Say "surf trip" and most people picture palm trees. Say "New York City" and they picture yellow cabs, skyscrapers and a million people moving at once. Put the two together and you get one of the most underrated surf scenes on the planet.
We've seen some great footage and heard some wild stories about surfing in New York. And every surfer we've met from there seems to have the same thing in common: they're super cool, a little bit tough, and always up for a good time.
The city, the energy
New York runs on energy. Nonstop noise, music on every corner, people from every country on Earth, and that feeling that anything can happen on any given day. It makes sense that the surfers here carry some of that with them.
Where else do you see somebody carrying a board through a subway station? Plenty of New Yorkers ride the A train out to Rockaway Beach in Queens with a board under one arm, and it's a straight shot from the city to the sand. Work in Manhattan, surf in Queens, back for dinner. Only in New York.
The history runs deeper than most people think. The story goes that Duke Kahanamoku himself gave a surfing demonstration at Rockaway back in 1912, on his way to the Olympics in Stockholm. Decades later, the Ramones put Rockaway Beach in a song. Surf and punk rock, side by side again.
Rockaway and beyond
Rockaway is the heart of it. It's the only place inside the city where surfing is allowed, and the city sets aside a few stretches of beach just for surfers. The jetties help shape the sandbars, and on the right swell the peaks can line up surprisingly well.
Head east and Long Island opens up: Long Beach just outside the city, and all the way out at the end of the island, Montauk, with its own laid-back surf town feel at Ditch Plains.
When Hurricane Sandy tore through in 2012, Rockaway took a beating. Homes, the boardwalk, whole blocks. The surf community was right there in the middle of the cleanup, and the beach and boardwalk were rebuilt. That says a lot about the people who surf here.
Nor'easter season
Here's the secret: the best waves in New York often show up when the weather is at its worst.
Fall and winter bring the storms. Hurricanes swing by in the late summer and fall, and then the nor'easters roll in, big low-pressure systems that churn up the Atlantic and send real swell to the beaches. When the wind turns offshore behind a storm, it can get cold, dark and perfect. Heavy, hollow tubes under a gray sky, with snow on the sand and the water in the 30s.
One of our all-time favorite clips is Tom Curren, in one of Sonny Miller's early Search movies, surfing New York on some random twin-fin fish during a big nor'easter. Cold, dark, perfect tubes, and Curren making it look like a summer day at Rincon. It's proof that great waves can show up anywhere, even in the shadow of the biggest city in America.
You'll want a thick 5/4 or 6/5 wetsuit, boots, gloves and a hood. And a hot coffee for after.
Why NYC is in the WORLD SERIES
The Surf Earth is about the urge to travel and see the world, and about the people you meet in the water when you get there. New York is the perfect reminder that surf culture isn't just in the tropics. It's anywhere people love the ocean enough to suit up and paddle out, whatever the weather.
The NYC tees
- NYC Vintage Washed Oversized Tee, two surfers heading out against a bright, blocky city skyline, big on the back and faded in just right.
- NEW YORK CITY '98, The Surf Earth Society Tee, the same surfers and skyline on the front of a classic-fit tee, in white, ecru or black.
See the rest of the places in our WORLD SERIES collection.
Surf New York? Ride the A train with a board? We want to hear your stories.
See you at Rockaway.
-The Surf Earth Society