The eastern coastline of Canada is mysterious and magnificent. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were Vikings, one of the most renown of which was Leif Ericson. I can’t remember if this slab is in Newfoundland or on Cape Breton. But when I first discovered this place! The region is wave rich, and it’s the next destination beyond Nova Scotia.

A nordic depiction of this spot in the northern coastal region of Canada:

(A true story) About 5 months ago the Courian Brothers made it to Atlas Point. Atlas Point is a bend in the coastline receiving frequent quality waves. It gets the dominant swell direction all year, it breaks for a long distance, and that is why it’s so good. The three Courians and their local friend Paul keep their mouses on weather sites during damp winters, scrutinizing weather charts and looking after their favorite surf setups.

Searching the coast with Paul’s  regional knowledge has let to some outstanding surf days. On this particular one all of the weather factors pointed to nice conditions at Atlas. Some of these weather factors include tide, wind, swell, period, and direction. It can be a tricky decision to surf Atlas Point since it is mostly like an expedition to get there, including a dicey hike in. And being so far in the cold, days are short.

Thanks Courians and Paul, for the photos and for this expedition. Inaccessibility and frosty weather make exploration in this corner of the world slow and uncertain. However, Atlas Point is one of the finest setups along the coast, and the they would agree that there remain many more inaccessible breaks waiting to be found.

Welcome to the new and improved Arctic Surf Blog! Maybe it doesn’t seem any different to you, or maybe you’ve noticed some changes to the sidebar. In the last week all articles have been organized into a ‘Table Of Contents’, sorted by region. Now you can quickly and effortlessly read about any locations you are interested in or forgot about. The ‘Files’ section contains paperwork and documents about this organization, as well as disclaimers, permits, etc. ‘The Archive’ makes it easy to search articles by date, helpful if you are evaluating posting trends by month.

Format. Due to the national economic condition, the format of the blog has shrunk down from previously being 1000px wide. This should make your reading overall more convenient and enjoyable. On top of this, the format for each web-log will slightly change focus. Instead of having single-photo posts with a short sentence almost daily, be watching for more periodic posts that provide more detail concerning the exact subject and nature of the research. Hopefully this will make the data that much more valuable to you. Thank you for supporting and partnering with Arctic Surf Blog’s armchair surf-exploration of the colder parts of the globe.

Found journal entry from 1899:

The access point to this wave (breaking on top of a shallow slab of rocks) is right down there where the stairs meet the water. The red crane is also useful for moving heavier vessels in and out of the sea.

Photo: Brinklau

Photo: Rielly

This man below is not threading a pipeline wave, but threading a miniature bagpipe.

Bagpipes come in many shapes and sizes:

To Arctic Surf Blog readers it comes as no surprise that surfing in the coldest regions of the world is fast becoming the most intriguing topic when it comes to surf exploration, even if it is the last episode left in the history of surf travel mystique. But as more and more heinously cold and hostile coastlines get gobbled up by the media spotlight, it is easy to forget the flip-side of the gold coin of surf discovery: the most oppressively hot places to surf.

Surfing on a sweltering hot summer day is nowhere near the journalistic microscope of this blog, you might object. And you would be correct — that is if we didn’t connect both sides of the coin. Once again we leave you with unanswered question: Is the coldest surf spot on earth cold enough to freeze over the warmest surf spot on earth if they were placed next to each other?

Papua New Guinea, hottest surf region on earth?

This last friday saw some fantastic waves breaking off the point.