This Soft Board Enthusiast Won The Hurricane Teddy Swell (Thus Far)

So I moved back to the northeast, right? 

A downgrade from Central American living in most objective senses, but nevertheless I was pleased to return. I’d missed my family. Friends. Soft pretzels. A strange, masochistic side of me even missed gearing up in heavy rubber and hurling myself over the falls. We’ll see how that stands up once winter arrives. 

But right now, we’re in September. What many would call the best season for surfing in the northeast. The crowds are (kinda) gone. The water’s (relatively) warm. Hurricanes are spinning. And in the past 10 days, we’ve had non-stop waves. But this Tuesday was The Day. And most of us blew it. 

This will sound strange to many of you, but when the waves are good in New Jersey-New York, it’s not uncommon for all of the best surfers in the region to convene on a single stretch of sand. Despite the miles and miles of tubes breaking between the states, northeast surfers are generally happy to share the lineup with their friends, even if it means fewer waves per head. 

So, Tuesday comes. The Day. There’s an easterly groundswell from Hurricane Teddy with a northeast wind swell combo. Wind is north trending northwest. Everybody and their mother descends on a certain part of the Garden State that has historically performed best in these conditions. The morning is wonky and smaller than expected. We assume the rising tide will improve the shape and size. It does, if slightly. Meanwhile, we hear reports from a historically less impressive portion of the state. “It’s solid. Clean. Ben Gravy is having a career sesh on a softie. He’s claiming best-ever.”

We shake our heads. It can’t be. Can it? Even if it can be, by the time we get there, it’ll be deteriorating with the dropping tide. Plus, it could still get better where we are. Right? Frantic spot-checking ensues. Everywhere is just okay. Meanwhile, Gravy laughs his way through 347 tubes on his door step.

The moral of the story? Truthfully, I haven’t figured it out yet. But Ben Gravy wins Hurricane Teddy NY/NJ edition*, even on his damn soft top.

*Matt Keenan and Bal Stack get honorable mentions. We’ve also heard of some noteworthy performances in Maryland, North Carolina, and the Caribbean. Stay tuned for more.