A Moncton man believes he has surfed his way into the record books after surfing the tidal bore on the Petitcodiac River for the fortieth time.
“Today was the perfect day. It’s cold but we have a very, very good wave today. Today was the day to do it,” said Melvin Perez on Thursday.
“This summer, everybody started to surf the wave, so I can say I’m the only one with 40.”
Perez was one of four local surfers who braved the frigid water temperatures of near zero and entered the Petitcodiac River on Thursday to take advantage of a higher-than-normal tidal bore.
Perez didn’t last long on the wave but his friend caught the longest ride of the day.
An impressive feat to some, but other onlookers felt the surfers were foolhardy in their attempt.
“It’s unbelievable they’re out there this time of year,” said onlooker Paul Scullion.
“It is pretty awesome, I have a hard time believing that they’re doing it on this date,” said Terry Hebert.
Perez said the word is starting to get out among the international surfing community about the unique challenges of riding the tidal bore in Moncton.
“You can surf an ocean wave for maybe 10 seconds, 15 seconds and then you miss it and you go back and catch another one. Here, this one, you can surf for minutes, but the thing is, if you missed it, you have to wait for the next day.”
He hopes to build on his record in the spring, when water temperatures warm up a little.
