Winter Surfing Therapy

MAY 13, 2025 | BY TIM HOMA

IMAGES BY ANDREW TONRA & BRANDON GOETZ

The first duck dive sucks. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve put yourself into that position or how good the waves are–it always sucks. Like staring down a shot of whiskey, you hate the burn but love how you feel afterward. Winter surfing pauses the world around you. It provides bright moments during the otherwise grey monotony that governs the coldest months of the year. 

It humbles and exposes you. The extra neoprene causes problems. No matter my fitness level on land or surf shape, the first few sessions in full winter gear are troublesome. I often question whether I’ve ever tried surfing, "Paddle, paddle, now pop up, pop up!" Persistence is key. Having confidence in your equipment goes a long way. Before long, your neoprene nemesis feels like a tool for happiness rather than a damp disappointment. The marriage between rubber recognition and fiberglass craft is empowering. 

The crispness of the water and the season's rawness give way to a therapeutic calmness. Your focus is absolute, and each paddle stride is intentional–it is freeing. Eventually, the wave you’ve been waiting for chooses you. The sight of it produces an injection of warmth that fuels your strokes with vigor. You feel the glide of your board accelerate, position your hands on the rails, and start to pop up.

As you eye down the line, you feel your bootie stick and fold under your foot. The mishap interrupts your focus, causing your rail to sink, and your view shifts from the groomed wall you’ll be missing to the sky above as you penetrate the water. While you go over the falls, it’s hard not to laugh–winter surfing is a different beast. Luckily, due to the consistency of the season, redemption is never far behind. 

Winter surfing strips away ego and taps into the purest form of enjoyment. Maybe it’s the primal sense of battling the cold that fuels a subconscious fervor or that each session is a debt paid in anticipation of the best days to come. Either way, whether the waves are marginal or good, the camaraderie and enthusiasm of those who indulge is why we decided to surf in the first place: a collective of people, friends and strangers, hooting at each other while experiencing nature at its best. 

The frozen smiles and extra effort to communicate without slurring words are crucial ingredients to this recipe, keeping us coming back for more. The flushness that hits your face and the satisfied feeling that takes hold of your body as it warms create an undeniable euphoria. This can manifest in aimlessly pacing back and forth, calling and telling anyone who will listen that the waves were fun, or sitting in silence basking in the warmth of wool socks with a shit-eating grin on your face. 

While the warmth of the changing seasons is welcomed, the crowds and flat spells will have us selfishly waiting for a frozen duck dive once again.