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Living Alaska, Surf’s Up
Come Catch Some Waves in Alaska
I grew up around surfers and learned the sport when I was a teenager. I lived in California and went to college in Santa Barbara, California. I was never a good surfer, but I did surf. I respect the sport and often watch surfers at Mavericks in Northern California. When I moved to Alaska, I was surprised to find people surfing in my hometown. Ketchikan, Alaska is a port town that is protected from open ocean by a couple of Islands. There is an area four miles south of town that faces open ocean. When storms are coming from the southwest, a small swell develops in the area, enough to surf.
I watched a couple of kids surfing a few months ago at Buggy’s Beach. The rain had stopped for a couple of hours and the surf was up. Enough to catch a wave or two. They were obviously having fun, but the ride was short lived. I asked around if there were other surf spots in Alaska. I got some advice from locals about where a surf break could be found. I also learned about adventurous people surfing the Bore Tides.
They have charts that can predict the Bore Tides, and if you are a daredevil, or a professional surfer they might be worth checking out. The Bore tidal waves travel for miles before they lose energy. There is a surf shop in Yakutat, Alaska. There is a significant amount of glacial silt that creates points along the shore…
