Surfers Test Winter Waters : Chilly Temperatures Don’t Stop Ocean Enthusiasts From Catching Waves

The ritual begins in the parking lot.

After the waves are sized up, and the last drop of hot coffee is gone, anticipation turns to dread as warm clothes are traded for the cold neoprene of a wet suit.

Full wet suit. Booties. Gloves. Hood.

It is a winter exercise played out hundreds of times by surfers in beach parking lots all over Southern California. It’s almost like taking a page out of California philosophy. For where there are waves, there will be surfers.

Michael Herbert Colmenares, 36, an attorney from Whittier, said he has been surfing off and on for 15 years. During that time, Colmenares, who is wafer-thin, said he has spent a lot of time thinking about staying warm when water temperatures get below 59 degrees.

“It’s become a science,” he said. “Now I can stay out surfing two hours, no problem. You know, I’m skinny. And years ago I could only surf for about 45 minutes.”

Unlike Northern California, where water temperatures can dip below 50 degrees, Orange County remains relatively comfortable with winter ocean temperatures hovering around 58.

Greg Crow, Huntington Beach marine safety operator and a surfer, said that inrecent memory, the coldest the water has been is 55 degrees--an icy 15 degrees below peak summer conditions. Crow said ocean water temperatures are a product of several variables including currents, storm conditions and winds.

Typically, after a day of high winds, temperatures can drop two or three degrees and sometimes more because of upwelling--winds blowing away the ocean’s warm top layer. The layer is then replaced by cold water welling up from lower depths, Crow said.

But many ocean enthusiasts, including sail boaters, surfers and divers, know that winter often enhances the beauty of the Pacific. Instead of summer’s crowds, the beaches are empty. The sunsets, spectacular.

After an early morning surf session, Colmenares shared some of his expertise as he casually strolled out of the surf with a surf buddy and went to his car.

“He’s really into this wet suit stuff. He’s more up on it than I am,” said Colmenares’ friend, Michail Samodouroff, 40, of Whittier, who works as an international purchasing manager.

Soon, it became obvious that Colmenares had the inside track on proper equipment.

“You see this wet suit? Now, this is something I learned. This was made in Hawaii by Hawaiians and it’s flexible,” he said, sounding like a salesman as he demonstrated the suit’s flexibility by flapping his arms.

“This suit is glued and blind stitched. Hardly any water at all gets in,” said Colmenares, referring to how wet suit manufacturers glue the ends of neoprene together and then stitch them so the needle only penetrates halfway. The seam is then taped, creating a bodysuit.

To keep his feet from going frigid, Colmenares said he wears split-toed booties. For his hands, he dons specially designed gloves for people with long fingers. To keep his head warm, he sports a hood. And although he looks like a wave warrior garbed for battle, it’s all calculated to keep his body and extremities warm, he said.

“It wasn’t bad today, as far as water temps go,” he said recently on a 58-degree day. “But when it gets windy, oh man, does it get cold! We’ve been here when the wind blows hard and there’s a windchill factor,” Colmenares said.

Samodouroff was another matter. A body boarder rather than a surfer, Samodouroff wore two wet suits, layered over one another. Warmth wasn’t behind the double suit.

“I’m 40 years old and after years of jarring your back, it’s pretty common for older surfers to have bad backs. I wear two wet suits for more back support and it helps keep the muscles of my lower back warm,” he said.

“You should come here when the older guys are here, like at 5:30 to 6 a.m. It’s really fun trying to put on a cold wet suit with vapor coming out of your mouth. But it’s worth it, because hardly anyone is here. You get waves all to yourself,” Samodouroff said.

Aaron Cowen, 23, of Huntington Beach recently spent a morning tugging on a wet suit next to his friend’s pickup. A student at Cal State Long Beach, Cowen said he was glad to be taking advantage of the school’s winter break.

“I don’t have to return to school until Jan. 4. This is great,” he said.

As Cowen suited up, his friend, Craig Beltran, 21, of Anaheim, pulled on a pair of surf gloves and booties, Christmas gifts from his parents.

“I’m trying them out today for the first time,” Beltran said as he studied Cowen, who was deciding whether to wear a surf cap or hood that also was a gift.

The hoods, neoprene caps with visors and a chin strap, are slowly gaining in popularity among cold-water surfers. Although they are used heavily by scuba divers, they are having a rough time among fashion-conscious surfers.

For young Todd Major of Los Alamitos, surfing during the winter holidays had a great beginning on Christmas Day when he got a new surfboard.

Relaxing after a session, Todd, 12, held his new board and eyed its sleek styling. He had just gotten out of the water and he said he surfed away from the usual pack of competitive surfers to break in the new board.

Todd’s father, Mike Major, 41, said he was glad to bring his son to the beach to catch a few waves and let him show off the new board.

“The water was cold, but I wore a full (wet) suit, booties and gloves,” Todd said. “It was a surprise. I wanted a new surfboard but I didn’t know if I was getting one . . . but my dad and I, well, we did a lot of scouting at the surf shops.”

The comment made his dad grin.