Monday, June 29, 2009

Surfing Nova Scotia!


Hey, did you know that Nova Scotia has a thriving surf scene!? Just a thirty minute drive from where I live, is Lawrencetown Beach, where all year round you can find surfers doing their thing. Even in the dead of winter!! Wearing full body wet suits year round too. The water is chilly here.

I drove out here with my daughter on Saturday and we had a great time watching the waves, surfers, and listening to the deafening roar of the waves crashing and then raking over the pebbles. We talked to a young man and his girlfriend from Montreal who had come here to try the waves. It was an odd day with a giant fog bank just offshore, you can see it in the distance.

People come from all over the world to surf here. We counted 27 people on the water on Saturday. Who knew? Here at Lawrencetown, a small community of surfers has evolved. B&B's, shops, surf schools, and up high on the hill is MacDonald House, an old home now a tearoom and surfshop/rental place. H and I stopped in for lunch:) This was taken from that hill looking in the opposite direction. Way off to the right, strong rip currents have taken more than one life , swimming is forbidden there.

There are some cool website you can check out, one is Magic Seaweed that tells you the height of the waves. The day we were there they were 5' 6secs. Today I checked and they are 7' 6secs! A fantastic site is Scotia Surfer. Lots of great pics and info and links. Moonlight Beach Inn B&B, has a great aerial shot showing the area. Right now the beach is quite pebbled but depending on the time of year, tides and weather, it becomes sandy.

Those black dots floating in the water above the wave are surfers. Waiting for that perfect wave:) They sort of look like seals!

As always, my bold traveling companion, partner in crime. and daughter:)

16 comments:

Sara said...

We used to try to get to Lawrencetown Beach on every visit we made to Nova Scotia. Since we moved here, we've only been once! Love walking the beach (in all kinds of weather) and watching the surfers.

madelyn said...

glorious photo's and your
daughter has BEAUTIFUL hair!


:)

Alice said...

wow. love the photos. The sea looks amazing ... see, maybe we need to try Nova Scotia but not sure we could get all that way with Elvis!!!! Cool photo of your daughter :-)

Teresa aka Tess said...

Wow, Thanks for the glimpse of your part of the world. Loved the pics as I love the ocean, sand and water. I lived in Florida once and then in California and I've been to the Gulf of Mexico. But alas not nearly as beautiful as depicted here. Oh and love your daughters hair.

Anonymous said...

Hey there, Cynthia from Nova Scotia Tourism here. I came across your blog when you posted it on twitter. It's a great little blog. I checked out your folk art on ebay too. Very fun and whimsical.

Love the surfers! Great pics. I'm not far from Lawrencetown. My daughter and I go out and watch the surfers sometimes too. Although never brave enough to try it out. I've met a few of the people from the surf schools. Onelifesurf a women's surfing school and the boys from Decane surf shop...they've got these webisodes called Surf Donkey that they do of their surfing www.hurricanesurf.com. Apparently Nova Scotia is a great place to go for cold water surfing. Nothing keeps these guys out of the water. And the girls at www.onelifesurf.com are incredibly fearless and have a fantastic holistic approach with yoga and massage as well.

Anyway, thanks for the photos. Would love it if you would share some in any of our networks...we've got a facebook page as well as a flickr group and of course I'm on twitter: cynatnovascotia.

Cheers!

Cynthia
Cynthia@novascotia.com

tascha said...

That is so neat! I'd love to live there.
I bet the air is fresh too.
Ahhhh!
I can dream!
Maybe one day....

Char said...

gorgeous beach shots

Graciel said...

You live in such a beautiful part of the world!! It is on my list of places to go in this life.

And Shelagh, it IS all about yellow. Wear it, drink it, live it. ;)

Anonymous said...

oh i am thrilled to have discovered your blog. I, too, love Paris, art, and tea.
It looks beautiful where you are. It is beautiful here too but in a different way.

WonderousWomanRetreat said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Joan Nichols ERYT said...

I had no idea that Nova Scotia had surfing - how cool is that. I have always wanted to try surfing but I think I would like to try it in warmer water first! Someday I'd like to visit Nova Scotia because I have heard the coast line is breath taking. Your photos make me wish I was there now rather than land locked in upstate New York! Have a wonderful day.
Namaste,
Joan

susanna said...

What a gorgeous place! I'll have to tell my husband about Lawrencetown Beach. I wonder if there's kitesurfing there, too...? Have you collected seaglass along that shore? And yes, your daughter has gorgeous hair! Do you have the same thick, curly hair?

PS: Thanks for the boost of confidence the other day (re:walking alone in the woods). :)

Sara said...

Oh, my what a beautiful area! I would love to see that in person! Your partner in crime (daughter) is beautiful!!!

Glad you had such a nice day!

Anne said...

Hi, Shelagh! Great photos! I especially love the one of the boy with the surfboard on his head, traveling through your frame toward the left. Awesome! :-)

Kerry said...

Hey there! Just discovered your blog and it is wonderful! If Laurencetown is too scary go around the other side and try out Rainbow Haven Beach - not as treacherous and the bodysurfing is GREAT (sandy bottom no scary rocks to bash your knees on

Daina Scarola said...

Hey Shelagh, great blog and I LOVE your photos! I was looking at photos of L'Town and found yours. I'm following you on Etsy and Twitter too. I'm also a NS artist,and on twitter, Etsy, FB too!! Check out my blog: http://www.artbydaina.blogspot.com
It's great to read your bites and look forward to future posts...
Daina