This surf spot in the Adriatic is probably the main break for this entire part of Italy. Overall, the Adriatic doesn't break often. When it does, this is the spot that picks up the most swell and offers the best protection from the relentless onshore winter winds in this area. The break is on the north side of the inlet at Venice - on a clear day you can see the famous bell tower at St. Marks just up the inlet. A very surreal place to be surfing if you've spent any time walking the streets of this iconic Italian city. Being so close to Venice and being the best break anywhere in the northern Adriatic this spot actually can draw a crowd on good days, which are few and far between.
Punta Sabbioni really reminds me a lot of Manasquan Inlet, one of my former local breaks back in NJ. The break looks and feels very similar with several good right-breaking peaks on the north side of a long jetty. Both spots can get crowded on good days. The water quality after heavy rain unfortunately also reminds me of Manasquan Inlet! But that's pretty much where the similarity ends. I won't bash the locals in Manasquan here, I'll just say that the experience for a non-local there would not be like what I'm about to describe below.
Pulling into the parking lot at Sabbioni you quickly realize you're not in NJ any longer. The second I step out my car I'm greeted by friendly "ciaos" by every surfer in the lot. Everyone, I mean everyone, stops what they are doing and looks up to see who's pulling in - probably expecting a friend because everyone seems to know everyone who surfs here. Now living in Italy I can tell you that "ciao" means something. This is not ordinarily the greeting for strangers. By saying "ciao" instead of something more formal like "buon giorno" the guys are letting me know I'm more like a friend...simply because I surf I think?
Something really cool happened this second time surfing at Sabbioni. After I suited up I started the long walk alone out on the jetty to get to the break. I don't usually talk to the other surfers because I'm embarrassed that I still can't communicate well enough in Italian in these situations. But this time, a very excited guy came skipping across the rocks to catch up to me and he just started rambling on and on in Italian about how good the waves were and a bunch of other stuff that I only half understood. Finally, I told him I didn't speak Italian that well because I didn't want him to think I was just being rude by not talking with him. He asked me: "Dove sei" (where are you from)? I told him I was American. His already big smile instantly grew bigger and he switched to speaking perfect English, only after apologizing for his bad English which really was very good.
His first words in English were: "You're an American and your surfing in Venice? That's so cool!". He said this as he high-fived me! Seriously, he enthusiastically high-fived me for being an American! He then went on to tell me about his friend in California who laughs at him every time he tells him that he surfs in Venice. About how nobody believes you can even surf in the Adriatic Sea. We talked the whole way out on the jetty. I was pretty excited because I could finally talk to another surfer and ask questions about the break, the right conditions to surf, where to jump off the rocks (which I did for the first time yesterday).
When we got to the beach my new Italian surfer friend yelled over to another guy putting on his leash: "Questo regazzo e dagli Stati Uniti!" (this guy's from the US)! His buddy responds: "Che figo" (cool)! For the next three hours I surfed really nice 3-4 foot glassy waves in a moderately crowded lineup without a single hassle for waves (very much unlike a session at Manasquan Inlet). Thanks to this one guy, I think everyone at Punta Sabbioni now knows me as the American who surfs in Venice. I think I'm a local now.
No comments:
Post a Comment