Forget Hang Ten. Mine Goes to Eleven.

Surfing in New York City? Yes, it’s true. You CAN surf in New York City. And I’m not talking about those silly wave pools. Like, real waves in like, the real ocean. We certainly don’t have the greatest waves in the area (Long Island is much better) but you can’t beat the relative close proximity of surf-able waves in the city. My adopted break is Beach 90th Street in the Rockaway Beach section of Queens. The route I go takes me past the Floyd Bennet Airfield and Recreation Center, over the Marine Parkway Bridge, and along the way views of Riis park, the gorgeous homes of Breezy Point, and, ahem, housing projects (Thanks Robert Moses for that awesome idea). After parking the car and locking up SECURELY (don’t even think about the old hideaway key under the bumper trick), I’m on the beach. From my apartment in the Windsor Terrace section of Brooklyn the total drive time is something like 45 minutes from door to ocean.

Once in the water things get a little surreal when the occasional huge plane takes off or prepares for landing overhead (JFK is really close by). Growing up in Ocean City, NJ the only planes I saw overhead were tiny one engine planes advertising things like a happy hour special at The Waterfront (Tuesday is Ladies night! $5 all you can drink!!) or how many clams you could get for your buck at Smitty’s Clam Bar in Somers Point.

The waves themselves are nothing to write home about in the summer time – the ideal time to surf here is in the winter. But if we’re lucky we’ll get a few nice hurricane or tropical storm swells in August and September. With ocean temperatures still in the upper 60’s or even low 70’s for much of September and the air still quite warm, late summer/early fall can be a real treat for NYC surfers.

But like everything else in the city, it can get really, really crowded in the water. Near collisions are a common occurrence. Bottom line: before you paddle out into a crowd you had better know what you’re doing in order to avoid potential serious injury to the body and/or surfboard. And even if you do know what you’re doing, it can be frustrating because there are simply not enough waves to go around on a good day. But for me, a few decent rides on a beautiful sunny day is more than enough.

Surfing in the city also illustrates the scope and variety of activities one can experience in just one day. For instance, this past Sunday, I played the opening soccer match of the Fall season for my team Gowanus FC in the morning at Bryant HS in Queens; had lunch with a friend in McCarren Park in Williamsburg; then went out to Rockaway Beach for an afternoon of surfing 6-8’ waves courtesy of Hurricane Hanna (I don’t have any pictures so you’re going to have to take my word for it). And it was worth every ache and pain this poor 38 year old body had to endure come Monday morning.