Stab Magazine | There's no waves in New York
466 Views

There’s no waves in New York

Plenty of people were electrified when Quiksilver announced a September New York event. Pros were electrified by the idea of winning $300k, the greatest amount of prize money ever offered in a surfing contest. Online forum snivelers were electrified by the prospect of something so easy to tear apart. Commercialism! No waves! Sell-outness! There were also those who saw the event for what it was, and were electrified by the idea of seeing the world’s best scratching over each other and going for broke, desperately over-rotating and planting their fins more critically, the prospect of winning enough money to buy a home too tempting for conservatism. Quik just released this short clip (above) in response to the ‘no waves in NY’ complaints. It features NY local, Balaram Stack, doing his thang around Long Island. Below are some of the responses B-Stack gave Stab during an interview on the Gold Coast back in February. Talk about the break. It’s in Long Beach. It’s like a way better version of Newport, I guess. It’s kinda, like, smaller jetties, all lined-up. They help keep the sand together. It’s just beachbreak barrels. There’s a coupla points out east – they have their days, but for the most part they’re pretty mushy. It goes: Point Lookout, Lido, Long Beach, Atlantic. Long Beach is pretty much the centre of it, but it’s not very big. From Long Beach to Atlantic Beach it’s pretty much just all jetties, which hold the sand together. But right before the jetties start, about half a mile before the jetties start until the first jetty, that’s where it holds the biggest swell. Just big A-frames. Kinda Puerto-style. That’s the spot. We call it Lido Escondido (laughs). There’s a lot of people questioning the place’s consistency. Last year, if they’d had it, it woulda been pumping. Like, as good as it gets. There was a really good swell, then it went flat, then two weeks later there was another really good swell. So, if you had anything over a week and a half waiting period, you woulda got epic waves. Hopefully it happens again. But you never know, it could be like a lake for two weeks straight. But that can happen anywhere. From the sounds of it, it’s gonna be like, the biggest thing ever, whether there’s waves or not. All kinds of shit going on in the beach and in the city. Considering the world tour is called the ‘Dream Tour’ because it’s theoretically held at the best waves in the world, do you think that, hometown-pride aside, it’s honestly one of the best waves on this Earth? When it’s at it’s top level, I definitely think it’s on-point. You get stand-up beachbreak barrels, as good as anywhere. Way better than like, Southern Cali. When it’s on, I think it’s the shit. Really, it’s gonna be a dream tour just from what the contest is like. All the accommodation is already bought for the competitors, they’re gonna have personal drivers driving them around. I heard they’re getting all kinds of gift cards for all the surfer’s wives to go shopping. It’s gonna be a fucken expensive contest. They’re gonna do things like getting the guy who jumped the furthest jump ever (on a motorbike), and try to have him break the record. Then they’re gonna have this rally car thing, ’cause DC has all their athletes involved. I think they’re gonna have a half-pipe on the beach and stuff like that. I don’t even think that town knows what’s coming for ’em.

cinema // Feb 22, 2016
Words by stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Plenty of people were electrified when Quiksilver announced a September New York event. Pros were electrified by the idea of winning $300k, the greatest amount of prize money ever offered in a surfing contest. Online forum snivelers were electrified by the prospect of something so easy to tear apart. Commercialism! No waves! Sell-outness! There were also those who saw the event for what it was, and were electrified by the idea of seeing the world’s best scratching over each other and going for broke, desperately over-rotating and planting their fins more critically, the prospect of winning enough money to buy a home too tempting for conservatism.

Quik just released this short clip (above) in response to the ‘no waves in NY’ complaints. It features NY local, Balaram Stack, doing his thang around Long Island. Below are some of the responses B-Stack gave Stab during an interview on the Gold Coast back in February.

Talk about the break. It’s in Long Beach. It’s like a way better version of Newport, I guess. It’s kinda, like, smaller jetties, all lined-up. They help keep the sand together. It’s just beachbreak barrels. There’s a coupla points out east – they have their days, but for the most part they’re pretty mushy. It goes: Point Lookout, Lido, Long Beach, Atlantic. Long Beach is pretty much the centre of it, but it’s not very big. From Long Beach to Atlantic Beach it’s pretty much just all jetties, which hold the sand together. But right before the jetties start, about half a mile before the jetties start until the first jetty, that’s where it holds the biggest swell. Just big A-frames. Kinda Puerto-style. That’s the spot. We call it Lido Escondido (laughs).

There’s a lot of people questioning the place’s consistency. Last year, if they’d had it, it woulda been pumping. Like, as good as it gets. There was a really good swell, then it went flat, then two weeks later there was another really good swell. So, if you had anything over a week and a half waiting period, you woulda got epic waves. Hopefully it happens again. But you never know, it could be like a lake for two weeks straight. But that can happen anywhere. From the sounds of it, it’s gonna be like, the biggest thing ever, whether there’s waves or not. All kinds of shit going on in the beach and in the city.

Considering the world tour is called the ‘Dream Tour’ because it’s theoretically held at the best waves in the world, do you think that, hometown-pride aside, it’s honestly one of the best waves on this Earth? When it’s at it’s top level, I definitely think it’s on-point. You get stand-up beachbreak barrels, as good as anywhere. Way better than like, Southern Cali. When it’s on, I think it’s the shit. Really, it’s gonna be a dream tour just from what the contest is like. All the accommodation is already bought for the competitors, they’re gonna have personal drivers driving them around. I heard they’re getting all kinds of gift cards for all the surfer’s wives to go shopping. It’s gonna be a fucken expensive contest. They’re gonna do things like getting the guy who jumped the furthest jump ever (on a motorbike), and try to have him break the record. Then they’re gonna have this rally car thing, ’cause DC has all their athletes involved. I think they’re gonna have a half-pipe on the beach and stuff like that. I don’t even think that town knows what’s coming for ’em.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Stab High x Monster Energy Is Coming To Virginia Beach, USA

Premium members get first access to tickets.

Apr 6, 2026

Griff Goes Futuristic To Beat The New Kid

The greatest wildcard loss in WSL history?

Apr 5, 2026

Watch: The Kelly Files, Vol. 3

"I'll surf until I die."

Apr 5, 2026

Mongrels Prevail In The Slop

A day of upsets, triumphant rookies, and solid showings from just a couple of returning…

Apr 4, 2026

A Half-Cooked Homecoming

The 2026 season starts with a whimper — four instant heats run in dribbly, onshore…

Apr 3, 2026

Joyride: The Slater x Tomo ‘Mindcraft’

A 5-fin snub-nosed space missile, as seen in Mikey February's EAST.

Apr 3, 2026

Watch: John Florence Wrangles Unseen Rock Shelves Just North Of Antarctica

‘VELA’ isn’t just about warm water reef passes…

Apr 3, 2026

Dane Reynolds On Shaper Polyamory, Tour Politics + The Aussie Treble | StabMic Episode 8

The OG cast digs into the WSL season opener.

Apr 2, 2026

What Is The CT Riding In 2026? An Exhaustive Equipment Breakdown

Two brands own 40% of the tour, two World Champs refuse to be pinned down.

Apr 2, 2026

Steam On Mirrors, Slater Milked Dry, And Europe Gets It In Every Hole

Surfing’s 2026 Q1 Report

Apr 1, 2026

The Long Year Starts Here

A Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach preview.

Mar 30, 2026

Is The Aussie Treble A Crystal Ball?

An SUV is nice, but the numbers suggest the World Title comes with it too.

Mar 30, 2026

Watch: The Kelly Files Vol. 2

"If your mind isn’t open to discovering new things on different waves, you just get…

Mar 29, 2026

Who’s Gonna Win The 2026 World Title?

Picks from Josh Kerr, Sterling Spencer, Dane Henry, Jimmy Wilson, and more industry heavies.

Mar 27, 2026

The Top 5 Aerialists Of All Time, According To Chippa Wilson | StabMic Episode 07

"The sections he hits are beyond gnarly."

Mar 27, 2026

“People Were Fucking Swimming Out Of Their Homes In The Middle Of The Night”

A North Shore flood report from Nathan Fletcher and lifeguard Kyle Foyle.

Mar 26, 2026

Stab’s 2026 Rookie Class Review Featuring Owen Wright, Doug Silva, And CJ Hobgood

Crisp insights from a 4x CT winner, a supercoach, and a World Champ.

Mar 25, 2026

Could Paul Naudé Buy Rip Curl At A $200 Million Discount?

Corporate lobotomy at Kathmandu.

Mar 25, 2026
Advertisement