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"It’s about as extreme as skiing in Vermont on a nasty day," says Keith Johnson, a Santa Cruz, Calif., transplant, when he talks about winter surfing. Johnson now lives in Manhattan and takes the A train out to Rockaway Beach to get his surfing fix--a trip that can take nearly an hour and a half. There are approximately 50 to 100 surfers from the New York City area who are hardy enough to brave the winter weather, says Johnson. "Whenever it’s really good, no matter when it is, you’ll see guys out there," he adds.
"Surfing is like an addiction," says Kevin O’Driscoll, a surfer and researcher at Columbia University. "It’s not like we prefer going out in the winter. It’s not about masochism." Although it may be hard to believe, there are benefits to winter surfing, especially in New York where the waves aren’t particularly good in the summer. Since the presence of decent surf is so closely tied to the weather, Johnson says, surfers have to be "junior meteorologists" in order to determine whether a trip to the beach is worth it. Another benefit is the lack of crowds. Alex Karinsky, an Australian native who grew up near the famous Bondi Beach and has been living in Manhattan for 10 years, estimates that "not even a 10th that do it in the summer" go surfing in the winter.
"It’s getting to the point that it’s not even hard core to go in the winter," says Johnson. Even encased in rubber, winter surfers usually don’t stay out for too long. Johnson says that if everything is "just right," you can usually stay out for two hours. A drawback to not owning a car is having to change on the beach, he says, a feat that makes warming up a bit more difficult.
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Will There Be Surf?
Will it Be Cold? www.wunderground.com/forecasts
East Coast Surfing Information
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he
temperature of the water can drop to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The
wait for waves can be interminable—relying on a tumultuous mix of
offshore winds, cold fronts and low-pressure systems. And then there’s
the threat of pneumonia. But for New York-based surfers looking
to catch a wave, the fact that it’s the middle of winter doesn’t
seem to matter. 
t’s
not that they prefer the cold, necessarily, but dedication to the
sport sometimes necessitates it.
inter
surfers need equipment as well as waves. Specialized winter wet
suits are a must, says O’Driscoll. They are usually at least five
millimeters thick and include a hood. Boots are seven millimeters
thick, and the gloves, shaped like oven mitts, are five millimeters
thick. Improvements in wet-suit technology are making it easier
for surfers to brave colder waters.
