Offshore winds sweep across a subantarctic beach.

Low visibility at a remote point break.

A wind swell arrives on a Baltic coastline.

A walkway through the ice.

A drawing depicting a coldwater shark.

Various shelf and reef setups in the subantarctic. The mass of gray in the bottom left corner is a giant penguin colony.

Two people run to escape a stormy afternoon.

Two surfers discover an ice-cold rivermouth sandbar.

Crags, fogs, and cliffs.

More offshore winds in the subantarctic.

A clip from Taylor Steele’s “Castles In The Sky”. Dane Reynolds, Dan Malloy, and Timmy Curran discover a nordic point break near the Arctic Circle.

A bathymetric rendering of the Arctic Ocean floor, the principle region where arctic surf happens.

The cold regions of the planet are characterized by sharp-edged rocks and jagged ice.

This corner wave is hard to get to, and it rarely breaks.

Walrusses vie for space along the beach in order to get sun rays.

Ragged lines of whitewash arrive from a nearby storm along the coast of a barren arctic island.

Simon Schuetz has studied almost every book and website on surf spots. He has spent countless hours compiling data on wave frequency, quality, tide, and shape to create a world surf map. While evaluating each location and deciding which spots to include, he found that some coastlines have almost no surfing information. In this interview, Simon talks about the blank areas of the map.

Are there any regions with little information about waves, that might have potential for future discoveries?

When you take a look at the surtripmap you will notice some gaps like in Namibia or Angola. India and the Middle East also have very little discovered spots. And especially remote, cold regions have so much potential. Iceland, Russia, Japan, Norway, Canada, Patagonia… I could keep this list going.

There are many reasons why some of these coastlines are relatively unexplored. It is just extremely hard to get to remote spots in Russia or Iceland. And not only do you have to go there, but you also have to get lucky as many of these spots are extremely fickle and forecasts aren’t that reliable. The weather can change quickly. Also ‘artificial’ restrictions like military zones or dangerous countries like Yemen are a reason for unexplored coastlines. There are plenty of world-class waves out there waiting to be surfed for the very first time.

What’s your interest in discovering waves in the arctic, antarctic, and sub-antarctic?

I really enjoy driving along the coast looking for empty waves because of the adventure that comes with it. Also in my mind there is nothing more amazing than raw nature. Planet earth has so much to offer. I am sure every surfer can relate to that. Combine the two things, and you have the adventure of discovering great surf spots and the raw nature in those regions.

What’s ahead in mapping waves around the world? Are there any other map ideas that you have been thinking about?

All the research that went not only into the surf spots but also into all the illustrations really showed how many amazing places there are on our planet and that we are far from having it all captured. It is impossible to show every region with the detail it deserves on a worldmap, so the idea of the surftripmap really is to remind people to keep searching.

Check out the website, surftripmap.com for more info, or follow http://www.facebook.com/surftripmap.

A sheltered cove on the other side of the world.

Remote beach >.

Island landing strip in the French Antarctic.

Parting of the Red Sea creates biblical barrels.

Fridtjof Nansen, explorer of the Arctic. 1861-1930.

Coldwater surfing by Pete Devries. Video: Koreski/Chilton, full video.

Left-peeling wave wraps into mountainous cove in the Aleutians, as seen from a NASA satellite.

Let’s take a look at a few coldwater hotspots, regions widely known for their high excellence in wave quality and incredibly cold water temperature. With well-known surf competitions such as the O’Neill Coldwater Classic and increasing coverage in print and online surf publications, surfing in these locations is now becoming a subject of everyone’s daily conversation and thought.

Thurso East is an excellent right-breaking reef located on the northern coast of Scotland. Scotland’s coastline is littered with slabby slabs and abrupt ledges created by stratified rock consisting of laminated sandstone. Whether rain, storm, or sun, these North Atlantic reefs consistently create mechanical waves.

Eastern Canada is located along one of the coldest seas on the planet. The region’s surf spots have been featured in contests such as the Red Bull Ice Break in Nova Scotia. Surfers wear boots, gloves, hood, and reportedly coat their faces in Vaseline to protect from frost burn. Swell tends to be fickle, but when it’s coming in, it will probably be worth considering the possibility of paddling out.

Norway’s Lofoten islands are located within the Arctic Circle. But temperatures are not as cold as you might expect. The region is home to a positive temperature anomaly created by the North Atlantic Current. In a few areas of the archipelago, temperatures remain above freezing year round. Norway has been experiencing publicity in surf films such as ‘Arctic Surf’. Further coastlines have been explored along the Berents Sea and the border of Russia.

Like eastern Canada, New England is very very cold. It’s here that coastal geology transitions from wide sandy beaches and dunes to rocky formations and cobblestone reefs. Coastal access is difficult, however. It’s one of the coldest place to surf in the United States.

Iceland is exciting territory for coldwater breaks. Well-kept roads make coastal access manageable during the warmer seasons. Its active volcano landscape creates countless geological formations perfect for the formation of excellent waves. Recently a coldwater surf camp opened for surf travelers keen to venture into new territory, and the region was features in Taylor Steele’s Castles In The Sky film.

The following images belong to a catalogue of drawings from the Scott Polar Research Institute, founded in Cambridge, England in 1920. Along with numerous other institutes, it investigates scientific data concerning the polar regions and holds a collection of items and materials of polar interest for future research. The inscription on the front of the original research institute building reads:

“He sought the secret of the pole but found the hidden face of God”

—Sir Herbert A.L. Fisher