Depeche Mode was on the money when they wrote the song ‘Blasphemous Rumours’, the chorus of which goes, “I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumours, but I think that God’s got a sick sense of humour, and when I die I expect to find him laughing.” God or Nature’s sick sense of humor is playing out right now as the onset of the pandemic has coincided with some of the best surf NY has ever seen this time of year. And while the surfing state of CA bars many surfers from doing what they most love, the least likely state and the epicenter of the outbreak, lets its people go surfing. There are some mysteries we will never be able to penetrate.
I saw this swell come up on the buoys while doing a private surf forecasting session with Nate Hageman on Thursday, April 30th. We looked at a bunch of wind models and none of them agreed with one another. Friday, May 1, looked to be the biggest day of the swell, and I saw on some charts that it would even be light offshore from the NE in the morning, turning light SW through the middle of the day, and then swinging WNW by sundown. Saturday, May 2nd had all the makings of an epic day — plenty of left over swell and favorable offshore winds. I knew I was surfing Saturday, but wanted to see if maybe I might find something under the radar on Friday. I figured most people would target the Friday evening session, so I opted for the morning. I arrived at 7a and it was indeed light offshore, but the surf was raw and stormy and honestly it looked quite scary. I saw a few tubes and knew deep down that I have the ability and equipment to get out there and find a few, but not a soul was around, and I felt off about it. The risk-reward math was not computing. I hung out in the van, ate some muesli and yogurt, did some emails, and kept popping out to check and see if it had magically cleaned up. Evan arrived around 10a after the tide started coming in. I decided to give it a go around 11a. Paddled out. Realized my board was too small and the rip was insanely heavy. Caught one wave. Went in. Not feeling it. Watched a few guys out around 1230p getting yanked down the beach. I decided to save myself for Saturday and left around 1p.
May 1 — the day before — was raw and unruly. Pic: Dion Mattison
On Saturday I arrived at 515a and checked my old reliable which has seen an uptick in human traffic since the onset of the pandemic. It looked about head high to a few feet over head and focused on the middle of the beach with A-frame teepee sets coming through every 2-4 minutes or so. The Long Island Buoy was reading 8ft @ 12 seconds from the SSE — still TONS of swell leftover from day before — more than expected and definitely way more than Surfline was calling — this swell looked to be outperforming the forecast. For this reason I texted everyone I had planned to coach that day and called off coaching. I have learned plenty now that I cannot concentrate on students when it’s 6-8ft and throttling. I think it’s good for them to come out to the beach and watch — even in some cases paddle out and look into tubes from the shoulder — but in terms of really giving the proper attention required I cannot do it. I move too much and too quickly when the conditions are heavy — always trying to optimally position myself to be as steep and deep as I can possibly be. I can coach in somewhat challenging conditions, but it has to be within reason for the person’s ability level and my ability to both focus on filling my wave bank and theirs. I also do not want to put people in dangerous situations where they might get hurt or hurt others. This is simply irresponsible. I hold to my line that if you cannot “dominate” in 2-3 foot surf, then it’s probably better to sit out the 6-8 foot days. By this I do not mean don’t go to the beach. Do go. But instead of throwing yourself into the melee spend time reading the waves and lineup. Figure out who’s succeeding and who’s not and why. Try to anticipate what waves will do and notice things like how a certain (good) surfer positions him or herself to make the most of them. Next big swell I will make more clear instructions for how to watch, where to watch from, and what to watch for. There is a lot to learn on these days, especially by watching me navigate the lineup, so I want to provide “free clinics” for people to be able to do that. In lieu of not having done that, I’m writing this blog post, so you can have an insight into my thought process and experience — this is a form of phenomenology.
First light on May 2nd. Pic: Dion Mattison
At first light there was one guy out and he was going right, so it was basically empty. I checked one other spot to compare — too many closeouts and smaller — and turned right around, went back to old faithful, and suited up in the van. First kit was the Ripcurl Heat Seeker 3/2, 7mm Xcel round toe boots, 7mm Ripcurl mittens, and a 3mm pull over Xcel hood. Idea: warm but flexible. I chose to ride my 6’6” Mencel 4-channel twin-pin. Even though the surf didn’t look too big I saw that there was a lot of water moving about, and that there were some tubes to be had if you could get in deep and early enough, which for me is easier when I have extra foam under my chest. I learned this lesson well from living 10 years at Ocean Beach in San Francisco — there is usually so much water moving out there that you’re always better off with a little extra foam.
The Mencel board feels incredible under my arm. Perfect amount of weight — not too light — for pushing me down and through the cresting lip in offshore conditions with waves that pull water vertically up off a shallow bottom and thus suck up and pitch out quickly. If we are talking about the theme of access, one does learn over time what kind of equipment best enables one to access different wave-riding situations. This of course, like everything else in surfing, depends on many variables — weight, fitness, confidence, wingspan, aesthetic proclivities, etc.
The paddle out was a piece of cake. I think maybe one duck dive did the trick. Then I caught a small one off the jetty to help move me to the middle of the beach. It was still pre-sunrise so the wave had a purplish hue on it. Then I caught one in the middle — a shallow tube. My third wave was one of the best I had all day. I was behind the peak when I took off and knew that it was going to fold over me nicely. The wave almost looked like a closeout. The lip started pitching out far in front of me — the face was vertical and round — I had a slight fear that I would be lit up inside, but I remember saying to myself, “No Dion, this is one of those ones you see the pros get, you are in a perfect position” — I held onto the face, dropped my butt towards my heel, and let the lip throw over and encapsulate me. One, two, three, four, it stayed open and I came shooting out. Joy. Soon after that I was joined by 2-4 other surfers. One was Nick Langelotti, a physical therapist who I have coached before. Nick has been on it recently. He’s been riding a 6’9” Campbell Brothers bonzer. He was on a 5’10” fish a lot when we first started working together, but I convinced him to use more foam for ease of entry and for down the line flow. It’s definitely working for him. Saw him make some gorgeous drops and cruise down the line smoothly. He said he saw my two first tubes as he was running down the beach. Always nice to get a bit of acknowledgement and confirmation! Shortly after Nick paddled out I took off on a bigger set and air dropped down the face. I thought for sure I was going to crash but somehow that 6’6” Mencel held on for me. I was relieved. I don’t mind wiping out, but I’d prefer not to if I can avoid it.
Setting up a section during the first session. Pic: Guy Barash
As the morning grinded on it became ever more crowded, but I was in such a rhythm with the ocean that it really did not affect me too much. I would catch a wave and get caught on the inside and while I was in there I would pay attention to the unridden waves that were crashing on my head — trying to understand how they came in and what they looked like so that when I made it back out I could pick the most barreling ones that were slipping under people’s noses. I saw a lot of people take off on the more obvious waves that were easier to make, but these did not offer a tube. Alternatively I saw others sending it on tubing waves but they were just out of position or on the wrong equipment — a lot of people riding boards a little too small — or they dropped down the wave and did not cut in mid face to get under the lip in time. In surfing culture we fondly refer to this as “barrel dodging”. We all do it from time to time out of fear or ignorance or because the wave does some funky thing and will not let us set the right line to duck under the lip. In fast, down the line tubes, it is important not to go too far down to the bottom of the wave because it could race off without you inside of it. I was having thoughts like these while duck diving or running up the beach — intensely trying to see the waves that offered the most room inside of them and that were going uncontested. In the water I was looking for the wave to stretch out and almost look like a closeout. I didn’t want to see a steep taper because that would mean there was no barrel on offer. The waves I wanted were also not set waves, nor were they inside waves. They were medium waves that were a little inside, hitting the shallowest part of the sand bar. I learned that I wanted these kinds of waves by watching surf contests and surf videos in the 1990s and 00s. Taj Burrow was a surfer that I always noticed was on these medium sized throaty waves, so after watching some of his videos I learned where to sit and what to go for.
One of the most memorable waves of my first session was a medium one that started to break about 20 feet inside of the pack. I took off deep, slid under the lip and leaned back — thinking of a tube move Juan Heredia does — to lengthen my time inside. It rifled across the inside with me inside of it. I came out clean near the jetty and two dudes were clapping for me. My smile must have been almost splitting my ears apart. I had a few more like this — not quite as deep — and a few that I made it inside but did not emerge from the end. Around 830a I noticed that I felt parched and a little sore. It was getting ever more crowded. I caught one more wave — sequence below — and went in to hydrate, fuel, and warm up.
Sequence of my last wave from drop to tube to turn. Believe it or not this was one of my shallower tubes of the day. I’ll take it. Decided to go w/out Go Pro just cuz. Had regrets until I saw this guy on the beach with the camera. Got his digits from 10 ft away between sessions. Thanks Guy! Pics: Guy Barash
The van has been a game changer in the life of CSC and is even more so during Covid-19. I can go inside there, away from the world, and I can stand fully up, change in and out of my wetsuits, check my texts and emails, get my fold out table and make food and even edit footage. I always have a rechargeable battery with a 12 hour life for all the electronics, and 6 gallons of water for rinsing the suits and staying hydrated. On this day because I saw the potential for lots of surfing I made sure to bring a ton of food. As my last post and newsletters attest, Sophia and I have been cooking up a storm at home. On this day I had brought lemon pudding cake, beans and rice with roasted squash, and a few slices of homemade olive bread with a small tub of butter. I keep a bin of silverware and camping dishes under the passenger seat.
When I went in after my first session the intention was to just refuel and paddle back out, but as soon as I got in I felt a cold chill in my body and knew that I was so depleted that I needed to change into dry clothing, and so I did. Then I drank at least 4 cups of water. I figured that it was best to do the sugariest food first, and since I still had coffee left over from my morning drive, I went with coffee and lemon pudding for breakfast. It was highly caloric and light at the same time. The lemon zinged my tastebuds, the sugar and caffeine pulsed through my veins — after getting tubed all morning this was exponential aesthetic pleasure.
When I was warm enough I went up to the boardwalk and took some photos with my Sony Alpha and watched the lineup. The first spot I was surfing had gotten chaotic — there were at least 30 people out. The waves were really consistent and there seemed to be a decent flow, but I noticed that the one next door was empty. There was what looked like a rip going through the lineup, however, underneath the rip these freight train tubes were coming through with no one on them. A few people were trying their hand but getting sucked down the beach or thrown over the falls. I did not see a successful ride, but I saw the potential for them. Soon after I made this judgment the lineup cleared out. I decided, “That’s it, I’m going out there. I can get into those waves and I’ll sit under that rip. I’ll take my time suiting up and paddling out.” And so I went back to the van, drank a lot more water, and slowly put on my second kit: a 4/3 Rip Curl Dawn Patrol, Xcel PolyPro hooded vest, 7mm Ripcurl boots, and 7mm Ripcurl mittens. Still opted for the 6’6” Mencel. It had not gotten less intense, and with the tide now pushing in I expected there would be some macking sets.
An empty slab rolls through the jetty next door while something that looks like a Corona Virus memorial occurs in the foreground. This picture epitomizes the heaviness of our current reality. Sequence: Dion Mattison
I had planned to Go Pro this session, and I brought it down with me, but when I got to the water I realized that I had a dead battery in it. Fail. Oh well. I left it on my towel with my little Pelican Case I inherited from my grandfather (he used it for fishing weights), and paddled out. I saw a rip in the middle of the first beach that I used for an easy entry. I caught one wave there that skipped me down to the second jetty where I had set my sights. No one was out now. I was pinching myself — just me all alone with heaving tubes! A lot of the gnarliest ones had rip in them and were all but impossible to enter through the lip line without getting tossed. I knew to look for sets that came when the water was clean. Rips at beach breaks tend to come in waves. They run out in one spot and then move laterally down the beach. You have to stay clear of them and not get caught in them because waves are never good when you’re in that turbulent water. Plus there is usually too much water pulling out to be able to get in. And if you get caught in them you’re going out to sea beyond the area where you can find a wave. It took a little while for me to figure out my position. Then a set lurched up with a big blue, clean face. I thought immediately before taking off, “This one looks like it has a tube on it.” I took off at an angle, got to my feet and immediately it started to jack up and pitch. I pushed hard on my toes and then tucked my butt under me. I was way back in there — the hole was far out in front of me — I pushed on my toes again to stay in the middle, then I adjusted my front shoulder so the lip wouldn’t hit it, then I pushed a little again to keep the higher line, still traveling, then somewhere in the middle of the beach it opened and and let me out. I could hear cheers and hoots on the beach. I waved at whomever was rooting for me — I can’t see that far without my glasses! The inside of that tube was very green, almost emerald in color. I remember liking how my red board looked against it and feeling proud that I had made those adjustments to navigate it successfully. Sometimes if you don’t adjust in the tube you get clipped. Even with a perfect entry some waves require that you make small movements to reset your line so that you don’t get too low or pulled back and get eaten by the foam ball or lip. After that one I did a run around, and this time paddled back out on the near side of the jetty I was surfing. Easy! As my session went on I figured out the rip even better. I found that on the inside of it, there was a counter rip that was helping me get closer to the peak. The foam on the 6’6” is so well distributed that I didn’t feel a great stress on my arms to stay in position. Furthermore I had also figured out that I didn’t have to sit at the jetty the whole time. There were also some incredible waves coming in the middle of the beach with no rip in them at all. Almost every wave had some sort of tube on it — shallow ones, deep ones, doggy door ones, just too fast ones, and perfect long ones that allowed me to stay in the pocket the whole time. I knew I would soon lure people out there. I was right. By about noon there were 6-10 others out there with me, but everyone was in good cheer and the lineup flowed well. Around 12:45p, after one particularly long tube across the beach, I called it quits.
Back to the van with no socializing on the beach. Got changed and rinsed my salty kits in my surf bucket. Gulped down at least 4-6 cups of water then dug into the rice, beans, and squash. I was going to head home at that point but it was such a warm and beautiful day that I decided it might be wise to just check one more spot. The clients I had cancelled on might be surfing there, and I wanted to see how they were doing. We were in communication during my breaks, and I was helping them try to navigate the best surf window for them. It simply was a rough day for anyone newer to surfing.
I drove to this other spot, parked, and went up and checked the surf. I saw Brant out there sitting a little too far outside to get the good ones. The waves looked great. It was a little smaller than where I was previously, but not too much smaller. The waves were hitting the inside bar incredibly well. There were tubes and turn sections. I was feeling rejuvenated after eating the rice and beans and knew that I could not drive away from such fun looking waves. I was also excited about the prospect of getting to ride my 5’7” and doing some turns after my very tube-focused morning.
Too good not to paddle. Pic: Dion Mattison
This session I had to decide between a hooded 5/4 and a hooded 3mm. It was too hot inside the van to change into a 5/4 so I went with the hooded 3mm Isurus, 7mm booties, and no gloves at all. This time of year it is important to experiment with shedding layers to see what you can handle. There was that burning tingle when I hit the water, but it didn’t hurt as bad as two weeks ago. And my gosh were the waves fun. It was 3-4 feet and just as rippable as I it seemed from the surf check, with a few more barrels than that I had expected as well. I wore the Go Pro this session, figuring that I might as well get some evidence of the awesome surf this day.
I paddled out at 2p. In addition to Brant, I saw Nate Hageman in the water. Nate and I had scheduled a 1230p coaching session for that day, which I called off earlier. I saw that Nate was not positioning optimally and asked him if he was game for a half session and I’d give him some tips. He thumbs upped for this. I had Nate sit a little further inside than he was comfortable to look for the running lefts that seemed to come right to me. Soon enough Nate locked into a few scorchers, almost getting tubed on one of them as he passed by my Go Pro and nailing a great shot in the process. Nate has had an in-rhythm coaching package with me — every time he schedules a session the waves are generally firing and specifically firing for the particular things he needs to work on in his surfing.
Nate on a scorcher! Pic: Dion Mattison
Around 4p the wave machine slowed down a little — it was still pumping by most measures — and my hands started to chill. I was exhausted and finally ready to go in. The wind was still offshore from the NW despite reports and even threats of it coming up hard out of the WNW and then W. As with the day before, the reports were not accurate and disagreed on all of my trusty models. I think that the thing I learned about how the weather reports will continue to become less accurate so long as commercial air traffic remains virtually non existent, is really starting to ring true. The wind reports turned out to be off the next day and the day after that as well — I’ll have to say more about this in the newsletter or at a later date, but it’s really weird and makes confidence about scheduling really tough.
I was so tired when I got in that I was relieved I choose the lighter suit and no gloves. Two less things to worry about in the final stretch of the surfing drama. With boards and suits packed in the van, I gulped down more water, then took out the bread and butter. Most of the butter had melted so I just dipped fresh bread chunks in it as I drove through the Rockaways and onto the Cross Bay Bridge. The sun was shining on my face as I replayed tubes in my head.
