By John Streit. Photos by Mickey McCarthy, Jon Carter, Eddie Compo, Shaun Devine, Karis Reventas, Billy Ficke, Vinnie Abijaoudi, Briar Nelson, Lisa Milspaugh & Streit.
Tough Love.
As cold, cruel winter winds blew across the sea, the hearts of surfers across the region become warm with stoke and anticipation. It’s only natural to view the love of wintertime Mid Atlantic surfing through rosy lenses. Valentine’s Day was approaching, after all. However, those of us who charge the icy winter swells know the other side of the equation.
The brain-freeze beat downs. The hypothermic change outs. The dagger of frigid water as it rips through the sanctum of the wetsuit.
As it is an undeniable law of the Universe, for all of the pain there is pleasure. For the negatives, positives. The duality of our wintertime ritual transcends surfing. Through sacrifice and suffering comes enlightenment. Through endurance of the unyielding physical elements comes a spiritual elation.
It all comes down to the love of surf defeating the forces of nature that conspire to keep us out. It’s a true love and devotion that St. Valentine himself would have appreciated. It just happened that the most powerful swell of the winter nearly fell on his day.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.