Vermont Goes Surfing

Brian Mohr

"The swing of the tide, the colors of a storm, birds diving, fish
swirling... you can be just a few hundred feet from land, but you are
suddenly immersed in this great ocean wilderness" says surfer Emily Johnson.
"Tropical Storm Alberto is undergoing a transition from a tropical system to an extratropical storm, and is expected to intensify into a powerful non-tropical low pressure system with 50mph+ winds on Thursday once it moves out over the Atlantic Ocean..." said Weather Underground's Chief Meteorologist Jeff Masters on Wednesday, June 14, 2006, in his daily tropical update, "...where it will only be of concern to shipping interests."
Shipping interests—and Vermont surfers

What Masters forgot to mention was that Alberto would likely be generating an 8- to 15-foot ocean swell that was headed for the New England coast. Surfers from Vermont to Newfoundland had 18 hours to spare before waves, in the chest-high to two-foot-overhead range, began breaking along New England's shores.

For surfer Walt Krukowski, who runs the Mountain Flower Farm in East Warren, Masters' gospel was perfectly timed. Krukowski had been out on the island of Martha's Vineyard for two days, assisting a fellow flower farmer. The Vineyard's south-facing beaches were sure to pick up the fruits of Alberto as it tracked well south of the island and into the open Atlantic.

"One never knows what the Atlantic will do," says Krukowski, who had his surfboards in tow. "At noon on Thursday, it was still flat... but by 2 p.m. the surf was overhead and clean - exceptionally good by any standards. What's incredible about New England is how fast good surf can come and go... it's just like powder in Vermont."

As it turned out, Alberto's swell lasted for over 24 hours at the best surf breaks, and many surfers were comparing the size and shape of Alberto's waves to those of Hurricane Ophelia's last September.

Krukowski has only been serious about surfing for a few years, but he is already hooked for life. Spending much of his winter off-season in Central America, he has managed to log hundreds of sessions on the water. "The trick to surfing is to spend a good block of time surfing every day, ideally somewhere warm on the Pacific coast, where the waves are more consistent."

June through early August tends to be a quiet time for storms in the north Atlantic, but surfers know that there is nothing like a few early tropical storms to whet their appetites. Coupled with regular surfing in the small, choppy summertime surf found off the New England coast, these early storms are key for developing the strength and stamina surfers need to enjoy the prized hurricane swells of late summer and fall.

But "regular" is an obvious challenge for Vermont surfers. The drive to surfing breaks north of Boston or on the New Hampshire and Maine coasts takes several hours. Head to Rhode Island, Cape Cod or one of the islands and you can easily spend half the day traveling one way. As a result, many Vermont surfers swim and paddle in local rivers and lakes to stay in surfing shape.

"It's all about timing your visits to the coast with a good swell and knowing when the window is open," says long-time surfer Dave Sautter, a husband, father of two and owner of Dave Couch Signs in the village of Stowe. Sautter's been surfing in New England for over 20 years, and he spent five years in the early '90s tuning his skills in Hawaii. With more responsibilities now than ever, he knows as much as anyone the tremendous value in understanding how the North Atlantic's weather patterns affect the surf on our shores. "The winter window is much easier to predict. In the summer, it can be two weeks before a swell starts rolling in from a storm. But when you get to enjoy something that you have tracked since it formed off of Africa, it's pretty awesome."

When Sautter is confident the surfing will be stellar, he, his brother and a buddy from Woodstock will depart from Vermont well before first light in order to reach one of his favorite Maine and New Hampshire surfing breaks at sunrise. They'll surf all day, and at times be back in Vermont for dinner. In the depths of winter, when the water temps reach thirty-something degrees, Sautter dons a full 6mm hooded wetsuit with 7mm booties and 5mm mitts.

"I'm an avid winter surfer. Outside of the fall hurricane season, it's the best time to surf in New England," says Sautter. "There are days after a nor'easter blows by when it can be snowing heavily in Vermont, but be 40 degrees and sunny on the coast. I can be out on the water all day and come home with a tan on my face."

As comfortable as Sautter admits to being in his modern-day wetsuit, he also cherishes those late summer days when he can surf in his trunks. This year he'll take his family to Block Island in mid September, hoping for another storm like Hurricane Erin, Gustav or Ophelia - all well remembered by New England surfers. Historically, mid to late September is the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season.

"The quality of surf here can be so good. We have so many great point breaks, beach breaks, and coastline variety," says Sautter. "And it's beautiful... I've seen striped bass jumping over the rocky reefs around us, and seals popping up, just ten feet away, with their puppy faces."

Surfer Emily Johnson, a photographer and schoolteacher from Moretown agrees. "What's most incredible about the surf in New England is that it is constantly changing - it's extremely dynamic. The swing of the tide, the colors of a storm, birds diving, fish swirling... you can be just a few hundred feet from land, but you are suddenly immersed in this great ocean wilderness."

Resources

The Journal of New England Surfing

www.nesurfari.com

Surf information NJ to ME and more

www.northeastsurfing.com

Resources for New England surf and wave sports

www.nesurf.com

N'East Magazine, Northeast surfing and much more

www.neastmagazine.com

Surfrider Foundation - Northern New England Chapter

www.nnesurfriderchapter.org

Surf Lessons/Camps