Surfing the Northeast All Year, Including Winter

A man dressed in a black neoprene wetsuit walked through the food court off Route 24 in Massachusetts one snowy January day. A group of thirty or so people, wrapped in wool, down and fleece, stopped eating their hamburgers or doughnuts, put down their Big Gulps, and watched him go by. No one asked, but clearly all wondered, What the hell is he doing?

Matt Doane, 24, had stopped to change on his way from working in Boston's financial district to surfing his favorite surf spots. "It's too hard getting into a 6mm thick wetsuit in the car. You have to get in it through the neck hole. And it's too cold to do it outside."

No one noticed when Doane entered the food court, dressed in typical business attire. Coming out of the restroom, his wetsuit's out-of-placeness caused quiet attention. "I didn't want to smile. I just kept a straight face, walked through, got in my car and drove away," said Doane. He is one of a small, but growing, group of year-round northeastern surfers.

Surfing through long, cold winters takes a certain type. "People are definitely more dedicated," Doane said. He's been surfing for nine years, surfing year-round the last six. "I'm just looking for that wave. Just that one wave can change my outlook for a day or a week." When Doane talks about surfing his clear blue eyes spark, his words flow.

Spotty surfing conditions during New England summers create a constant chase for clean waves at least chest high. The payoff comes during the fall when hurricane season can result in ideal conditions: chest, head, and overhead waves in organized sets.

Why not enjoy the fall and take the winter off? Why bother with 35-degree water - water colder than the very coldest tap water, colder even than the very coldest tap water on ice - and frigid air temperatures?

"No crowds, better waves," said a man who chose to go by the name "Colt." ("I don't want to be the jerk who blows up winter surfing," he told me.)

With more than twenty years of surfing experience, Colt pointed out that surfing is not just about catching a wave. "People need to be aware of their actions in and out of the water. Here are the rules, and this is before you get into the water. Don't speed, don't litter, keep the tone down. Once in the water, know where to paddle out, hold onto your board, take turns, and don't drop in," he said.

During the winter, nature acts as eliminator, thinning the crowds with freezing rain and snow. "It can be dangerously cold. You need others watching your back," said Colt.

Some say that only those who grew up around cold water can handle the brutality of winter surf. Anna Barend proves them wrong.

Brazilian-born and former Hawaiian resident, Barend, a retired pro surfer, thrives in winter conditions. With an electric smile she told me, "I love surfing in the fall. But I surf in the winter because the waves. Wetsuit technology makes it possible."

For some, wetsuit technology isn't enough. One woman from Bristol, RI found her thick, hooded wetsuit warm enough, but too uncomfortable. "It was claustrophobic. My face was smashed in this little hole and paddling out was so different in this big suit. I kind of freaked out. I love to surf, but it wasn't worth it," she said.

"For me, it's always worth it," said Doane. "The suit is thick, awkward, cumbersome. Getting out of a winter session is a miserable experience. My hands and feet are numb for twenty minutes. But I still do it."

Winter is coming. For now, wetsuits are on, but not the hoods, gloves and booties. Not yet. One stormy October day, the sound of dark waves crashing seems to curl around and inside the body. Think of the gentle sound of water and waves, a sound that might be used to rest the restless or ease the anxious. Now amplify that sound again and again until it seems to invade you. The sound! Soothing it is not, invigorating it is.

Between sets of head-high waves seven people sit on their surfboards watching and waiting. They wait for their turn, for that wave, and then the next, and hopefully another still. While they wait, they anticipate and when it comes it is sweet. Anna Barend catches a wave, angles right, cuts back and rides the wave for all it offers.