Last year Surfer Magazine named their choices for the top 10 US surf towns. Here they are, and as you can see, South Padre, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, and Galveston are still US surfing’s best kept secrets. I saw the founder of Quicksilver by Bob Hall one time; even the insiders are keeping their lips sealed about the 8-12 foot waves, beach privacy, and warm water on the Texas gulf.
TOP 10 US SURF TOWNS:
1. Santa Cruz, CA
2. Haleiwa, HI
3. Encinitas, CA
4. Paia, HI
5. San Clemente, CA
6. Kill Devil Hills, NC
7. Malibu, CA
8. Montauk, NY
9. New Smyrna Beach, FL
10. Ocean City, NJ
Checkout this surfboard that actually changes color with heat.
The board’s fiberglass has a pigment that’s sensitive to heat. As the board gets hotter, the fiberglass turns white, which deflects the sun’s rays. This keeps your board from getting too incredibly hot. Then, when you paddle out into the water and the board cools down, it returns to its normal, darker color.
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"Could the lousy economy be keeping you from being mauled by a Great White? According to one researcher, the answer is yes. "
During a recession, less people are in the water because less people are going on vacations. This means sharks see a lot less people and attack a lot fewer people. But the idea that sharks are eating us less because we don’t have as much money is a little ridiculous.
It's all fun and games until someone gets bit!
Source.
You have to do something with those used surfboards, right? Turn them into lawn chairs you can take to the beach.
I found this blog post that shows how these guys turned the surfboard above into the chair you see below.
Here’s the finished product. I’m gonna have to make one of these.
In order to understand why the tide makes a difference for your surf session, you have to know what the tide is. Basically, at every beach, the water is always either coming in from sea or going out to sea.
Low Tide
When the tide is low, water is being taken from the beach area and sent out to sea. This causes the water on the beach to be more shallow than usual. During low tide, you may find that you can walk out into the water a lot further than usual because the water doesn’t get deep as soon. Some areas that are normally covered by water may not have any water at all. You’ll probably have some areas of sand that are only about two inches under water, and some dry sand, little narrow “islands” that come up out of the water. It can be fun to walk in the shallow water and then onto the dry areas, especially when the water is warm. Sea gulls like to hang out on the little islands.
Also, low tide is a great time to walk the beach and find starfish, but you better go very early in the morning or other people will beat you to them.
Safety During Low Tide
Something you need to be warned about is that since the water is going back out to sea during low tide, it’s (remotely) possible that you’ll be taken far out to sea, possibly never to return. You don’t want to swim or paddle out very far during low tide for this reason; you might not be able to paddle back to the beach.
One time I was right at the end of a jetty when the tide started going out. I was on this little Rusty surfboard that requirs a lot of paddling in any type of condition, and I’m still surprised I made it back to shore. I floated past the jetty and was headed into the wild blue yonder. I paddled as hard as I could, and when I was so tired I wanted to stop paddling, I’d think, “If you don’t paddle you’ll die.” After several minutes of paddling, it looked like I’d traveled maybe 3 feet. I eventually got back inside, and I was so tired I was done for the day.
High Tide
When the tide is high, water is being brought into the beach from the ocean. This means the beach water will be deeper than usual. The deeper water is, the bigger and more powerful waves it creates and sustains. When you surf, the bigger and more powerful waves you can find, the better your surf sessions will be.
Plus, high tide will bring you home if you get tired out there. Just relax on your board and the water will push you toward the beach. Imagine closing your eyes and drifting off a little on your surfboard (not really recommended), then suddenly you hear your board float right into some sand. You were out there and now you’re on the beach. You look up and say to the ocean (or God, or however you view mother nature in its most awesome form), “Hey, thanks, man!” Nothing to it.
- Surf during high tide for the safest and most fun sessions.
