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| Bob Taylor at North Jetty in Fort Pierce in summer 2012. (Photos provided) |
Taylor, 55, grew up in Jupiter where his parents bought him a longboard at a yard sale and got him hooked on surfing. He and his buddies taught themselves how to surf and have been surfing since they were about 9 years old.
They used their surf boards to paddle across the Intracoastal Waterway back then, Taylor says, but he does not recommend doing that today -- presumably because of increased pollutants in the waterway.
He will follow the Pipe Masters tourney when the surfing competition starts Saturday in Oahu. Taylor will watch to see how Kelly Slater, 40, performs because he's one of the three top surfers in contention. And Slater is from Cocoa Beach.
Taylor took some time to answer questions about his surfing. He provided so much information that I am breaking his interview into two parts. This week, he focuses on how he finds out where the best waves are. Working in the science field, he says, has helped him to understand and forecast wave predictions.
How do you find out where the surf action will be?
Before we hit the road - we use several (online) tools to find the
best waves. The U.S. government NOAA Buoy Data Center is an excellent source of information. We also use other commercial sites like -- Magic Seaweed, Surfline and
Swell Info.
We consider several factors: Swell height, swell period, wind speed and wind direction. Ideally, my surfing buddies, prefer waves with longer swell duration (time between wave crests). Short period swells generally represents wind chop correspondingly and long period swells are associated with ground swell.
Once you know the swell height and direction and
wind, you can select your spot to surf.
The spot selection is based on bottom contour, break walls and
tides. The tide will vary for different
sites. In South Florida we have a few reef breaks that are effected by tide
height. Slack tides are generally not
good; mid-tide for most breaks is optimal.
We can experience good surf all year long. In the summer, we receive trade swell wind
chop and surf from tropical storms. Generally in the summer, the surf is better
in Central and North Florida. The Bahamas can block wind swell to South
Florida. In the fall spring and winter we can receive excellent swells from
cold fronts as they pass through.
The
best circumstance is a west wind, offshore breeze during the cold front. The
west wind will normally last for only a fraction of the swell period. So it's
important to plan the surfing trip during the optimal wind, tide and
location. We have even surfed Peanut
Island several times when conditions were just right!
We will often travel between Fort Pierce to South
Beach. During Tropical Storm Sandy, we took full
advantage of epic waves at Miami's South Beach.
Who makes up the "we"?
Four or five people -- two older guys, one woman and a kid who is male.
How do you stay in shape to surf?
I use surfing as a form of exercise. I try to surf two or more times a week. Many times we will surf minimal or poor surf. However, if you consider the effort to get the board to the beach and paddle around in the water for a few hours, it can be a mild to good workout.
The big challenge is not to worry how good the surfing is, just get in the water and have some fun. Even on the poor days you can see a lot of marine life and catch a few waves. There are also those days when you expect surf to be poor but it ends up better than expected!
Other than surfing, my wife and I like to walk!
How did you start surfing?
I grew up in Jupiter, north of the inlet on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway. I started surfing when I was around nine years old. When I was 10. along with a group of neighborhood friends, we would walk to the waterway and swim to the beach. The surf boards were a good means to cross the Intracoastal. Not sure this something that I'd recommend today.
We would go to the beach most days to hang out and have fun. The local surfing beach was called “Poles,” which is located just south of the Coral Cove Park. Surfing and fishing were the main form of entertainment when I was a kid.
What's your day job?
I am an environmental engineer with the South FloridaWater Management District, working on the Everglades Restoration project. I enjoy the opportunity to work on such an important ecological restoration project. Working in the science field has helped me with understanding and forecasting wave predictions. My work does not offer any specific benefit for surfing. I usually surf after work and or on weekends. What's really awesome is that my wife Jeanne is very supportive of my surfing!
(Next week: Taylor talks of the surfing contests he's won, plus the differences between today's surfing scene and what it was like when he first started.)
Miles: 7.0
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| Taylor surfs in Palm Beach last summer after Hurricane Irene passed. |
Four or five people -- two older guys, one woman and a kid who is male.
How do you stay in shape to surf?
I use surfing as a form of exercise. I try to surf two or more times a week. Many times we will surf minimal or poor surf. However, if you consider the effort to get the board to the beach and paddle around in the water for a few hours, it can be a mild to good workout.
The big challenge is not to worry how good the surfing is, just get in the water and have some fun. Even on the poor days you can see a lot of marine life and catch a few waves. There are also those days when you expect surf to be poor but it ends up better than expected!
Other than surfing, my wife and I like to walk!
How did you start surfing?
I grew up in Jupiter, north of the inlet on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway. I started surfing when I was around nine years old. When I was 10. along with a group of neighborhood friends, we would walk to the waterway and swim to the beach. The surf boards were a good means to cross the Intracoastal. Not sure this something that I'd recommend today.
We would go to the beach most days to hang out and have fun. The local surfing beach was called “Poles,” which is located just south of the Coral Cove Park. Surfing and fishing were the main form of entertainment when I was a kid.
What's your day job?
I am an environmental engineer with the South FloridaWater Management District, working on the Everglades Restoration project. I enjoy the opportunity to work on such an important ecological restoration project. Working in the science field has helped me with understanding and forecasting wave predictions. My work does not offer any specific benefit for surfing. I usually surf after work and or on weekends. What's really awesome is that my wife Jeanne is very supportive of my surfing!
(Next week: Taylor talks of the surfing contests he's won, plus the differences between today's surfing scene and what it was like when he first started.)
And now, for my numbers
I had my best walking day last week on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, when I walked:
Steps: 13, 938
Miles: 7.0
This is an excellent system of measuring best practice lifeguard training. Thanks for the post guys.
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