The Winter Surfers of Rockaway Beach

‘Fight Through It’

Warren Sampson doesn’t love surfing in the cold. He grew up in the Rockaways, but learned to surf in Jamaica. After serving 12 years in the Marines, he’s now in school and works at Breakwater Surf Co. He also started a nonprofit school where he and his cousin teach surfing to local children. But that’s in good weather.

“You have to fight through it,” Sampson says of winter surfing. He mutters something about mental fortitude, then paddles out to the break.

Sampson catches a few waves. A few waves catch him, flipping him around like he’s not 200 pounds and built like an anchor, which he is. Thirty minutes later Sampson returns to shore, sore and breathless. He’s beaming: “I’m done!”

Always in Flux

Rockaway Beach, even in winter, is always in flux: waves, clouds, creatures. Nothing stays in one place for long. Sandpipers racing, sea gulls hovering, snow geese rolling over waves (they almost look as if they’re surfing). Dawn sky sliding from pink to gray. Container ships scud the horizon. Overhead, a winged leviathan, Japan Airlines Flight 006 from Tokyo, breaks through the clouds and descends toward John F. Kennedy Airport. A line of surfers floats offshore, waiting.

‘I Need This’

“I need this,” Steve Horney says as he scans the break. It’s a crisp morning, with small waves. Horney has the beach to himself.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/22/sports/rockaways-winter-surfing.html