April 08, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Surfing & Watersports
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Tofino is the first location that comes to mind when you hear about surfing in BC. But what about surfing in the big city? Vancouver’s known as the place where you can sail, golf and ski in the same day… and if the conditions are
just right, you can add “surf” to that list.
In late March, spring winds were whipping across the trees and beaches of Stanley Park, which created conditions for a Vancouver surf attempt. Surfer, wetsuit, surfboard and camera-handler (me) all went into the truck to reach Third Beach in Stanley Park before the winds died down.
Bundled up seawall joggers did a double-take when they saw a wetsuit-clad figure carrying a surfboard down to the water at Third Beach. No pretty point breaks here! Any strategy for riding the waves was reduced to “avoid mussel-encrusted rocks”.
Twenty-minutes of battling washing machine style waves (for the surfer) and huddling next to wind blown cliffs wishing I had brought another layer of clothes (for me) resulted in a neat shot of surfing in Vancouver. Big city surfing – who knew?