Long Beach surfers say riding the waves just gets better with age

On any given summer morning, you’ll find a line of surfers sitting on their boards in the ocean at Long Beach’s Lincoln Boulevard, the most popular area where surfing is permitted when lifeguards are on duty in the “City by the Sea.” They paddle out in the water, wait patiently for the right swell and, if they’re lucky, ride a wave for 30 seconds.

Some, like Larry Feldman, have been doing this for years. Decades even.

Feldman, 76, who grew up in Flushing, Queens, said he was inspired by the surfing culture romanticized in the Beach Boys’ music.

“When we got our licenses at 17, we started driving down to the beach, and we saw guys surfing at one of the beaches in Rockaway,” recalled Feldman, a retired teacher and interpreter for the deaf. “It immediately grabbed us, and we went out and bought surfboards and started surfing.”

Feldman and his surfing buddies all live in Long Beach and prefer traditional longboards, which are typically at least nine feet long. They have become friends over their shared passion for the sport. They say it never loses its allure, even if members of the group are not the daredevils they once were.

After a knee replacement a few years back, Feldman acknowledged he has slowed down a bit.

“But we don’t stop,” he said. “Just being on the water and paddling around is a thrill for me. I still get out there.”

Wonderful sensation

Over the years, Feldman has surfed everywhere the sport is popular on Long Island, from Jones Beach to Ditch Plains in Montauk, to the Shinnecock Inlet in Hampton Bays to Hot Dog Beach in East Quogue. He said he has surfed up and down the East and West coasts, as well as the Gulf Coast, France and Israel.

For about the first 10 years he was a teacher, Feldman said he used the summer to pursue his passion.

“I would point my car or van south or west and take off with surfboards and just go for the whole nine or 10 weeks and surf every day,” Feldman said.

With each wave a unique experience, six decades later surfing is as exciting as ever, he said.

“When you feel the wave come underneath you and pick up the tail of your board and you jump up into a position and you’re moving and trying to stay in the right position so you get the most of a wave, it’s just a wonderful, wonderful sensation and feeling,” Feldman said.

Just you and the ocean

When people ask him what surfing feels like, John Bertinetti compares it to having Superman’s powers.

“It’s just like flying,” said Bertinetti, 72, who owned a commercial vehicle leasing business before he retired. “Think about it: You’re standing on a piece of fiberglass on water. You’re not holding onto anything. You’re just gliding across.”

Bertinetti said he surfed for years at Rockaway, Riis Park and Breezy Point, until moving near the Lincoln Boulevard beach 42 years ago.

“I’m always on vacation,” he said. “I surf early in the morning, 7 a.m., and I work the tides.”

At this point, Bertinetti typically surfs in the morning and then is done for the day.

“[The surfing legend] Gerry Lopez said, ‘When you’re young you surf like there’s no tomorrow. When you’re old, you surf for tomorrow,’” said Bertinetti, referring to the legendary surfer and master of the Banzai Pipeline, a formidable tubing wave in Hawaii.

Though he said he doesn’t plan to quit, Bertinetti said his body will tell him when it’s time to put away his board for good.

“A kid today said, ‘Wow, you’re 72! How long are you going to surf?’ ” Bertinetti said. “I said, ‘Right now I’m looking at 73.’ . . . Anything could happen, especially at our stage.”

Volleyball to Surfing

As a physical education teacher at Bay Shore Middle School, Jill Pickus, 52, spends most days of her summer vacation surfing close to home in Long Beach.

Pickus, who started surfing at 40 after giving up competitive volleyball, said she honed her skills with tips from fellow surfers and by visiting Costa Rica for a few weeklong surfing retreats. The courses there were taught by professional coaches who shot videos to help her improve her technique.

“That definitely was a big part of how I really learned about surfing, surfing etiquette and understanding the ocean. Also surfing really great-quality waves is a big part of learning how to surf, too,” said Pickus, adding that she’s surfed in Mexico, Barbados and Hawaii. “That definitely helped because then you’re able to get your wave count up. And, obviously, the more repetition, the better you get at it.”

As a longboarder, Pickus said the most intimidating part of surfing is paddling out.

“It’s really hard to duck dive on a longboard,” said Pickus, referring to pushing the surfboard underwater and diving beneath it. “I’m just happy catching waves. It doesn’t matter if I look good or not, I just really enjoy it.”

Pickus said she loves sports that help form spiritual connections with nature, like skiing and hiking, and was exhilarated surfing in Barbados, in waters where sea turtles swam.

“Even on the days that I struggle in the water, I still have never regretted paddling out,” Pickus said. “I call my sessions ‘water therapy.’ I always feel good being in the water and am grateful for being able to do what I do out there. Every wave feels like the best part of my day.”

‘It’s a continual learning process’

Ron Ennett, 78, started surfing at 65. On sunny days, he’ll go from 6 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon in the waves off Long Beach.

“I was always a beach person, so I started out swimming and boogie boarding,” said Ennett, a former maintenance supervisor for the New York City Transit Authority who lives in Long Beach.

Inspired by watching local surfers, Ennett took lessons for three summers with Long Beach instructors until he felt confident enough to go out on his own. He has since taken additional lessons to improve his form.

Ennett said he is always learning from the ocean waves.

“Whenever you think you’ve got it, something will come along and say, ‘No,’ ” he said. “That’s why it’s a continual learning process.”

Surfing for 60 Years

Marvin Weiss has been waxing a surfboard for 60 years, ever since his older brothers put him on one and instructed him to stand up.

“That was the start in the summer of ’64,” said Weiss, 68, a retired critical care specialist who lives in Long Beach. “I was 8 years old.”

In the beginning, Weiss and his brothers tried to surf in the winter, but found the scuba diving wetsuits they used back then too cumbersome to move freely. They surfed only in fair weather until the rubber quality improved.

“I stopped last year doing it all year round, because I developed Parkinson’s. I can still surf and still take autistic children surfing. We do a program called ‘Surfer’s Way,’ ” said Weiss, referring to the Long Beach-based nonprofit that helps children with special needs learn to surf. He added that the kids are usually terrified in the beginning, but once they ride the first wave, they want to do it over and over again.

Lifeguard ‘was hooked’

Mark Davy learned to surf when he was a lifeguard in his 20s and a co-worker lent him a board.

“I caught a small wave, climbed to my feet and I was surfing,” said Davy, 52, who teaches oceanography at Smithtown High School West and lives in Long Beach. “The problem was I didn’t know I was supposed to get out of the wave before it hit the beach. I rode it straight into the sand and the board bounced back and hit me in the nose. A little blood was worth it: I was hooked.”

Davy, who surfs whenever he can during summers when he’s not lifeguarding at Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island, said if you catch a good wave, you don’t want to get out of the water.

“It’s an addiction,” he said. “You have to go get another, so it can become a few-hour session.”

What makes surfing special, according to Davy, is the combination of harnessing the ocean and connecting with nature.

“When you ride a wave, you are in the moment, and it is hard to think of anything else,” he said,

Davy said the spiritual aspect is sometimes lost on younger boarders. He said older, seasoned surfers might be more willing to give up a good wave to offer someone else a shot.

“It is a great feeling to catch a wave and paddle back out and have one of the guys say, ‘Hey, that was a great ride,’ or hear them hooting and hollering as you take off,” he said.

“Lifelong friendships are made. That same experience in the water transcends to land.”