Jon Coen

3 weeks ago | thesandpaper.net | Jon Coen

Well, it appears we made it out of March with only a few baby lions and a nice day with a pet lamb. And now it’s April, a month generally known for third winter and guarded optimism. And then there was Saturday, oh wonderful Saturday, a gorgeous March beach day. At least until afternoon. Nothing is more March than a chill afternoon west of the bridge and a chilly afternoon east of it. It started out a fine day, the finest of the year, I would say, and a nice end to an otherwise shivery week.

3 weeks ago | americansurfmagazine.com | Jon Coen

Sea smoke is the phenomenon when the air gets so much colder than a body of water that the water steams with the temperature difference. It happens most frequently in December or January on the East Coast when the ocean maintains an ambient temperature and the air temp drops radically. Kelly thrives on these trips, or as much as anyone can possibly enjoy water that cold.

1 month ago | surfer.com | Jon Coen

Here’s a little secret about surf journalists:We all wish we surfed better. It’s cool if you are good at writing about surfing. But it’s cooler if you’re really good at surfing. The reality is that decent writers flap their arms a lot and don’t land many airs while most great surfers aren’t able to write more than an Instagram post. And that’s why Jason Borte is a hero to most surf scribes.

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Jon Coen

Here’s a little secret about surf journalists:We all wish we surfed better. It’s cool if you are good at writing about surfing. But it’s cooler if you’re really good at surfing. The reality is that decent writers flap their arms a lot and don’t land many airs while most great surfers aren’t able to write more than an Instagram post. And that’s why Jason Borte is a hero to most surf scribes.

1 month ago | thesandpaper.net | Jon Coen

It feels like it’s been a very long time since there was good swell to report. Writing a surf column without surf is about as fun as playing pickleball alone (see … I know my audience). I lost track of how many locals booked trips to somewhere where the surf was better and probably warmer. After a while you have to just pull the trigger and get out. Truth be told, the entire Atlantic was in a deep sleep for a while there.