By Madeline Bailey
Opinions Editor

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t is 6 a.m. Dawn patrol time. A crowd has started to form at the best break in town. The neighbor, the teacher and that really good guy who everyone talks about is there. They take out their boards, slowly wax them and head out.

This is the surfing lifestyle present on the Outer Banks, home to some of the best East Coast waves.

“Living here has been a huge influence on where my surfing career has gone,” said professional surfer Brett Barley. Barley is from Buxton. “The waves here have a lot of power and are waves of consequence, which prepared me a lot for places like Hawaii. Had I grown up somewhere else along the East Coast that has weaker waves or even less surf in general, I wouldn’t have been prepared, like I was, to travel the world.”

Local surfer Chris McDonald, who graduated from FFHS, said that the lifestyle on the Outer Banks is extremely laid back because everyone knows each other in the water. He said there are groups of people who surf together and always have.

“We have a small but tight-knit surf crew,” McDonald said. “Everyone looks out for each other in one way or another. It’s really cool to know you have people who will keep an eye out for you all the time in the water.”

FFHS students and teachers also surf. Students generally surf more when they have free time during the summer. Sophomore Jessica Wallace said that summer is amazing at the beach and that it is her favorite time to surf with friends. Wallace said a group of high school-age surfers go to Eckner Street often. But with sports, schoolwork and other extracurricular activities, finding surf time is often hard for students.

“It’s so hard to be in school when the waves are good,” Wallace said. “I get mad when there are perfect waves and I’m stuck in school. I wouldn’t be able to paddle out until 6 (p.m.) because of school and sports either.”

Finding a balance between beach and study time can be tough for  surfers. Some are even home-schooled which makes having time to surf and compete easier for them. Surfer Quentin Turko said that since he is home-schooled, schoolwork usually does not get in the way of surfing.

“I think it takes a special type of person to do both (good in school and surf),” said Jason Breiholz, surfer and Earth Science teacher. “Professional surfers like Kelly Slater and pretty much all the ones on World Tour graduated high school.”

Several surf organizations hold contests that locals often take advantage of. Eastern Surfing Association (ESA) is one of these organizations. Their contest dates for this summer include May 11, May 25, June 29, July 13, July 20, Sept. 7, Oct. 12 and Nov. 9. The July 20 contest will include the Virginia district as well as the Outer Banks, according to OuterBanksESA.com. Another organization is the Atlantic Surfing Federation (ASF), which has several chapters across the East Coast, according to AtlanticSurfing.org. Another organization is the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA). According to NSSA.org, they have contests at Jennette’s Pier on Oct. 20-21 and Nov. 17-18.

Whether they compete or not, people who surf agree that surfing makes their lives better in general. Sophomore Anna Leigh Vincent said that when you are surfing you feel carefree and just happier. Freshman Isaac Eckard said that when you are sitting out in the lineup, you are just in a happy place. To a surfer, there is no better feeling in the world.

“Surfing is different from other sports in so many ways. It’s an individual activity and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. There are no rules when you go surf,” McDonald said. “It is all about what you want to do. You can be as creative as you want on a wave and go outside of the lines. I love being able to hang out with my friends in the water and just be free from everything.”

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Photo by Daniel Pullen (used with permission)