Winter Storm Stella was a welcome surprise that brought plenty of waves for East Coast surfers. Unfortunately for me, I was out of town when she arrived and left checking forecasts for the next swell. When I saw a fun forecast for Rockaway Beach, my mind time traveled back to one early March day in 2016. Hoping for something similar, I knew I would be making the trek to Rockaway.
“If you’ve lived out here for a while and see a forecast like Saturday morning, you know two things: it’s gonna be a full-on party and it’s gonna dump,” says my friend, Paul Schmidt. “With 5-10 guys sitting right on the jetty, all digging for the same set wave, finding a clean one to yourself is Christmas.”
“Sometimes the surf forecast is overhyped and way smaller than anticipated,” said Michael Kololyan. “However, this was definitely not the case. As we rolled onto the boardwalk, we stumbled upon what we consider perfect Rockaway conditions: light crowds, incoming tide, and head high peelers.”
“This one thick line sat up dark on the horizon, way outside, and I was lucky enough to be at the front of the pack,” Paul said, reliving his favorite wave of the day. “I dropped in, set my rail and went all crouched tiger and hid my dragon in the pocket, saw the light, lined up for it, blew out screamin’ fast, and chucked a hard turn up and off the top before it folded down on me. Most waves that session weren’t so accommodating, so it was nice to make it out of that one without a bone-chilling beating.”
