Until recently, a summer trip to the beach in Nova Scotia was a bit of a tease.
While sitting and sweating on the sand, you could look at the beautiful blue Atlantic waters, but you couldn’t really dive in unless you were interested in feeling the effects of hypothermia.
Thanks to advances in wetsuit technology, it’s now possible to jump in and enjoy water sports like surfing on Canada’s Ocean Playground.
“Surfing is great for people of all ages, shapes and sizes,” says Nova Scotia surf instructor Michelle Richards. “Surfing will help increase your physical fitness, balance and the size of your smile. It also helps reduce stress levels.”
Richards and her surf crew are gearing up for their annual Summer Surf Program at Point Michaud Beach on Cape Breton Island. Read More…
Click to enlarge poster
While summer weather in Nova Scotia can be hot, it’s certainly not swell-tering…Ba-doom boom!
Ya, that joke is about as lame as a shortboard at the Larwrencetown reef in June…Ba-doom boom, Tsssh!
Thank you, thank you very much.
In all seriousness folks, with waves in short supply in Nova Scotia during the summer months, what’s a surfer to do?
Might as well party.
The One Life Surf School is hosting a “Summer Kick-Off Party” Friday night (June 5) at the Seahorse tavern in Downtown Halifax.
The party will feature performances by Smothered in Hugs, The Prospector’s Union, RoomDoom and DJ Nigel Lutes.
Prizes will also be given away. Cover is $10 per person; doors open at 9 p.m.
The following letter was written by John Fluke, President of the Canadian Surfing Association (CSA):
Due to economic conditions, the Canadian Surfing Association will not be sending a team to the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica this July and August.
Over the past five years, Canada has fielded a team at both the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championship and the ISA World Surfing Games.
Financial sponsorship from Mazda has been used to help offset the cost of sending the best Canadian surfers to these games.
Prior to Mazda’s involvement, Canada would send a team not based on the best surfers but who could afford to go. However, with Mazda’s sponsorship over the last few years, Canada has been able to send the best. This has paid off with Canada moving from the mid 30’s in international ranking to the low 20’s.
Unfortunately, Mazda has been forced to pull its sponsorship due to the worldwide economic meltdown.
We at the CSA hope this is only a small setback and we are working on finding other corporate sponsors for 2010.
John Fluke
CSA President
After being to Nicaragua for three months and having to bribe my way out of a little sticky situation (It wasn’t mine…..I swear!), I found an even more interesting article.
This feature story is by NicaraguaSurfReport.com. Below is an excerpt from the article. For the full article, and many more, click here.
We all dread being pulled over by a police officer – especially in a foreign country and especially if you aren’t fluent in the native tongue.
The time, the money, the fear and worst of all, the general aggravation will inevitably tax even the most seasoned traveler.
Traveling surfers with pick-up trucks loaded to the hilt with big board bags stand out like pepperoni pizza in a homeless shelter. These days, it’s getting more difficult to drive from the airport out to the beaches without getting pulled over for a meaningless infraction and getting hit up like an ATM machine.
Here are some things that I’ve compiled to increase your odds against receiving an infraction, reduce the dollar amount you pay, and take away your fear of getting stopped by the police. Read More…
First off, most things that cost $7.50 don’t even deserve a review but these socks worked so well this past winter that I’ve been compelled to give them some credit.
As with most Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) water sports gear these are designed for paddling but are amazing for surfing come winter time when you need some additional insulation while you’re surfing.
I have 7mm Xcel booties, but my feet are always the first thing to freeze up on me. Trying to stand up on my board after being in the water for two hours gets rather difficult when your feet are numb and you feel like a pirate with peg legs popping up.
Last fall I met this French surfer at my local break and he was sporting a pair of these 3mm MEC socks. I went and picked them up to give them a try. Since then they have added at least another 30 minutes to how long I can stay out in the water. Read More…
The first storm of the 2009 hurricane season is moving up the Atlantic. Click image to enlarge
The first tropical depression of the 2009 hurricane season is sailing northeast up the Atlantic.
With maximum sustained winds of about 56 kilometres per hour, the depression could strengthen into a tropical storm (winds reaching 63 kph) in the next couple of days. If it does strengthen into a storm it will be named Ana.
The weather system, which is not expected to make landfall, will likely weaken as it hits colder waters.
The North Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on Monday and continues though November.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a U.S. federal agency which operates the National Hurricane Center, predicts nine to 14 named storms this season with four to seven becoming hurricanes. That is considered normal.
Lawrencetown Beach House can bee seen in top left of this photo. Click to enlarge
A couple of years ago, while studying grizzly bears in an isolated inlet of Northwest British Columbia, Jes Alsop decided it was time to return home.
Alsop had been travelling around the world working various “biology jobs” since graduating from Dalhousie University when she felt the tug of the Maritimes.
Although she had surfed occasionally during her travels, Alsop started to heavily get into wave riding upon her return to the East Coast. While making regular visits to Lawrencetown Beach to surf, Alsop began to notice that something was missing.
Sure, there were some bed and breakfasts around, but there wasn’t a hostel. Alsop, whose family operates the Henry House Restaurant and Pub in downtown Halifax, began asking people around the area about the missing hostel.
“No one was really sure why someone hadn’t started one before,” said Alsop, who lived and worked in hostels during her world travels. “I thought that this was something the area could benefit from.” Others she talked to agreed. Read More…
Witch's Rock at Playa Naranjo, Costa Rica. Click to enlarge
The following feature story was written by Halifax-based writer and surfer Luke Acker
On those painfully frigid days, when February shows no sign of loosening its icy clutches, many Canadian surfers begin to dread the endless winter.
The ice cream headaches and frozen feet begin to take their toll. Thoughts of escapism often take priority over other, less pressing matters like work, or rent, or car payments. It’s a kind of seasonal insanity. The cure? A surf trip.
For three Nova Scotians, 14 days of camping at Witch’s Rock, Costa Rica was just what the doctor ordered. The trip was a logistical challenge. Witch’s Rock is just off a beach called Playa Naranjo inside Santa Rosa National Park, and getting there is damn near impossible.
There is also no drinkable water, shops, telephones, lights and food of any kind at the beach. Fourteen days of supplies had to be carried in, and once we were in, there was no getting out. The reward: 14 days of perfect, warm, empty surf in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Santa Rosa National Park is a huge area of forest and unspoiled nature. Many people visiting Costa Rica never make it to the park, leaving it uncrowded and largely unknown. It is one of the natural wonders of the Guanacaste province. Read More…
Rob MacLeod stands inside his new Entity Boardshop
You could say a board meeting took place in downtown Bedford this weekend.
After much anticipation, Entity Boardshop, a new store catering to skateboarders, snowboarders and surfers, opened Saturday and business was brisk.
A steady stream of board-loving Bedfordites made their way through the stylish Bedford Highway boutique grabbing new merchandise along the way.
The front of the store features board-oriented fashions for both men and women, including T-shirts, hoodies, hats, shoes, shorts, bikinis, watches and sunglasses.
The back of the shop gets a little more hardcore with an area dedicated to skateboard decks and wheels as well as snowboards and boots. (The store is not carrying surf equipment at the present time.) Read More…
Like an addict looking for his next fix, the anticipation of getting to the beach and getting wet can be pretty intense for a surfer. Unfortunately, that anticipation can lead to bad behaviour, especially behind the wheel of a car.
A couple of weeks ago, the problem of surfers speeding on the East Petpeswick Road on their way to Martinique Beach was brought up at the Annual General Meeting of the Musquodoboit Harbour Residents and Ratepayers Association (MHR&RA).
“I don’t feel safe walking on the road anymore because of the surfers,” said one resident of East Petpeswick.
Upon making the comment, eyes immediately turned to MHR&RA vice chair Colin Cameron. A well known community activist, Cameron is long time local surfer at Martinique Beach.
“At that moment, I was truly embarrassed to call myself a surfer,” said Cameron. “I have been an active participant in protecting the reputation of the surfers of Martinique within this community for 31 years. Read More…
