Surfing has become an increasingly popular way to recreate here along the seacoast, and across the US as a whole. During the summer, it’s hard to drive anywhere without seeing a longboard strapped to the roof of a fellow commuter’s car.

But why has surfing become so popular in recent years? From 2019 to 2020, the surfing population in the US grew an astounding 28 percent, and over the past five years the sport has experienced 8% average annual growth.

On this month’s two-part episode of Time and Tide, we’re paddling into the lineup with local legends of surfing to look back at the sport’s past along NH’s coastline, attempt to understand who today’s cold-water surfers are, and unpack what coastal issues New Hampshire surfers care about most?

In part one, we paint a picture of what surfing’s past and present looks like along the seacoast. We kick things off with Ralph Fatello, a local photographer and surfer who runs a weekly surfing blog called Ralph’s Pic of the Week and has been doing so for the past 21 years. Ralph has been surfing and photographing New Hampshire waves since the 60’s, and has seen the sport, and how surfers are using our coast, change through time.

Next, Brayden Rudert shares his perspective from the water angle. Brayden is a professional photographer who helps shed light on what surfing culture looks like today, and how surfing can connect coastal communities with the ocean. We dig into the question of whether a connection to the ocean through surfing is enough to inspire surfers to protect these coastal places.

Full episode transcript is available below.

Guest Speakers:

Ralph Fatello, Surfer and Photographer, Ralph’s Pic of the Week

Brayden Rudert, Surfer and Photographer, Vision Lagoon

Hosted by: Brian Yurasits, Science Communication Specialist, New Hampshire Sea Grant

Co-hosted by: Erik Chapman, Director, New Hampshire Sea Grant

Produced by: Brian Yurasits

Further reading:

Ralph’s Pic of the Week (Blog)

Follow Ralph on Instagram

Follow Brayden on Instagram

Brayden’s Photography – Vision Lagoon

Surfrider New Hampshire

New Hampshire Sea Grant works to enhance our relationship with the coastal environment to sustain healthy and resilient ecosystems, economies, and communities through integrated research, extension, education, and communications efforts. Based at the University of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Sea Grant is one of 34 programs in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program, a state-federal partnership serving America’s coasts. Learn more by visiting: seagrant.unh.edu

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