How does that old Beach Boys song go? Surfing’s mighty wild, it’s getting bigger everyday from Hawaii to the
shores of Peru. Well,
now add New Jersey
to the list. According to Surfer magazine editor Chris Mauro, the number of surfers in New Jersey has quadrupled in the
last 10 to 15 years as people from the Garden State take to the waves with a passion they once reserved for Bruce
Springsteen.
Why now? Well, they say, for one thing baby boomers who were hot on the sport and moved to California have perhaps
moved back home and are now getting their kids into the action. Also, some big names in surfing are from New Jersey and
have spread the surfing gospel back home. And finally, a relatively new law has given New Jerseyites access to beaches
that they didn’t use to have, thus creating new opportunities to ride NJ breakers.
Having never surfed New Jersey myself, I just thought this was an interesting story. You simply don’t read much
about surfing in New Jersey.