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Playspot: US, MA, Boston area, Cohasset tidal wave.

What it's like

The wave at Cohasset is a tidal rip which works on the incoming tide. Most of the time, it's a mix between a green and a breaking wave (starting with a small green wave, becoming bigger and whiter, and eventually washing out as a long stretched-out green wave again.) Occasionally, it will produce a hole, depending on tide-level. The wave starts forming two and a half hours before high-tide, and works for about two hours. Not being very retentive, this wave is not going to allow any vertical moves most of the time.

There is also a nice smaller pulsating breaking wave just behind the main wave, which can be caught coming off the first wave, or sometimes from the main eddy, when the water levels are right. This second wave works for a shorter time, may be from an hour after the main wave has started working. There is a huge eddy on the right (looking downstream), which allows easy access to the wave. Early on, there is also an eddy on the left (in the middle of the flow), which disappears after 45 min to 1 hour, as water levels rise. The strong eddy-lines make for some good squirting when the wait in the eddy is a bit long (which does not happen so often though).

How to get there

From Boston (a 40-60 min. drive depending on traffic) take I-93 South, follow Route 3 South, take exit 14 and turn left onto 228 North. You'll cross one set of lights, then after 10 min. or so, the 228 crosses the 3A at another set of lights. Drive straight across and bear left onto Main Street, which will get you into Cohasset after another 5 min. In Cohasset, take a left at a Church onto Summer Street, and follow this to its end. Take a right at the T-junction and follow this road along the harbor until you get to a bridge. The wave is 20m upstream of this bridge. Park on the road-side before the bridge (along the ship-yard) and walk across to put in on the other side of the bridge.

Locals

It can get a little busy on a warm summer or fall day with paddlers from around the Boston area, when the rivers are not running. When it starts getting colder, only a few regulars are still there. Generally, a very friendly crowd of squirt-boaters, playboaters and even old-school paddlers coming to practise their skills.

More info

You can get the tide timetable for the wave here.

Info Sources

Stephan Kissler