You started your surfing career where? New Jersey?
It does seem odd that Jersey of all places had such a core surf culture. I don't have an explanation for this weird phenomena. Maybe someone out there has an answer?
Some Jersey notables are Ron Jon Surf Shop, started in early 1960's in Ship Bottom NJ. Sims of Sims skateboard and snowboard fame first stated surfing in NJ. Bob Hurley of " Hurley" started his surfing career in Jersey. Some of the first surfers to explore the Caribbean were guys from Jersey way back in the early 1960's I recall hearing stories of great waves in Porto Rico way back around 1965.
Without a doubt, New Jersey surfers are some of the most hard core on the planet. The waves suck here most of the year. Days of good waves combined with warm air and water are rare. Come winter the waves are great but the water is frigid. When it gets good here it gets really good!
I think back to the best session from this past winter. We had a blizzard dumping 20+ inches of snow on the beach. The air temp that morning was 18* and the water was 36* with a 20mph offshore wind to add to the wind chill. The surf was epic though.....flawless barrells without a single drop of water out of place.
Despite the snow and cold a pretty good crowd gathered at my home break. Absolutely epic session with pros Dean Randazzo, Matt Keenan, Rob Kelly and Andrew Gessler in the water just pulling into shack after shack.
The level of surfing here most would not believe given the conditions.
By the way the most hard core guy around is the water photographer who spent the better part of two hours in the impact zone this day.
Everyone should check out the movie Dark Fall coming out on video this fall. This movie shows what being a New Jersey surfer is all about. Its also pretty cool to see a quality surf movie made at your local surf spots featuring the guys you have surfed beside for many years.
PS. I wish I could figure out how to embed a youtube video on this site.
To answer the original question as to why there is such a core surf culture here.........Its because surfing here requires a level of dedication that most surfers around the world could never understand. Many have spoken of Kelly Slater being so good in large part because of growing up surfing poor conditions down in Florida. Up here our waves are somewhat better than Florida but its freezing cold on top of the small crappy surf. How many guys in California or Hawaii would drag themselves out of bed, suit up in a 5 mil wetsuit, boots, gloves and hood to paddle out in crumbly waist high slop in sub-freezing temps berfore work?
Well the belief in how dedicated we are has been called into question. If we are so dedicated then why the hell are you still in NJ? “Ef family friends responsibilities and move some where with better warmer more consistent surf.”-former NJ ripper turned California transplant. I believe that NJ is the most nutty, proud and dedicated of the surf clans. I am a second generation NJ surfer.
Nice photos of winter surfing. The last could be a Chrismas Card.
But why is that water so brown in that one shot? hope the sawer pipes didn't freeze up.
Were you riding Jersey made boards? what about winter excapes? For a few years I worked my buttoff in the summer then drove to Ca for school and North west swells at Swamies/Cardiff Reef and Baja.
Well the belief in how dedicated we are has been called into question. If we are so dedicated then why the hell are you still in NJ? "Ef family friends responsibilities and move some where with better warmer more consistent surf."-former NJ ripper turned California transplant. I believe that NJ is the most nutty, proud and dedicated of the surf clans. I am a second generation NJ surfer.
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Most here in NJ travel for good waves in warm climates. Between Philadelphia, Atlantic City and Newark airports all close by its easy to get just about anywhere in the surfing world.
Face it, everyone has to live somewhare. We are here in NJ for whatever reasons......for me its mostly family and carreer. For every one of my friends who left NJ to live in other surf locations I can show you two who came back here. When you get right down to it its not a bad place to live. If you've got the sack to surf when its freezing cold the waves aren't half bad either.
But why is that water so brown in that one shot? hope the sawer pipes didn't freeze up.
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Keep in mind our swells are generated by storms that are right on top of us.......not distant storms. This particular swell, like most big swells here, began as a low exploding off of Cape Hattarras and giving us 48 hours of 50+mph onshore winds. The water was churned to a froth for two days including the back bays and marshes which are made of mud. Once the low moves off the coast the wind goes strait offshore. The water is usually brown here for this reason when the waves are big unless the swell is generated by a distant hurricane.
The lighting here also makes it terribly difficult to get quality surf shots here. Good surf with good lighting is a rare thing here.
Here is a shot of me on one of those frigid days last January riding one of my basement creations.
By the way, Rhode Island is not that far away for some serious juice. This is one of my all time favorite east coast surf shots. Kirk Razza from about 1986 as the shot appeared in Surfer Mag riding one of the biggest waves ever caught on film in the North East.
Reese ave Lavallette, NJ Summer of ‘61 with my homade Tom Blake (customized by cutting 2’ out of the middle of the plans and drilling bigger holes in the ribs thus creating one of the first short lightweight boards).
I was working taring a roof at $1 per hour to get one of the new foam boards from local boardbuilder/lifeguard Charlie Keller.
The style of board I’m holding was referred to by the guys (Mike Howes, etc) down at the Surf Club beach in Ortley as a “Hawaiian board”. Foam boards were referred to as “California Boards”. They mostly rode “Hawaiian” boards and told me, “Don’t get a California board kid. It’ll ruin your style”.
I was undeterred and soon had a custom 9’6 Charlie Keller made from refrigerator foam and glassed with brown (cobalt) boat resin. (Guys pay extra today for a “rootbeer tint”). It had a 3/4" cedar stringer, plywood fin and very parallel rails.
You New Jerseyites should visit the Sufing Museum in Tuckerton where you’ll see one of the few Keller’s in existence. It was made for the Mrozak brothers just before mine was made.
I sold the above board to some proprietors of a lake resort (Lake Pemberton) where they used it as a lifeguard board.
Below, Lavallette, Summer of '65 on a 9’9 G & S Hynson Red Fin. The second one on the East Coast. Charlie Keller’s 10’2 was the first one.
Bill, great bunch of info and stories, I’ll definitely be watching this thread for your words if you choose to contribute more. I live in Lavallette.
I toured the NJ Surf Museum a little while ago and was planning on posting some thoughts (all very positive) and photos, but time has been very limited and I’ve misplaced the memory stick the photos are on (one of those “I’ll put it in this safe place, but then forget where the safe place actually is” situations). Not to worry, though; I’m on a mission to find it since some somwhat important work-related photos are on it as well.
I also have an 1967 9’6" Eastern Challenger “The Bump” in very good condition that I need to clean up and take some pics to contribute here and to the Challenger thread as well.
Quick photo contribution from a memorable session a few years ago. Tons more, but this one came up quick on a directed search for sizable winter NJ surf. Colin McNamera on some bombs at an undisclosed location.
I love living in NJ, however being able to see the point of view of others allows one to strengthen their argument. Sak, I remember that swell; I think I was still in Middle school in MD. I talked to my friend that day, he said like 3/4 of them were just closing out. Found out 7 years later that it, wasn’t he was just scared shitless. Now he rides OB San Francisco bigger than that regularly.
Howzit mako, Even though I don't live in Hi any more you could have put me on that list of noway Jose when it comes to just getting up at 5 in the morning let alone the rest of the things you listed. One reason I moved to Hawaii over 40 years ago was so I didn't have to worry about the surf blowing out at 10 in the morning. Aloha,Kokua
Thanks for those Photos. My Uncle who was stationed in Pearl Harbor returned from WWII with a "Hawaiian" Surfboard. My uncle surfed it in Atlantic City a few times.
I recall seeing it in my Grandfathers garage in the 1950s when my Grand father passed away I went looking for theat board however it had disappeared.
I never surf NJ between Memorial Day and Labor Day unless there is an exceptional swell with exceptional conditions. And then I show up at 5 AM and surf until the lifeguards arrive aroun 9 or 10. I hate being forced into surfing zones. I hate paying beaucoup bucks to have the legal ability to walk across public township property to access the ocean. However, after Labor Day until early December and then late March until Memorial Day [I've stopped surfing during the coldest parts of the season and focus on snowboarding with my kids] the waves can match favorably with George's [south of Cardiff Reef] or even Black's on smaller low tide days. And the best part is that most of the waves are beach breaks with rock jetty formed sandbars. If Manasquan Inlet or Bergen Ave or Holyoake Street or Tennessee Ave are packed, just go two or three jetties up or down the beach and you'll find quality waves with *no* crowd. And for a more wilderness [well, for NJ standards] experience, there is always Island Beach State Park.
But with all of that, I'd much rather surf on the outer banks or RI or Nova Scotia or Barbados.
I do recall some very memorable sessions in the Fall. Hurricanes working their way up the east coast produced some epic Jersey surf. Atlantic City had a couple of excellent breaks the pipes helped to set up some nice sand bars and helped reduce side shore winds.
Does anyone have any photos of surfing in NJ other then the dead of winter?
Born here, live here, surf here, build Jersey boards here
My brother late summer