Surfing in a mall-
“This is Skudin Surf at American Dream, the 3 million-square-foot mall that recently opened in East Rutherford, NJ, just across the Hudson from New York City.”
The following written content by Jon Coen
It’s Sunday night in coastal New Jersey. The sound of the steady rain is interrupted only when it turns to even harder rain. Then, still dark on Monday morning, a fierce wind replaces the downpour. Temps in the mid 30s: all typical of late winter in New Jersey.
I pack up two surfboards—my 5’9 shortboard and a 5’7 groveler—and start driving. Rain begins to fall on the Garden State Parkway. It’s still raining and dark gray as I pass the gorgeous Linden Cogeneration Plant on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Lovely.
While the coast can have its moments all year, the reality is that winter surfing (wearing a hooded 4mm wetsuit or more) is a five-month ordeal here. But for the first time in my life, I will be surfing indoors.
This is Skudin Surf at American Dream, the 3 million-square-foot mall that recently opened in East Rutherford, NJ, just across the Hudson from New York City.
This chlorine dream named for and run by Will Skudin, an elite big-wave surfer from the unlikely shores of Long Island (who I’ve been covering since he was a fired up 18-year-old), is the world’s largest indoor wave pool.
As my first time, Skudin ushers me in through the DreamWorks Water Park, showing me what they’ve got going. A group from the East End of Long Island has the wave pool rented for the morning session. There’s a handful of groms and moms taking off on a well-shaped peak every 20 seconds or so with music playing.
Paul Francisco, a ripping young New Jersey surfer, is both DJ and MC: letting the surfers in the water know what’s happening via loudspeaker, curating the playlist, and most importantly, controlling which waves are coming to the surfers. He’s got this wave figured out beyond the visiting pros at this point.
“You definitely want a little more volume in your board and something that fits on the wave,” he explains.
There are waves customized for all levels. The wave can be tuned to allow for a surfer to build speed for about two to three pumps and then hit a relatively soft oncoming section, or in the case of the better (and lighter) surfers, to launch an air. Read more from Men’s Journal.
