Video: Surfer Ben Gravy Catches Waves At All 43 New Jersey Beach Towns In One Single Day
Ben Gravy's Instagram bio describes him as a "semi pro novelty wave surfer", but I've been following him on Insta for years now & would also add "absolute delight" to that. He's been vlogging his surf adventures since 2015 & has such an affable, positive, contagiously enthusiastic energy that it's impossible not to feel a little happy watching his videos, even if you've never surfed a day in your life.
For this particular challenge he went from the very bottom of NJ in Cape May all the way up to Sandy Hook in the Highlands. Gravy also calculated that 14hrs 21min of daylight gave him & his crew about 20 minutes per beach town. Picture this route in summer traffic:
1 Cape May
2 Wildwood Crest
3 Wildwood
4 North Wildwood
5 Stone Harbor
6 Avalon
7 Sea Isle
8 Strathmere
9 Ocean City
10 Longport
11 Margate
12 Ventnor
13 Atlantic City
14 Brigantine
15 Long Beach Township
16 Beach Haven
17 Ship Bottom
18 Harvey Cedars
19 Surf City
20 Barnaget Light
21 Island Beach State Park
22 Seaside Park
23 Seaside Heights
24 Ortley Beach
25 Lavalette
26 Mentaloking
27 Bayhead
28 Point Pleasant
29 Manasquan
30 SeaGirt
31 Spring Lake
32 Belmar
33 Avon by the Sea
34 Bradley Beach
35 Ocean Grove
36 Asbury Park
37 Lock Arbour
38 Allenhurst
39 Deal
40 Long Branch
41 Monmouth Beach
42 Seabright
43 Sandy Hook
Things started off rough when they made a pre-sunrise Wawa trip & the store was out of coffee (I have NEVER heard of that happening before), but smoothed out from there. As a bonus his friend Makki dropped fun facts about each location, like stop #6 - Did you know Avalon's slogan is "cooler by a mile" because "Avalon, NJ is positioned one mile further out in the Atlantic than any other barrier island in NJ"?
I could go on but highly recommend checking out the video yourself & giving Gravy a follow on Instagram. If you do you'll get to witness him riding waves behind the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, shredding the gnar (yes I'm a dork) in all 50 states, nearly get swallowed by the Waimea River with Jamie O'Brien (@whoisjob), and roll up to my old neighborhood, Astoria, Queens, by surfing the East River (floating condoms included).
Side note, if you're an East coast surfer or just love following that stuff check out Uncharted, a new docs-series with surfer Rob Kelly.
Spend an entire year in a Northeast surfer’s shoes — or rather, their booties — and you’ll find out pretty quickly that this region is not a microcosm for what’s happening everywhere else in the world of surf. No, the Northeast is a totally unique experience that begins and ends with extreme shifts from one season to another. It’s tough, it’s complicated and it’s tiring, but if done right, it’s nothing short of a surf trip at home. And if done really right, it’s a score like no other.
Good stuff.