NagChaumpa - Surfing

SURFING - Right Coaster surf info

Does “East Coast Surfing” sound like an oxymoron to you? Well its not, its not even close. Mention surfing and the east in the same sentence and you may get laughed at. The fact is that we have great waves up and down the whole East Coast, especially in Maryland where NagChaumpa is from.. Ask any east coast surfer about the 2002 surf season and you they will rant about calling in sick to work, overhead sets, hurricane season and excellent weather to go with it. If you don’t believe me check out the pics.

Epic OC Surf 10-13-01

SURF MARYLAND? ! (check out the links page)

We are from Annapolis, MD so our home beach is ocean city. It turns out that ocean city is really cool place to surf, there are lots of different places to surf and tons of other things to do if its flat. The inlet is one of our favorite places to surf. If there is swell there is always something happening and it’s a good starting point for the day. Between the inlet and the pier it often breaks just as good as it does along the jetty and there will be much fewer people. The south side of the pier is a good break especially if you like lefts, you will likely find yourself alone since nobody really walks down from the inlet. As swell becomes more northerly you will find that breaks further north will pick up the swell better. 8^th street near Malibu’s surf shop is a popular place to surf. If its crowded move down to in front of the kite loft, it’s just as good and less people. We had good luck between 48^th and 52^nda couple of times last year we rode head high waves breaking hard and fast on shallow sand bars, good fun. A lot of people surf around 60^th street and 120^th haven’t surfed there much but I’ve heard its worth checkin out. O.C. is a fickle place, sand bars move and the best place to surf changes day to day. Ask locals and do your own exploring. We camp often instead of paying for hotel rooms. The eagles nest on the way to asateague is a favorite, they have electric and water, lots o rednecks. I saw a guy there that was so fat he had to squeeze into his car and drive the fifty yards to get the bathroom, haha fatty. I think that the best place to camp is asateague, you make the call. Either way, don’t forget mosquito repellent or beer. Between memorial day and labor day life guards are out from 10am to 5pm and surfing is only permitted at designated areas. To find out were you can surf ask the life guards or a surf shop. These surfing beaches are often crowded. The solution to this problem is Asateague island.

Asateage is the island south of O.C. it is a state park and national seashore. To get there, just follow the brown signs off of rt. 50 before you get to O.C. they have beach access, showers, campsites, for info go to http://www.nps.gov/asis/ Surfing is excellent here and the beach is huge and uncrowded. You can pretty much surf were ever you want, there are only small beaches designated for swimming. There are fisherman who don’t appreciate surfers, just rip it up and don’t worry about them they never catch anything anyway. The sand bars are well developed and make for long rides, its best on incoming tides. They do have four wheel drive beach access for the adventurous. We have found that there are some sweet breaks up and down this area, mile marker 8 is worth checking. The northern most part of the island (directly across the O.C. inlet) is known as the wedge. This is the only place to find refuge from the damn north winds. The only way to get there is to paddle across the inlet or to get a ride on a boat, but it’s very worth it when the wind is howling. The wedge is also one of the best places to pick up southerly swell.

If nothing is working and all hope of surf is lost don’t worry, unless you forgot your skate gear. There are some killer skate parks in and around O.C. The first and most obvious is the city skate park, located on third street bayside. It has a massive vert ramp, a mini, a very intimidating pool, and a concrete street course. Admission is ten dollars. There is a small skate park behind Cloudbreak surf shop. They have a fun mini and a small street course with quarters and fun boxes. Just outside of O.C. is Exodus skate park in Berlin. Exodus is a huge indoor park with good street courses and ramps. Its located on the south side of rt. 50 in Berlin, at 1045 Old O.C. blvd. You can see it from the highway but its easy to miss. Apparently it is a crime to skate in O.C. you can be ticketed for skating on the boardwalk and on the sidewalks so watch out for the fuzz.

If all this fails, or you just want to cap off the day, my favorite place to chill and swill beer is Mellow Beach. It’s a small bar located on the water between 50^th and 52^nd streets. You can go barefoot, they got a pool table and cool bands on the weekends. Most importantly they always have natural light cans for a $1.50 and the atmosphere is laid back.