Gearing up for Cape Cod winter surf
By Carrie Crook, surfing wahine
November 15, 2009
I have never been a fan of cold weather or cold water. I remember thinking that the high fifties was a cold ocean temperature when I lived in San Diego. Now, six years later, after leaving sunny southern California and living on Cape Cod all of these years, I have finally got the gear and the courage to hit the surf this winter.
I still think it is crazy, but a few of the wahines assure me that this is the best time to hit the beach and catch some waves. I know that the waves are better (and the crowds are gone in the late fall through the winter), but the frigid water is less than ideal for me. So I hope that after I gear up a few times and develop a routine, I’ll become a winter surfer, too.
I found the perfect wetsuit last winter, but of course I didn't buy one in time and now they are discontinued. I called Jim at Sailworld and he checked his dealers for me and also told me to check around and maybe I could still find one out there, somewhere. I found one online from a store on the west coast, but they called me a few days later I ordered it to deliver the bad news that their site was not up to date and that my wetsuit was no longer available.
They offered me a good deal on a hooded Hotline 6/5 wetsuit instead. It was such a good deal that I just couldn't pass it up. The suit is okay, but the only thing that I am not crazy about is getting out of the wetsuit after getting out of the surf. The Hotline has a neck entry/exit that is tricky to get off (especially with a butt like mine going through it). Again, all of this will take time (and maybe a diet).
I ventured out for my first "cold day" surf the first week in November. Since I usually hang up the suit mid-October for the season, any date past that point is a "cold day." There was actually frost on my car when I loaded my board up on the roof and I went from flip flops to Uggs after being outside only a few minutes. My husband thought I was crazy, but I started up the car and headed out to the Outer Cape. I met fellow wahine, Cathleen, at her house for some pre-session coffee to warm our bones (which I think is essential now before jumping in cold water) and then we headed to the beach to meet up with wahine Pinky.
When we got there, the water and the beach were gorgeous and crowd-free. It was the perfect beach morning on the Cape and it all made it worth the effort of dragging my body out of a warm bed on a cold morning and putting on that thick wetsuit. I am definitely looking forward to this winter and to the many cold water sessions on the Cape with the Cape Cod Wahines.