Spring Break
Surf Club revels in URI's No. 7 spot on Surfline.com's best surfing conditions list
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 3/26/09 Section: News
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The University of Rhode Island was recently ranked in the top 10 colleges to have the best surfing conditions by Surfline.com. According to the Web site, it is "the surfer's choice for global surf and surfing features, information and weather resources."
Rachel McCarty, president of the URI surf club, was excited about making the top 10 but disappointed the university was only ranked seventh.
"I think we should actually be above [University of North Carolina-Wilmington]," McCarty said. "We've actually been down there for a contest and yeah, it's water down there but the waves aren't as good."
McCarty, a junior at URI majoring in journalism, said she believes Rhode Island's surf breaks are the reason why surfing conditions are favorable.
"We have the most variety on the East Coast," she said. "We have beach breaks like Narragansett Town Beach and point breaks such as at Point Judith Lighthouse and the rock reefs in Matunuck."
Professional surfer Peter Panagiotis, better known as Peter Pan, and the Rhode Island district director of the Eastern Surfing Association, helped establish the URI Surf Club in 1968. The club now has about 50 members.
"We usually have more in the fall semester when the freshmen come because they hear about us at First Night and they want to surf," McCarty said. "It kind of dwindles as the water gets cold."
"I actually came to [URI] for the Surf Club," sophomore Ben Sienko said. The Rhode Islander has worked as a lifeguard during the summer and said he loves to surf.
Although Sienko, a communications major, knew a few of the students involved in the club when he first joined, he met other students from different states.
