Maine Surfing Adventures: The Surf Shop

If you ever consider surfing southern Maine, you have to check out the Black Point Surf Shop. The shop is co-owned between three twenty-something year olds. This is a shop that cares more about surfing than making money... although business is consistent - when you're in the beaches of Higgins or Scarborough, you'll notice most of the boards are custom McDermott shapes.

I fell in love with the shop the first time I walked in, after meeting Andy McDermott and his girlfriend, Crystal. Andy listened with enthusiasm to my new experience surfing and picked out an appropriate foamy soft top for me. Crystal threw in a pair of her own booties to keep my feet warm. I headed out to Higgins Beach, just a short drive from the shop, and knew at once the accessibility of the beach, and the approachable personality of the shop would easily fuel my appetite to work on my surfing.

I went in three to four times a week to Black Point Surf Shop to pick up or drop off a borrowed board. Every time,  I wanted to stay longer and longer. The conversation was always good, the customers were always happy, and I kept learning more and more about the culture of surfing.

I picked up my first board in Australia just last September. I was on assignment for 9 weeks in Sydney and wanted to spend my free time learning how to surf. So, I moved into a beach house just a 5 minute walk from Bondi Beach, and I went out every day. Those first few weeks were primarily spent becoming steadily comfortable with the different waves, swell size, and watching the long-time surfers (ranging from 8 year olds to 80 year olds) around me. I watched and learned. Between time spent in Bondi Beach and Maine, I now have about 3 months total out in the water. But, this past weekend was the first time I went surfing with people I know.

To be continued...

Read more on my Maine Surfing Adventures at The Bungalow