I agree, a lot of dicks in the lineup. If I am willing to drive though, Sandys is the ****!

[bluemarlin04]

After shortboarding and bodyboarding. I would say bodyboarding is a lot easier. It is a lot easier to keep in shape for bodyboarding because when you get tired you can use both your arms and legs.

I had nonstop work and school for a few months so I couldn't go shortboarding at all and when I jumped into the water, omg my shoulders ached like crazy. I usually surf south shore and I agree, a lot of dicks in the lineup. If I am willing to drive though, Sandys is the ****!
shortboarding and bodyboarding are two different things, one isnt easier than the other. I hate the south shore, the waves suck on top of pricks. Sandy's is fun but too packed. Pyramid rock and North beach will always be my top breaks.