Winter surfing might be counterintuitive, but if you’ve got the right gear, it guarantees good waves
By Tristan Kennedy
This is going to be a big year for surfing. At the end of July, this once-niche pastime will be in the spotlight like never before, as 48 of the world’s best competitive surfers paddle out to compete in the Paris Olympics. It’s not the first time surfing has featured as part of the five-ringed circus. The sport made its Olympic debut three years ago, in Tokyo. But while the competition at Tsurigasaki Beach was fierce, the waves were relatively small. To the untrained eye, the action wasn’t especially spectacular. This year promises to be different.
Rather than hold the Olympic contest on one of the perfectly serviceable beach breaks on France’s west coast, the Paris Games organisers have opted to stage it in Tahiti, in the South Pacific. Technically, the island is still French territory. Perhaps more importantly, it’s home to one of the most formidable big-wave breaks in the world: Teahupo’o.
Pronounced cho-poo, and known as ‘chopes’ among those brave enough to ride it, the wave’s name translates into English as ‘place of skulls’. It regularly reaches heights of seven metres and has claimed plenty of scalps over the years. Storm swells carrying momentum from the Pacific Ocean crash into a shallow coral reef that lies just 50 centimetres beneath the surface in places, meaning any fall can have serious consequences.
But if the margin for error is tiny, the waves are enormous and perfectly shaped – the reef sculpts the water into a series of scalloped, concave barrels with surfaces that are clear as glass. As an oceanographical phenomenon, Teahupo’o is stunning. As an arena for a sporting event, it knocks Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium, Barcelona’s Camp Nou and the new Wembley Stadium into a cocked hat.
If all goes according to plan, this epic spectacle will inspire a whole new generation of surfers. But those heading to European beaches in the weeks following the contest are, unfortunately, likely to be disappointed. The problem isn’t so much the waves, it’s the crowds.
August is arguably the worst time to visit any surf spot in the Northern Hemisphere – including Cornwall, Portugal, or any of the aforementioned beach breaks on France’s west coast. Which is one of the reasons why, in recent years, cold-water surfing has become such a phenomenon.
Cold-water surfing is the Ronseal catch-all term for surfing out of season, or surfing in places such as Iceland, where the water temperatures are chilly enough to put most people off. Ask some advocates and they’ll tell you it brings similar benefits to cold-water swimming. It’s good for the circulation, apparently, and can help boost the immune system. Others will point to the fact that waves tend to be bigger in Europe in winter because of the more frequent storms. But for many people, it’s just about having a bit of space in the water – being able to enjoy the emptiness of the ocean rather than feeling like you’re paddling out into a Center Parcs wave pool.
Of course, if you’re going to go cold-water surfing, you need the right kit. In Ireland, where I was lucky enough to live for a year, I surfed in a 5/4 wetsuit in both summer and winter – meaning it had five-millimetre-thick neoprene on the torso and four-millimetre on the arms and legs, as opposed to the usual 4/3 ratio. It’s not uncommon to find people using 6/4 wetsuits in the Irish winter, however. If you’re planning on making it a regular thing, it’d be worth investing in a cold-water-specific wetsuit with a hood and a pair of wetsuit boots, too.
One of the worst things about cold-water surfing is getting out afterwards. For this reason, a DryRobe is pretty much essential if you’re going to be surfing in the winter months. It also helps to have a warm down jacket that you can stick on straight away rather than having to layer up with loads of woolly jumpers.
As a not particularly hardcore surfer, I admit I was sceptical the first time a friend suggested we go surfing in County Sligo in early March. But once I got over the initial shock of the cold and dealt with the cognitive dissonance of paddling out on a grey, drizzly day (perhaps easier in Ireland, because it can be grey and drizzly in August too) I began to appreciate the feeling of being alone in the water. Assuming you’ve got a thick enough suit, it soon warms up. And as my friend told me, if your fingers are chilly, it’s probably because you haven’t been paddling hard enough.
I’m not a good enough or dedicated enough surfer to spend my summer holidays searching out secret spots. But by going surfing out of season, my friend and I had effectively transformed a packed, popular beach break into our very own secret spot. It wasn’t Teahupo’o, but it felt a hell of a lot closer to the dream of Pacific perfection than fighting over some tiny summer swell with a swarm of other surfers. If I was given a choice between a post-Olympic, early-August surf trip to France, or another cold session off the west coast of Ireland, I know which one I’d choose.
Wishlist – Three items that will make cold water surfing better
The Surprisingly Useful: DryRobe Advance Long Sleeve – £165
Although their products are now used by everyone from kayakers to cold-water swimmers, DryRobe started out as a surf brand. The idea is pretty self-explanatory. Simply throw this long-sleeved garment on to get changed into or out of your wetsuit without exposing yourself to either the elements or passers-by. The inner lining is made of recycled synthetic lambswool, designed to be absorbent and keep you warm even when wet. The outer is recycled waterproof nylon.
dryrobe.com
Buy from your local Amazon store
The Essential: Animal Miki Winter Wetsuit – £75
A decent winter wetsuit is essential for cold-water surfing and the Miki model, by British brand Animal, ticks all the boxes. It’s got 5mm thick neoprene on the body and 3.5mm on the arms and legs for extra manoeuvrability. It’s designed for water temperatures as low as 9°C, enough for winters in the UK (or Ireland) and while
its full RRP is £180, it’s currently available at less than half-price from the Animal online store.
animal.co.uk
The Luxury: GoPro Hero12 Black Camera – £399
GoPros have become near-ubiquitous in all action sports, but these robust, waterproof and practically bombproof video cameras were first invented with surfing in mind. With a super-wide lens, capable of shooting a 156° field of vision in 5.3k quality, the latest version of their signature model, the Hero12 Black, is ideal for capturing dramatic self-filmed angles. They also sell surfboard mounts (£20) and ‘floaty’ orange cases (£30), so you can find it if it’s knocked off by a big wave. gopro.com
Buy from your local Amazon store
