Surfrider Foundation: MAKING WAVES

home


Spotlight on waves	SURF SPOTlight: Point Allerton, MA, Riding the Beast By Chad Nelsen MAKING WAVES, June/July 1999

Moving over to the "right" coast for the Surf SPOTlight, I contacted Kevin Otto, chair of the Massachusetts Chapter, to ask about a surf spot that truly inspired local surfers. I emailed Kevin a series of "interview" questions. Kevin completely disregarded my questions and instead sent me what has become known around the office as the "Point Allerton Opus". As I attempted to trim the opus down, one thing became abundantly clear: surfing really cold Point Allerton gets Kevin heated up.

Name: First Point     Location: Point Allerton, Massachusetts

      The best time to surf is when it's really cold. Not the candy ass California "damn its 50° water, bro" on a 60° sunny day crap. Not even the typical New England 40° winter surfing. I mean when it gets really cold. When foggy air may get up to 20° and the sea becomes a thick, viscous and 35°. Only then can your mind and body really feel a swell. A swell is a mean beast when it's this cold.
     Point Allerton is in the town of Hull. Hull was settled in 1624 by John Oldham and a group of ten others, all ejected from the original Plymouth Colony. They weren't god fearing enough, or perhaps indulged too much. Whatever. This non-pious Hull personality continues to this day, where the town decor consists of Patriots jackets, Dunkin Donuts, and "My kid beat up your honor student" bumper stickers on strictly American cars. Just the way we like it.
     Surfing a New England Nor'Easters requires timing. As any Nor'Easter hits, the skill is to always find a place that will be secluded from the onslaught of wind. Just before and just after a front passes are the times to judge spots to surf, since that is when the wind dies and the waves remail. During the storm itself, the sea is a sickly Victory-at-Sea 50 knot turbulent mess. After the front passes, though, the wind subsides leaving a short window of large cold glassy swell. When it's cold, then it's time to befriend the beast.
     Waves reaching the Point these days are rudely slapped by a 20 foot high face of granite stone and concrete, a seawall facing off the blasts and thereby spraying the protected yards and houses with salt of the sea. The wall was erected at fabulous taxpayer expense for the dozen or so private homeowners who, in return, prevent everyone from stepping foot on their beach. In Massachusetts, you have to realize, "after all it's their beach". Unlike every other state in the Union except Maine, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts revoked the rights of the general public to walk the intertidal zone. Beachfront homeowners own all the land down to the low tide mark.
     Extending south out from the seawall is First Point, where you line up for a rushing lip-pitch that slaps away the long boarders with it rapid jack-up and crashing peel. You have to be fast. When it's cold (again, I mean cold), it is especially brutal. Especially fun. If you miss the take off you don't fall into cold water, the thick beast picks you up and slaps you down onto liquid concrete. Cold water is hard.
     Even among the hearty New England surfing crowd, really cold water surfers are few. It makes for the best surfing sessions; cranking and soulful. You sit amongst the roaring calm, biding time with your beastly watery friend.
     The ice that forms on your board can be melted by periodically plunging your board back underwater, to let the just-above-freezing salty seawater retake the ice. The freezing water on your face feels cold, but only ices up on your exposed hair and eyelashes. Your eyes can occasionally freeze shut when the icy upper and lower lashes meet. You then have to push your glove into your eye to melt the ice that is holding your eyelashes shut.
     Cold waves launch. Even when they're small, they don't mush, you can't dig through a rail, you can't force kick a slide. In this water, with a board shaped for the softer and more forgiving California or Florida water, where you point the fins is where you go. No uncertainty or swishing around; its more like a skateboard. The upshot is that carving becomes real. You cut a line and dig your fins into a turn, and you turn. Hard. This gives you solitary control over your board and makes you king in cold water. You toy with the beast.
     Point Allerton has its environmental problems. Beyond the limited access, Boston Harbor has painted the Point with bacterial stew. Every major storm can bring days of fecal coliform beasties from the butts of upstream Cah Pahkah's. Occasional Nor'Easters pitch free cargo containers from their binding chains, and cut loose their guts that float free to shore. When we in the Massachusetts Chapter hold our beach cleanups, left footed Nike tennis shoe soles are still found from an infamous cargo spill that happened over ten years ago during a "no-name" winter storm.
     Despite all the history, though, Point Allerton is the fun-loving friend of the Massachusetts South Shore. People have always been attracted here, it is a fun place to be; a place to enjoy the winter or summer, the sun, the sea, the surf. Our mother Ocean always seems to wash her clean, and when the waves get big, she is always ready to play. And we in the Massachusetts chapter are going to keep it that way.


*  *  *

Surfrider Foundation USA:
122 S. El Camino Real #67
San Clemente, CA 92672
tel. (949) 492-8170
fax (949) 492-8142

Email addresses:
Membership: mmate@surfrider.org
Chapter Issues: emazzarella@surfrider.org
Envir. Issues: ekliszewski@surfrider.org
Legal Issues: mkremer@surfrider.org
Catalog: jwright@surfrider.org
Website Staff: mbabski@surfrider.org
Other: info@surfrider.org

See our feedback page.
Surfrider Website INDEX