Here we publish the good and the bad, the compliments and the complaints, because we like to hear your opinion! Read on to see what people are saying about the Surf Station, St. Augustine, and even the World!

Have a letter??? We’d like to read it!!!

Send us an email @ support@surf-station.com

 

5/16/12

To Whom It May Concern:

A week ago I spent part of my afternoon surfing the web, trying to
find a bumper sticker. My car had recently been broken into and the
back window was broken out. I had a “Girl Next Door” sticker on it
and of course it was ruined. I was so upset. Not at the few things that
were taken out of my car, but the bumper sticker was gone. The trip
that I bought the sticker during was very memorable and special to
me.
Anyway. . .I stumbled upon your shop and was able to go online live
with someone in your store. They were very helpful, found the sticker
I had been searching for and went to the extent of sending it to me
the next day. I do not know who it was that helped me, but I wanted
to let them know that they made my day.
Thank you to whomever you are and I hope the kindness is returned
to you soon. I will forever come to your shop when passing through
and send all my friends your way, knowing they will be taken care of
whatever they are looking for.

Thanks a million,
Leigh Kelley
Cleveland, OH

—

10/11/11

Received the sleeves (wetsuit jacket) yesterday and they are awesome, just what I wanted. Thanks for the prompt service and letting me know that you could switch the Blk/Yel out for the Blk/Grey. I’m not into color for a wetsuit anyway, as I’d rather soak up every ounce of warmth from the sun’s rays. Thanks again and really appreciate knowing that I’ll always get great products, service, and prices from the Surf Station’s online store.

Sincerely,

Ralph Parada Jr.

9/19/11

“Your entire staff is always super helpful and I wanted to pass that along to you!  I just bought a new wetsuit and booties and the guys and girls were very good about offering advice and knowledge.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a leash, a board, a wetsuit, or a special order (which they don’t hesitate to do)…always helpful. The wetsuit is just an example but every time we are there they are all very willing to help…more so than any other shop – surf shop or any type of shop.“

9/9/11

I’m not sure if this is the right way to contact you about shark sightings for your surf report, but I figured I would give it a go anyways. I was out yesterday afternoon in Vilano (by the Surfside Beach Park) around 3:30 and there was a big 6 foot bull shark chasing the mullet just outside the impact zone. I know it was a bull shark because the thing actually jumped totally out of the water after a school of mullet, and the big fat gray body of a bull shark is hard to miss. I was also bumped by a shark about an hour later (about a mile north thanks to the drift) but the water was too murky to see the size or type of shark.

Brandon Morrow

Brandon, lots of sharks spotted lately. Just got a report of a girl who got nipped by one on 11th street. Our friend Steve helped her in and saw many spinner sharks chasing bait.We just got another e-mail in that said “Shark chasing a school of fish In very shallow waters off Ocean Trace Road late Thurs afternoon.  Within 10 ft of me while boogie boarding with my wife.” I also saw something massive leap out of the water in hot pursuit of dinner last evening while filming. Hope everyone stays safe.

- Rachel

7/17/11

Tory, I LOVE the Surf Station. I will never spend my money in any other shop. The reason is excellent Customer Service. I have been in and out of your shop hundreds of times and I have always been treated with the utmost courtesy and respect. You have trained your staff extremely well. I hope you will take this message and pass it along to each and every person you employ with my very best regards.

Originally Posted by Tory S
Hey thank you for the kinds words on the SS Messageboard! Very nice of you. Very much appreciated and I really appreciate the business. yes, we really do work hard on customer service!

 

6/22/11

Hi Surf station

My name is Mark Colquhoun and I work for Solid Rock cycles in Scotland.  Like yourself we use lightspeed as our pos and web store.   After looking at your web site I just had to drop you a line and say how impressed I, it is clean and fresh and very easy to navigate.  I particularly like the rotating banner at the top of your home page.  You have managed to transform it into a very unique sales tool.  Many congrats!

Kind regards
Mark Colquhoun
Solidrockcycles.com

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for the kind words and taking the time to write in!
Our designer Brian Brown has been heading up the website changes and is responsible for much of the overall look and feel of the site and I am sure he will be stoked to hear of your letter in!
Thanks again!

-Tory
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5/10/11

Tory,

I just want to thank you for encouraging us to advertise on the Surf Station Website.  Our exposure hits have gone up dramatically which is key for getting found in search engines especially for a new site like our POPOYO BEACH LODGE site!  We have had excellent response from the local North Florida area but also from all over Florida and as far away as Virginia Beach.  We try to put our money back into the local area where we live (St Augustine) and it feels good to do that!  Thanks again to all the people at The Surf Station that have made this possible.

Surfing Keeps Insanity Away!

Two Brothers Surf Resort & Popoyo Beach Lodge, Nicaragua
Best Regards,Robert Gregory
Robert and Susan Gregory

TWO BROTHERS SURF RESORT

011-505-88-77-7501  (Local Nicaragua Phone)

904-687-1633 (US Vonage Phone – rings in Nicaragua)

904-808-0524 (USA/Florida)

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April 5, 2011

Tory and Crew,
I really like the sequence shots on the surf pic section of the surf report. It speaks volumes.
Mike B

Good! Glad you like them!!!

So many more to come! Wait till we get waves!!!

-T

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February 4, 2011

Re: Dead Right Whale on Crescent Beach

Hi Tory,

Thanks to the person who sent in the letter re: the right whale on Crescent Beach and thanks to you for publishing it on the site. While I agree about the need to visit the topic of proper disposal of the animal’s remains and the risk to swimmers & surfers when it’s irresponsibly dumped near the beach — I’m a little more concerned that this animal died a slow, torturous death as a result of human actions (wrapped in more than 200ft of fishing line…).

My question is: Rather than focusing on how it’s remains endanger us in the water, should we be more interested in what laws there are to prevent fishing during right whale migrations or, at a minimum, what other measures can be taken to prevent another animal from suffering like this? Especially if this is the most endangered large whale in the world.

NO ONE should be at risk of a shark attack, not even a right whale that’s been starving for two months due to fishing line embedded in it’s mouth.

Jill

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February 3, 2011

Dead Right Whale on Crescent Beach

Tory,

I’m sure you’ve heard about the right whale they found yesterday. I just wanted to warn some of your readers and customers about the potential dangers associated with this.

I read about it on the first coast news website. I am not completely sure, but it did mention in one of the blog comments at the bottom of the article, that the people doing the clean up dissected the carcass on the beach and shipped the skeleton up to some lab in Georgia. And it eluded to the fact that they buried the rest of the body on Crescent Beach! This will probably become a very hot spot for sharks in the near future.

I used to live in California between 1994 and 2000. A grey whale washed up near Old Man’s at San Onofre, and they did they same thing with the carcass. Soon after they started having Great White sightings in the Trail One area of the San Onofre Campground. I read an article that some surfers were scared out of the water when a shark came really close to them. I don’t believe that anyone was ever attacked, but they are still there. There was a video last year of a guy on his paddle board putting a stick under the water and videoing some baby great whites at San O! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPOBeXD91fI

The article said that the mother is raising the two juvenile sharks in the area near the nuclear plant at San O. But they believe that the scent of the dead whale brought them to that area.

So I am just concerned that the same thing could happen here at Crescent Beach. Probably not Great Whites but there are plenty of other types of sharks in our waters. So beware!

I just wish they would have disposed of the body somewhere else.

Later

Bean

December 13, 2010

hello,
i have a question for dean in regard to forecasting.

this past saturday morning, most forecast services were predicting NW winds for saturday.
i had checked the national weather service marine forecast, magic seaweed, swell info and maybe surfline as well. they all predicted
NW winds. and mind you this was saturday mornings’ forecast for saturday, that same day.
then i checked the saint augustine bouy, and saw that it had been recording westerly winds for several hours already.
but the wind gauge at the pier was northerly all morning. “oh it’ll change” i thought. it will swing around and get in line
with all the forecasters by the time we get to the beach.

dean’s forecast was the only hold out. dean had been predicting N/NE winds for saturday, and had been for the past 2 days.
i figured he was outnumbered this time, and also that maybe he just hadn’t updated his forecast to include the new N/W wind info
which all the other services had come up with.

so, we load up and drive to the beach around 1pm and the surf is totally choppy with a north wind on it. ….WHAT!!!??
HOW DID DEAN DO THAT?  was he lucky? does he have access to  weather data that other forecast services do not?
i assume he uses the national weather service marine forecast  when forming his forecast. or does he?
i have found the NWS to be quite accurate for local winds, 24 hours in advance.

but here is my question….we drove 70 miles from gainesville to st. augustine, and the wind was NW the entire way, even in gainesville.
and the st. augustine buoy, off shore is also showing westerly winds. so how could the shoreline in between the two have a north wind instead?

thanks for your time and for providing an  excellent  surf forecast.

anthony

note: i hope you will print this on your letters or message board, it may be helpful to others.


Anthony-
The system responsible for the variation in wind direction that Saturday was a weak area of low pressure, called a coastal trough, that often develops just offshore of Florida’s east coast in late fall and early winter. Unlike surface lows that occassionally cross the Florida peninsula and exit into the Atlantic with a closed circulations, coastal troughs are elongated areas of low pressure that orient parallel to Florida’s east coast with wind direction nearly always a few degrees either side of due north (either side-on or side-off shore).  And also unlike closed surface lows that usually depart to the east or northeast out into the Atlantic fairly quickly, coastal troughs can linger over the near shore waters off Florida’s east coast for days, producing moderate NNE-N-NNW winds, low clouds and/or fog, and moist conditions accompanied by drizzle or occassional light rain along the coast.  Due to the elongated orientation of the pressure gradient, the northerly winds can occur in a relatively narrow area along the immediate shorline and in the nearshore waters just offshore from the coast. Go inland 10-20 miles and the sun can be out with winds more NW. Go out to sea 40-50 miles or more and wind can be coming from a completely opposite direction, usually SE.
-Dean

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December 8, 2010

Hello from New Mexico!

Wanted to know where the video of the guys surfing the river flowing into the ocean was filmed..I used to live in SA..

Thank you,

Phill Remick

Phill,

That is in Hawaii, at the Waimea Rivermouth. When it finally breaks free it creates a standing for a short period of time. It is pretty rare to be around when it happens so it was cool one of our own team riders Zander Morton and local legend turned Surfing Magazine Assistant Photo Editor Jimmy Wilson were around to see it, and capture it on it video! Glad you enjoyed the video and thank you for the email.

Ryan Riopko
Shipping Manager

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November 27, 2010

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thiscloudboy/

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed the Innersection premier and it was well worth driving over from Gainesville for! The film itself is simply rad—not just the concept, or the surfing, or the videography, but how it all came together. Just perfect.

I took some photos of the premier and posted three of em on my Flickr site. You guys are welcome to use them if you want and if you need any photos of the event. They’re at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thiscloudboy/

thanks,

Mike Walker

Mike,

Thank you so much! I will forward the link over to the guys at Innersection as well, they will be so amped to hear you had a great time and enjoyed their movie. Thank you for making the drive and coming over to see it with us, we appreciate your support. Take care and keep in touch!

Ryan
The Surf Station

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November 3, 2010

I am on Kauai and I read your blog on the surf station site. Good words friend. Check out reversalmag.com for some more encouragement. It’s a magazine created by former surf station surfer ryan mcloughlin and Florida surfer Bobby schutz

October 23, 2010

Sure do enjoy this web site. We visited S. A.  for  the past 20 years, staying at Bryn Mawr, Peppertree and The Ocean & Racquette Club, just down the beach from the pier, and  so the area pictures are familiar. ( By the way, where are your pictures taken from ?? ) Also had a few meals at the Oasis, of course. I wet my line a few times off the pier, but didn’t cut into the fish poplulation very much, except one time when the blues were running. We were all going nuts !!!

Love the pictures you put up and  change my wallpaper, whenever one appeals to me. We will not be coming down again, as the 16 hour drive, is getting testy for my 82 year old knees and brain.  I will continue to check out this site almost daily, especially this winter. I love the ocean and this is a great way to  “keep in touch.”

I have videos of the ocean so I can close my eyes, listen to the surf and use my imagination. I even have some sand from the beach, so I can throw some in my shorts and really get into it !!!!

Keep up the good work.

Bob Ericson   – Pittsburgh

Hey Bob,

Thanks for writing in. Knowing folks are enjoying the site is what
drives us. The photos are often taken around the 3rd street area…but
Tory and the other reporters will often shoot anywhere from A Street
to North of the Pier (FAs). We love sharing our beautiful environment
and town with visitors and locals alike, especially when they aren’t
able to be here for themselves. We are so glad you’ve gotten to come
down in the past and sorry to hear that it’s becoming a tough journey
to make. We are so stoked to help keep those memories going for you
though. Take care,

Rachel

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October 28th:

Tory and Surf Station crew,
Many thanks to Chris and Zack for cranking out a great new ad for Two Brothers and getting it up on the Surf Station site so quickly.  It’s amazing to have a homegrown local surf shop with such far reaching regional AND global exposure.  This little island off of the Bridge of Lions has always been a great place to live and come home to after living a simple life in Nicaragua 5 months of the year.  It’s always great to support all of the local businesses and homegrown endeavors on the Island and many thanks to Surf Station for supporting our Anastasia Island groms in Nicaragua!  For everybody working hard to make a living here we’d like to offer a 20% discount to anyone looking for a quick November swell fix … Water is still (and almost always!) warm in Nicaragua, airfare is cheap in November, and it is quite possibly the prettiest time of year to visit – super green, light offshore winds and the waves generally that time of year are chest high to double overhead and uncrowded. Its like the secret time of year in Nicaragua!  Thanks Tory for all of your support!

Thanks for the local support!
Susan and Robert Gregory
Two Brothers Surf Resort
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October 20th, 2010

I have wanted to email for years but just not getting around to it. My apologies…
Whoever gets up that early to take pictures and post them too has to be congratulated!

We have a condo in St. Augustine but are stuck with careers in NE Ohio. I start most everyday with the front page of the “Record” and then go to your “Surf Station Report” for the day-break photos. The photographer(s), whoever they may be, are getting quite accomplished at digital photography and I always enjoy the different view and compositions of the photos. If I were a surfer, and I may be someday, the wave photo updates throughout the day would be invaluable too. My issue with the pictures over the last few weeks, however, is what has prompted this email. The use of filters or digital filter settins makes for stunning images but they are not natural and it is hard to tell if it REALLY IS a terrific morning on St. Augustine Beach or enhanced. Please save one photo, at least, per day for the natural beauty that abounds in the greatest beach in all of Florida.

Thanks for “listening” and keep up the good work. – Jim

Jim,

Thank you so much for your letter.   Yes it is me that does most the dawn patrol photos (I take one morning off per week on average).   The Mid Day photos are usually done by one of several different shop employees.  I do the evening photos most of the time to wrap up the day.

I just bought a new camera (the Canon 7D) after years of shooting with a cheap point and shoot camera and you can probably tell I am quite excited what this camera allows me to do!   I can capture so much more, and thus bring you better photos.  Even after over 20 years of doing surf reports I am still passionate about my job of covering the oceans movement, surfing, the beach and more.   Yesterday, when I did another round of “i-photoed ” pictures i wondered exactly what your letter stated.   “Am I overdoing it?” I thought to myself.   And I think , based on your letter, that yes, at times I likely am.

But let me explain..  See, I feel a good photograph is one the pulls emotion.  Like a painting that brings emotion but is abstract.. if it emits warm feelings, the goal is accomplished, right?  I have had much positive feedback since the extra effort has been put in to spice up each picture with custom cropping, sharpening, color boosting, and more.  So based on feedback I took the ball and ran with it.

But your timing is right, as at some point it becomes too much, and you get an “overdone” feel.  It becomes not realistic which is not the desired effect.  We are a good surf report first and foremost.   I like the idea of leaving more of the photos untouched.   In fact today 10.20.10 (LINK HERE)  I did 100% of the dawn patrol photos untouched.    What you see in the photos is exactly what I saw at the beach.   I will try and leave some (if not most) of the photos untouched in each of my sunrise shooting, from now on.

Thank you for your letter and feedback! It has had a positive effect.

-Tory Strange

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October 7th:

I wasn’t sure who to send this email to.

I wanted to let you know what a trooper you have working for you.  Rachel took on my 9 year old daughter and my 6 year old son for surf lessons yesterday. The wind was whipping and the conditions were less than ideal, however, they both had a blast and she was so patient. She even went back out to her truck to get a wetsuit top so that my son (who was complaining with a belly rash from the board) could continue the lesson. Above and beyond to say the least.

I have sent pics so you can see that they were both able to get up and were standing on the boards about 10 minutes into the lesson. So proud of them and it wouldn’t have been possible without the determination of Rachel to get them out there.  My daughter thinks Rachel is awesome and said that she was very helpful and told her that she might have to wait for the ideal wave.  She is now looking for the perfect one:)

Again,  thanks to Rachel for her patience and kindness.

Sincerely,

Tara Adams

Thank you Tara!   Really really good!    Yes Rachel is so special we love her around here!   Thank you for the positive e-mail and I will make sure she sees it!
Thank you again!

-Tory
(shop CEO)

Tara -

Thanks for taking the time to write in. Getting feedback like this just reminds me of how much I love to share surfing with others and how lucky I am to have that as a part of my job. Your kids did great and were total troopers themselves considering the conditions. I hope they stick with surfing and maybe when it warms up we’ll see them in camp.

take care,

Rachel

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October 6th:

Dear Surf Station,
I noticed on this most recent swell you reported the Wave height (WVHT) , which COMBINES the swell and windwaves.   Why do you report this data, instead of just the Swell Height?  Isn’t the Swell Height (SwH on the buoy) a more accurate depiction of the ground swell along the beach?
-Ross

Ross,
I would be interested to hear and learn more information about the buoy data.  I used to consistently report the groundswell (SwH) some time ago but went back to using the first data on the buoy(WVHT) after several frustrating days in years gone by of reporting no groundswell so reporting “0″ to the surfers, and yet there were really fun waves along the beach. (Yes this happens quite frequently) .  I could use the Windwave reading but those waves can be going the other way when we have offshore winds.   Of the two, some days one is more dominate, but you can always count on the WVHT to at least have a reading.   It may over shoot the actual surf along the beach, but that is what you have us surfer reporters for.   I could report both the ground swell and windwaves (WWH) and compare and contrast the two but it is already confusing enough for your average surfer.  Most can’t figure it out. (Trust me I have talked to many [even educated] surfers at the beach about buoy data)   It may be too much info if we are to try and keep the (call-in) surf report under 2 minutes.
WVHT seems to be the best overall choice if we are to report just one (of the 3) readings.
I am open to change if there is a better (simple) way.

-Tory