Wilmington North Carolina, an Unexpected Surfing Hotspot

When we think of surfing we think of California or the North Shore of Hawaii, not Wilmington North Carolina.  Oh, how we were proven wrong.

Wilmington is a cool river front college town loaded with students just waiting for the sun to pop out.

According to Jacob (Jason’s bro and UNCW student) the attendance in class directly correlates to the weather.  When it’s sunny, every runs, not walks to the beach!  And, who can blame them.  Check it out:

We just so happened to pick the one beach on the one day there was a surfing competition going on.  There’s nothing like a few pros to add a little intimidation to the waves.  Luckily, the waves were perfect for a beginner surfer like me and the surfers were super nice or as they say in Hawaii, they had the Aloha Spirit.  We even had the chance to chat up local celeb and surfing champ Tony Silvagni.  Tony won the 2011 ISA World Longboard Champion which is like the Olympics of Surfing.  We chatted about his hometown and his home breaks which he was very passionate about.  He was unfortunately busy studying (he is also a UNCW student) and not teaching the day we were there but he runs an amazing surf school that I will be attending soon!  I have been doing alright on my own but I can’t wait to see how a pro can improve my skills!