From: “Bonzer” Newsgroups: alt.surfing
Subject: Re: surfing at night
Date: 18 Sep 1996
Anybody else have experience surfing at night? Surfing at night is pretty awesome under the right conditions. Senses a little screwed up due to the shadows, eyes trying to adjust to the differences in reflection of lights from the shore, roads, moon, whatever. Unable to fully see the wave, you ride almost totally by “feel”. It’s great.
I have surfed at night on several occasions. At one reef break, a homeowner sometimes turns on the powerful flood lights so they have a good view of the surf. It is easy to see the lines coming, but when you whirl to take off, you are blinded by a million little particles of light, not unlike the spray of offshore winds, without the feeling of water in your face. What a rush as your eyes try to adjust during the drop. Another place is a pier that has lights along the side. Perfect for a warm moonlit night. Drop into little black barrels you can’t see out of, save for gyrating reflections on the rippled face. When you get pounded, you have to guess which way is up. There is nothing like it. See you out there.
From: Surfotter
Subject: Re: surfing at night
Date: 30 Sep 1996
I used to surf frequently on full-moon nights. Now that I live ‘way up north, I don’t do it any more — too spooky, too cold, and too many large, toothy fish up here! But those summer nights at Trestles and Black’s were pretty neat, a lot of years ago. Last time I moonsurfed was in, oh, maybe ’85. I hiked in to Trestles at about midnight, and found at least a dozen people in the water. (That’s better than the hundred or so there would have been in daylight.) I had a good time, but I could not help but remembering when Trestles was still on the marine base.
In those days we had to sneak in through Cypress Shores, the gated community just north of the base boundary. There was too much chance of getting caught by marine patrols if we went in on the road. I remember more than one night out there, riding perfect 6-foot Lowers while the Marine jeeps patrolled up and down the sand. They never knew we were there. And Black’s … In years of moonsurfing there, I never saw another soul. I don’t suppose that’s the case any more. Surfotter, Humboldt County, California
From: R. Ireland
Newsgroups: alt.surfing
Subject: Re: surfing at night
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996
Last November a friend came over and said that he wanted to take a cruise over to the coast, and if I wanted to bring my board and stuff and go with him, then I was welcomed to. Well, I looked at the clock and it was already close to 5 p.m. but I was jonesing to surf so I went. It takes about an hour to get to the coast from where I live, and by the time we had gotten over there, it was close to dark and pretty foggy.
I checked my home break and could barely see the waves from the bluff. Not to let the fog ruin my chances of getting wet, I had my friend cruise me down to Casper Cove. Once we reached the cove, it was already dark but I walked down to check the surf and noticed a surfer coming in and six others down the beach huddled around a camp fire so I ran back, suited up and paddled out. I was nervous at first because I had never been night surfing before, but at the same time I was purely stoked! The waves weren’t that big, maybe two to three feet and it took me a few minutes to familiarize myself with feeling waves out instead of being able to see them. I probably only caught four waves, and managed only one good ride. I came in some time later and had never been soo stoked in my life.
I agree with you Rob, there is a certain spookiness that can’t really be described, but there’s also a feeling you get…call it a pure stoke because to me that best describes it. Anyone can surf in the daytime, because we can see the waves and stuff like that, but at night, you rely on your senses mostly. It’s kind of spiritual in a way. I definitely want to go night surfing again, but this time maybe I’ll catch it good when the moon will be out and really bright.
From: Kevin
Subject: Re: surfing at night
: Night surfing rules. yes. i used to surf the southside of the Seal Beach pier from 1am-4am just about every day for about a year. because i couldn’t see how hairy some of the drops were and because no one was around to laugh if i crashed and burned, i was a braver and took more risks than daytime surfing. i live in NorCal now so no lit piers with waves, real sharkey. i’m not about to go out there alone in the middle of the night!
Subject: Re: surfing at night
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996
Night surfing rules. I have a good paying job that keeps me at work when the waves are up during the day. So after work I speed to my favorite break and get there about 6:45pm and surf until 9:30-10:00pm The majority of my recent surfing experience is night surfing, my verdict: I LOVE it. Especially as the sun goes down and the sunset-set comes in. Usually a nice set from the air cooling off I think. No waits, no spongers, no kooks! It is kind of spiritual, you go more by feel than look. You also get really good at reading waves, and really quick at turning around to catch them. I love day surfing, but have grown fond of the “soul surfing” feel of being in uncrowded waves with a couple of friends. He’e nalu no ka oi — Squeak
Nothing quite like a little night surfing for an extra shot of adrenaline. I always have liked to stay out until dark. The crowd thins, and eventually you are left alone with the ocean. I become more aware of all the creatures I am sharing the ocean and begin to pay attention to every ripple or splash. I enjoy the heightened awareness one immediately develops when deprived of most visual distractions.
My favorite memory of night surfing was one evening out at Pinballs, inside Waimea, with my little bro. It was a mellow day, maybe about three feet Hawaiian. It started to get a little bigger as it got dark. I didn’t want to go in and so the two of us stayed out. It was getting very difficult to see, but not wanting to leave my bro out alone in the dark I kept paddling back out waiting for him to get a wave and go in. He got a wave as I was paddling back out and I was on my own. As I got back to what I thought was the lineup I saw a set feathering outside. Thinking I could make it over the top I tried to paddle up the face. No such luck. Backwards over the falls. The lip took me straight to the bottom and I found myself at the bottom of Waimea Bay, hugging a boulder, alone and in the dark.
It was an interesting moment there at the bottom reflecting on where I was and what a rush it was to be there. Paddled in after that but during that moment of reflection, while hugging a boulder as the wave dissipated around me, I felt very alone, but very stoked. A pleasant interlude. Jock Sutherland surfing real Waimea alone during a full moon is the all time night surfing story I have heard. It was mentioned in an article about Jock in a Surfer”s Journal within the last couple of years. I can dig out the exact issue if you missed it. Waves for everybody. Stay tubed. kevin
From: Ken
Subject: Re: surfing at night
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996
Many years ago, i was camping out at the jetties in Cape Canaveral with some friends and after drinking a few beers a few of us decided to grab our boards and hit the surf. it was an awsome experience hitting the dark water and paddling into black space. there was so much phosphoescent material in the water that after a while you could make out the waves by the millions of little lights which started to filcker just before the peaks began to break; the waves were small and fun and none of us had any problems with sharks, even though for those of you familiar with the area, it’s known as the “shark pit”, just lucky i suppose… a surreal experience that i shall never forget. i am still surfing, but not at night since in these waters the tides and currents are incredibly strong (water is sort of chilly too!)
