Surfing/wetsuit technology making national headlines
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 5:25 pmHere was a web article I found below:
Cold Water Surfing is the Latest Trend
Here’s a new trend that’s making me feel frigid just thinking about it. Cold Water Surfing. We read about this in Newsweek magazine and it’s growing in popularity among surfers who hate fighting the crowds for a wave and love high surf. They’ll jump right in 32 degree water wearing new and improved wetsuits that make off-season surfing less bone-chilling.
The coldwater surfing hotspots are New England, Alaska, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia – all places known for consistently huge waves. They’ll even jump in the Rhode Island waters when the air is sub-zero and there’s a wind-chill factor of minus 20! Why? Because the colder and nastier it gets outside, the fewer people you’ll see in the water. And on the East Coast, waves are bigger in winter.
But facing those harsh conditions has gotten easier in recent years, thanks to high-tech wetsuits. In the past, winter wetsuits were thick, stiff and leaky – which made paddling difficult, not to mention freezing. But improved fabrics and modern welding techniques, that seal the seams better, make the suits more comfortable and less bulky. Sometimes, if you’re paddling in one of these new suits, you may even end up sweating! Coldwater suits also have a hood that covers everything but the face. Winter surfers also wear booties and gloves to protect their extremities from frostbite and hypothermia. But coldwater surfers have this warning – don’t go in the water face first. It’s like having an ice cream headache all over your face.
If you’d like to try it – you’ll need a wetsuit that’s 5 millimeters thick around your body and four millimeters thick on the arms and legs. And there’s a competition coming up, too, the 39th Annual New England Mid Winter Surfing Championship in Rhode Island in February.
Cold Water Surfing is the Latest Trend
Here’s a new trend that’s making me feel frigid just thinking about it. Cold Water Surfing. We read about this in Newsweek magazine and it’s growing in popularity among surfers who hate fighting the crowds for a wave and love high surf. They’ll jump right in 32 degree water wearing new and improved wetsuits that make off-season surfing less bone-chilling.
The coldwater surfing hotspots are New England, Alaska, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia – all places known for consistently huge waves. They’ll even jump in the Rhode Island waters when the air is sub-zero and there’s a wind-chill factor of minus 20! Why? Because the colder and nastier it gets outside, the fewer people you’ll see in the water. And on the East Coast, waves are bigger in winter.
But facing those harsh conditions has gotten easier in recent years, thanks to high-tech wetsuits. In the past, winter wetsuits were thick, stiff and leaky – which made paddling difficult, not to mention freezing. But improved fabrics and modern welding techniques, that seal the seams better, make the suits more comfortable and less bulky. Sometimes, if you’re paddling in one of these new suits, you may even end up sweating! Coldwater suits also have a hood that covers everything but the face. Winter surfers also wear booties and gloves to protect their extremities from frostbite and hypothermia. But coldwater surfers have this warning – don’t go in the water face first. It’s like having an ice cream headache all over your face.
If you’d like to try it – you’ll need a wetsuit that’s 5 millimeters thick around your body and four millimeters thick on the arms and legs. And there’s a competition coming up, too, the 39th Annual New England Mid Winter Surfing Championship in Rhode Island in February.