IN PICTURES: Surfing the 'Beast from the East' in ice-cold Swedish waters
While most people have been seeking shelter from the 'Beast from the East', a group of happy surfers instead grabbed their boards and hit the icy-cold waves whipped up by the storm near Stockholm.
On Tuesday, as the Siberian monster storm swept in over Sweden for a second consecutive day, a group of about 20 surfers defied the freezing cold weather to take advantage of the massive waves created by the storm by the popular surf spot Torö Stenstrand, near Nynäshamn, just south of Stockholm.
Joel Den-Besten braves the cold to ride the icy-cold waves at Torö Stenstrand. Photo: Göran Röjhagen/DeltaPhoto.se
"It was one of the best surfing days that I've ever experienced. The waves were great, the surfers who were out there were great, and the cold and the challenge of actually getting to the place all added up to it being such a great day," 33-year-old Joao Caldas told The Local after SVT first wrote about it.
"It was a really great atmosphere."
Joao Caldas from Brazil says winter storms create the best surfing conditions in Sweden. Photo: Private
While the air temperature reached around -12C, the water hit a freezing -0.4C, he said.
"Although it wasn't the coldest day that I've been out surfing, it was the first time that I've surfed in water whose temperature has dropped below freezing," he said, adding that as a rule, winter is by far the best season for surfing in Sweden.
"The winds are stronger and the storms whip up better waves."
Photo: Göran Röjhagen/DeltaPhoto.se
Caldas, who is originally from Brazil, said he stayed in the water for about two hours. "Any longer than that and it gets hard to get changed afterwards because of the ice that has formed on the wetsuit."
But it does get cold, he admitted. "You definitely feel it. After about one hour in the water I was thinking to myself how crazy this was, but then, as soon as I get home I'm really happy about it all and I start looking up the forecast to plan for the next surf."
Caldas with his friend and fellow surfer Juan Chiaradla from Argentina. Photo: Private
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On Tuesday, as the Siberian monster storm swept in over Sweden for a second consecutive day, a group of about 20 surfers defied the freezing cold weather to take advantage of the massive waves created by the storm by the popular surf spot Torö Stenstrand, near Nynäshamn, just south of Stockholm.
Joel Den-Besten braves the cold to ride the icy-cold waves at Torö Stenstrand. Photo: Göran Röjhagen/DeltaPhoto.se
"It was one of the best surfing days that I've ever experienced. The waves were great, the surfers who were out there were great, and the cold and the challenge of actually getting to the place all added up to it being such a great day," 33-year-old Joao Caldas told The Local after SVT first wrote about it.
"It was a really great atmosphere."
Joao Caldas from Brazil says winter storms create the best surfing conditions in Sweden. Photo: Private
While the air temperature reached around -12C, the water hit a freezing -0.4C, he said.
"Although it wasn't the coldest day that I've been out surfing, it was the first time that I've surfed in water whose temperature has dropped below freezing," he said, adding that as a rule, winter is by far the best season for surfing in Sweden.
"The winds are stronger and the storms whip up better waves."
Photo: Göran Röjhagen/DeltaPhoto.se
Caldas, who is originally from Brazil, said he stayed in the water for about two hours. "Any longer than that and it gets hard to get changed afterwards because of the ice that has formed on the wetsuit."
But it does get cold, he admitted. "You definitely feel it. After about one hour in the water I was thinking to myself how crazy this was, but then, as soon as I get home I'm really happy about it all and I start looking up the forecast to plan for the next surf."
Caldas with his friend and fellow surfer Juan Chiaradla from Argentina. Photo: Private
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