Fallback

What It's Like to Learn to Surf in the Pacific Northwest in Your 30s

An ongoing photo series, "Bad Surfers" documents the brutal but sometimes fruitful quest to log wave time in an unforgiving corner of the country

What It's Like to Learn to Surf in the Pacific Northwest in Your 30s

Author

Joshua Poehlein

Photographer

Joshua Poehlein

Camera

Nikonos V w 35mm f/2.5 Nikkor lens

Film

Kodak Max 200, Portra 400

https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/pacific-northwest-surf-photography

Joshua Poehlein is a professional outdoors & editorial photographer, and passionate average-guy athlete based in Renton, WA.

Learning to surf in Washington, in your 30s, while living multiple hours inland, is an exercise in patience. The water is frigid year-round, and the waves, while they most certainly have their shining moments, are fickle, heavily tide-effected, and spread out across hundreds of miles of coastline. Out of towners are lightly tolerated at most spots, and sent packing at others. Ferry rides, long drives, sad towns with pretty sunsets; it all adds to the charm of the search.

After a snowboarding accident in 2017, I bought a Nikonos V off of Craigslist. I couldn’t snowboard, but I’d been doing that for years, so I wasn’t overly upset by that. I was at the beginning of my surfing journey though, and instantly felt an impending sense of FOMO. I dreaded being left behind while my friends continued their efforts to improve, against the odds of age and geography.

I figured the Nikonos would be a good excuse to keep going on trips, as well as a way to get in the water without having to actually stand on a board. Pretty quickly I fell into old (art-school) habits, making portraits, photographing landscapes, making a “body of work.” I kept shooting even after I was all healed up, and though I’ve slowed down as of late, that little orange camera always comes with me when I hop in the car.

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-1

"The scale is set differently out here... Logging wave time in the PNW is a battle against the elements in every way imaginable."

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-7

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-13

For me, if it doesn’t happen in the PNW, it doesn’t count. What I mean by that is the scale is set differently out here. The Hoh Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula averages over 140 inches of rain a year, occasionally topping the 200 inch mark. Mt. Baker Ski Area once recorded 95 feet of snow in a single season. Ocean temps range from the low 40s to mid 50s year round, and if there’s a river mouth nearby those numbers can get even lower. Wild open-ocean swells regularly jump breakwalls, flooding beaches and small towns at the end of their path. Logging wave time in the PNW is a battle against the elements in every way imaginable.

I know I’ll likely always be “bad” at surfing, but I also know how much time goes into every wave caught out here. You can’t walk out your door and check the local point break, or at least 99% of the population can’t.

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-16

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-5

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-4

Surf checks begin the week or night before, agonizing over forecasts, multiple phone apps, and wind charts. From the Seattle area, you’re in for at least a two hour drive one way, often double that. And a fair amount of times, you’re just wrong, forced to take in a beautiful, albeit disappointing, view of placid or too turbulent seas.

There’s even a notable dearth in webcams up this way. So when I see someone make a drop, a maneuver, or, extremely-rarely, a barrel, I try to keep in mind how much effort went into just being at that spot, on that day, at that moment. I might venture a little head nod, or a subdued “yew!”, which is something I’ve learned that surfers say.

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-9

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-hero

The effort is a good thing though. It makes the best days even better, and the landscape has a certain fantastical glow when I exit the water. The rain, and the cold, and the currents, and the thick rubber; I’ve come to appreciate these things, not just aesthetically, but as intrinsic to what makes surfing special.

They say hunger is the best spice, and on that point I’d have to agree.


Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-6

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-2

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-17

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-11

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-10

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-8

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-14

Josh-Poehlein-PNW-Bad-Surfers-12

Fallback
Related articles
Nixon’s Heat Watch Is Here to Help You Send Harder, in the Water & Out
Nixon’s Heat Watch Is Here to Help You Send Harder, in the Water & Out

Waterproof to 100m with a super slim yet rugged design and capability to run multiple pre-programed timers, this sleek “surf watch” is so much more

FERAL Wetsuit Review: I've Finally Fallen in Love With Winter Surfing
The Best Winter Wetsuit Is From a Tiny Brand You've Never Heard Of

The small San Francisco brand uses Japanese Yamamoto neoprene to cut weight & improve warmth—here's how their 5/4/3 suit tested in icy waters near NYC

Find Seaside Cabins, Cedar Saunas & Modern Design at The Nami Project
Book a Room with a Private Cedar Sauna & Hot Tub at The Nami Project in Canada

Located in a tiny fishing village on Vancouver Island, BC, the new boutique hotel embraces Japanese, Scandinavian, and peaceful PNW sensibilities

Where to Find Black-Centered Outdoor Recreation Events Near You
Where to Find Black-Centered Camping, Climbing, Surfing & Other Outdoor Rec Events

Organized and led by Black and BIPOC groups, these community-focused events aim to increase accessibility and diverse participation in the outdoors

Q&A: Gabriella Angotti-Jones on Surfing, Community, and Storytelling
I Just Wanna Surf: A Conversation With Photographer Gabriella Angotti-Jones

With her new book "I Just Wanna Surf" the LA-based photographer empowers Black folks to get in the water while challenging what surf media looks like

Inside Kings Glassing, New York City's Resident Surfboard Workshop
Inside the NYC Workshop Where Sought-After Surfboards Are Made

Maui-raised and Brooklyn-based, brothers Aaron and Drew Austin are hand building some of the East Coast's most creative surfboards

More articles
Fallback
Fallback
What It's Like to Learn to Surf in the Pacific Northwest in Your 30s

Gallery Mode

Photographer

Joshua Poehlein

Camera

Nikonos V w 35mm f/2.5 Nikkor lens

Film

Kodak Max 200, Portra 400

Back to article
Fallback
☮️ Welcome to Field Mag

Get the best new gear, dreamy cabins, and epic adventure photography delivered to your inbox each week with Field Mag newsletters

Click Here to Subscribe
☮️  Welcome to Field Mag