We interviewed two local lifelong surfers
Surfers are a special breed. They will, quite literally, revolve their entire lives around catching the perfect wave. Heck, any wave. Even those here in South Jersey where, let’s face it, any surfer will tell you they’re not the best—in fact, they’re barely average.
But to just be out on the water can be life altering, if only for a few minutes. Some surfers will tell you it’s their “happy place;” others will say it’s where their problems disappear; some are so “in the now” that they can even meditate.
Then there are those like Brian Herron, 43, of Cape May Court House, who plainly states that, for him, surfing is an addiction.
“You’re always craving that next swell, and surfers notoriously make a lot of sacrifices for that swell,” Herron says. “It’s something I’ve struggled with my whole life—and for super clichéd reasons, like, when they say that when your foot steps on a board, all of your earthbound worries melt away and you become free from everything. Well, it’s true. Waves are so fleeting that you have to act on impulse. You’re in the flow state. It’s true, for sure.”
Now That’s Swell
Herron is one of those surfers for whom daily sacrifices to catch a wave are not just the norm, but a lifestyle.
So hooked on the sport is he, that it has “steered the direction” of Herron’s life since he first stepped on a board at 10 years old. After high school, he went to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to be near the coast so he could surf. Then he went to Oahu to become a substitute teacher—and to surf. When he realized that he wanted more, as in a wife and family, he moved back to New Jersey where he is now husband to Lauren, dad to Hawk, 5, and Scout, 18 months, and owner of a house painting business, Bayberry Painting, which allows him the freedom to make his own schedule (read: he could schedule jobs around swell).
This time of year, however, the swell in South Jersey isn’t too swell. Even at his favorite jetty at 10th Street in Avalon that corners Townsends Inlet and creates decent swell.
“When I’m all stressed from the world and I get in the water and paddle out and it’s not good – it’s not an escape for me,” admits Herron, who says July is the flattest month at the Jersey shore, which could be great for some surfers who prefer using a longboard or a foam board.
“They love it in July. I get a little grumpy,” Herron laughs. “Usually, I’m checking out the hurricane forecast.”
Wildwood Crest’s Jeff Walden, 63, has surfed for decades and has several generations of surfers in his family who came before him, like his older sister Jackie, who would make Jeff run the two blocks to the beach every morning and bring back the surf report.
Walden claims that, while there are smaller waves in these waters, he still enjoys riding them, even after all these years.
“Our beaches don’t drop off–we have gradual, sloping beaches with gullies and sandbars that allow us to have a really cool environment for surfing.”
It’s a different story come hurricane season, though, when even small Jersey waves can grow big and serious.
“There’s always a possibility of danger in the ocean,” Walden says. “If you know what you’re doing, hurricane season here should be fine; if you don’t know what you’re doing it can be really dangerous. For experienced surfers, it’s fun and exciting.”
As the owner of and an instructor at Ocean Outfitters in the Crest, he stresses safety to his students who sometimes start as young as 4 years old. He believes that some people try surfing because they’re good at skate or snow boarding or they wake surf.
“It’s not uncommon for people to think that because they’ve mastered these sports, they can surf,” says Walden, adding that there is a lot of physical movement that is not part of other sports, such as popping up and paddling. “These skills have to be acquired.”
For experienced surfers in New Jersey, hurricane season is something to really look forward to, however. In recent years, each season has consistently brought bigger swells. Herron calls them “Climate Change Swells.”
“Take that with a grain of salt. We (surfers) all have nicknames for them,” he laughs. “But the islands have been getting slammed.”
Despite looking forward to hurricane season each year to surf, Herron truly has mixed feelings about it.
“You feel bad getting excited about something that can hurt so many people,” he says.
A life-changing injury
Herron knows firsthand the dangers of surfing. He’s had multiple cuts that have required oodles of stitches and once separated his shoulder. At 22, however, he suffered a major injury off Stone Harbor that was “life changing.”
Surfing on an old, heavy glass, single fin, he fell as he peeled into a tube. The board hit him in the jaw and knocked him out cold. When a friend found him on the beach, Herron had no idea where he was or how he got there. He was diagnosed with severe temporary amnesia and it took him a long time to return to surfing. Though he has recovered, years later he still says that short-term memory is weak.
Head-and-neck injuries are hot topics in professional surfing, but even in nonprofessional surfing Herron says he is seeing more and more surfers wearing helmets though, personally, he hasn’t worn one yet, despite still getting cracks to his head and a head-and-neck injury following a wipeout last year that prevented him from being able to turn his head for almost a week.
Pardon Me – Can I Cut In?
Surfing etiquette is not necessarily intuitive, it needs to be learned. There is a distinct protocol founded on respect for the other surfers, and Walden states that many dangers in surfing can be based on the absence of surf-etiquette knowledge, which essentially means that a surfer isn’t sure of where to be in a lineup and frequently in the way of other surfers.
The lack of etiquette can cause some tension among surfers. Herron keeps an open mind about, however.
“I really never get mad at that, especially if they’re a beginner,” says Herron. “If someone gets mad at a beginner, I think it’s because they’re frustrated with something else in their life, so if someone gets mad in the lineup, I’m more upset at that person who’s getting mad.”
Walden passes on proper etiquette knowledge at his surf school and says the best advice he can give is, wherever you go to surf, get informed.
“Inform yourself as much as possible by people who surf there and the lifeguards,” says Walden. “Not knowing surf etiquette is dangerous, so if you don’t know about surf etiquette, find out–find it on your phone, ask a lifeguard or find a friendly surfer. The more you educate yourself, the better.”
Surf’s Up
Surfing is more popular now than it was even in the days of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. According to Walden, it’s great to see so many surfers, especially the young kids that he and his team of instructors work with.
“I always say, if I sell this business, I will work here. I love it so much,” says Walden. “It’s an amazing place to be every day. It’s all about teaching and helping, and you’re in the water, under the sun and getting exercise.”
For Herron, surfing has genuinely given him everything, including making his wife fall in love with him—without even knowing he surfed.
“I met my wife because I was a surfer, though she didn’t know I surfed,” Herron says. “I loved life so much as a surfer that it made her fall in love with me. She wanted to be with someone who was in love with life. And thank goodness, because my wife is the best thing in my life.”
Pamela Dollak writes out of Ocean City.
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