Surfing Siberia

Aloha Tribe,

Someone asked me recently about where I'd love to surf, and, that got me to thinking about Siberia. You know, there actually is surfing there,, at least, there should be,  in fact, Siberia has a lot of coastline. And, interestingly enough, today, there are 16 foot swells in the Bering Sea. Pretty radical, actually. I've read that the Bering Sea is the most dangerous sea in the world because of the shallow water (only 200 foot or so), the freezing temperatures, and the way everything blows about. Sounds like exciting surfing to me. Going there really calls to my Siberian/Mongolian heritage, blood, and roots.

Hmm, it makes one wonder if you could lay down paddle a surfboard from Siberia to Alaska or Alaska to Siberia. Not legally, of course, it would have to be a rather secret sort of adventure. Stealth surifng, at its best, yes. Naturally, smaller boats would be foolish to attempt a crossing when the seas were up. But a surfboard, hmm. Who could possibly spot a lone surfer on a cute longboard? Radar and sonar certainly wouldn't pick that up.

So, it's about 90 km or roughly 55 miles across the Bering Straight. Now then, to compare that with something, let's see, between Oahu and Kauai in Hawaii is roughly 50 miles and people have traveled that by various means. Laird Hamilton, for example, windsurfed it. So, if that distance could be done, then, the Bering Straight could be crossed. In theory. I'd so love to be the girl to do it.


Now then, how to do it. Surf my way up to Alaska from Washington and through Canada. Get  to the Bering Strait, then, hop on a surfboard and paddle. Preferably timing it right so you'd land in Siberia at night, so hopefully you'd not be detected. Then, take a few quick photos, surf a bit of the Siberian coast, and, paddle back, ideally, without getting caught. Now that would be a surfing adventure worth trying. :)

Of course, paddling between Oahu and Kauai does sound a bit more pleasant. Let's see, camouflage print string bikinis (my favorite), sunshine, and mai tais vs. artic survival wetsuits, stormy frigid weather and seas, and, vodka.  Well, okay, Vodka is good. And, naturally, Russian styled chess is the best. Vodka and chess to while away the long cold nights, not a bad idea.

You know, if this adventure ever gets done, remember you read it here first. It'd certainly make the papers and magazines. Some silly American girl paddles and surfs across the Bering Straight and back again, news at 11.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley