Sailing for waves! RICHARD CONING INTERVIEW

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Name:   Richard Coning

Age: 20

Weight: 165lb

Stance:  regular

Home Town: lewes, de

Home Break:  herring point

Board:  Right now I like a 6’2” Sharp Eye that I got this past winter.

Local surfers Richard Coning, Alden Nelson and Dane Wooleyhan decided to take a sailing trip to the Caribbean last November in search of some waves and a place to spend the winter.   Caribbean waters are soaked with legends of pirates, treasures and adventure.  To sail from Delaware to the Virgin Islands  can be a tremendously rewarding experience, something to remember for a lifetime.    Richard and I got to hang out and talk about their trip.

You surf, skim and skate, when did it all start?

I started surfing when I was in 6th grade I got a surfboard for my birthday and have been surfing ever since, I started out at Herring Point.   Started skimboarding a little bit earlier, I did the Alley Oop skim camps,  had a lot of fun there.  I skated as a kid and stopped for a little bit, now I do it for fun or transportation, I like to longboard.

How did you get into sailing?

My friend Alden (Nelson)  parents used to sail when they were younger, they sailed to the Caribbean. A couple of years ago they bought a sail boat and Alden got into it and then I started to get into it.  It seemed like a good way to travel to surf.

How long have you been sailing?  Was this your first big trip?

We have been sailing for two or three years, yeah it was our first.  We wanted to go to the Caribbean and surf, I had been there the year before, so I surfed a bit then.  Alden had just graduated collage and decided to come down this time and his parents let us take the boat.

Did you find any good waves?

Yeah, we found a couple, it was a really good experience.   You can always go surf it was more of getting there, without a car is difficult.    Sometimes it was really windy, but we picked up windsurfing, we ended up working at a windsurf shop so we got to go windsurfing when there weren’t waves.

Where were you guys?

We were mainly in the Virgin Islands, we lived on a boat in St. John, and surfed in Tortola.  That’s where all the waves are.

Where you ever scared or worried when sailing?

There were a couple of times we got woken up in the middle of the night, it was really windy and the boat had too much sails up, everyone would have to  wake up and click our harnesses to the boat and take down some sails.

How far off the coast did you guys go?

Our course was to go from here towards Bermuda, which is about 400 to 500 miles off of the North Carolina coast and then we went down from Bermuda  to the Virgin Islands.

How long did it take you guys to sail from DE to the Virgin Islands

It took about two weeks.

Did you fish for your food?  

We caught two fish on the way, two Mahi Mahis. Luckily our friend Dane is a commercial fisherman, he did all the cutting.  The boat has a stove and oven, its pretty cool, it rocks back and forth as the boat moves while is cooking.

what were the essentials you brought on the boat?

We each brought 3 surfboards, ton of food,  fresh food, can food, rice, pasta, gallons of water and the boat held about 90 gallons of water.

Will you do it again, may be different location?

Yeah we been thinking about looking online and may be buying a boat and doing the whole Caribbean.

Best experience of the trip? 

The coolest thing was realizing that we were able to do it.  None of us had really known what was going to happen.  It was cool to see that when we were in the middle of the ocean we knew enough to be able to do it.  We were capable.

Worst experience?   

The boat lost a couple of pieces along  the way, We had to jump in the water and inspect the boat.   Part of the rudder broke which is crazy.  I think rough weather did it, we went through a couple of tropical storms and a North Easter

What did you guys do when you weren't sailing? 

 We surfed three to four times a week, went on hikes, made friends with a few of the locals, hung out and  got jobs renting windsurfs and kayaks.

When did you guys get back?

Dane left after a month.  Alden and I got back a few weeks ago, he had to fly back for a meeting, I met a guy and sailed back with him to Bermuda and then to Boston.  The way back was rough again but fun.

So you are a sailor!

(laughs) yeah I’m glad I picked it up, I  definitely feel a lot more comfortable after doing this trip.  

Now that you are back what are your plans for the summer?

Think I’m gonna lifeguard this summer and try to pick up a restaurant job at night, and focus on my filming. 

Future plans?

I want to travel and keep filming surfing, pretty much anything water oriented or skateboarding.

Thanks for the interview Richard!  Contact Richard through his facebook page if you are interested in having surf, skim and skate videos made this summer.    

Richard Coning