Photo: Mel Calhoun
At the start of summer, 11-year-old Carter Doorley celebrated a milestone: surfing for 1,500 days in a row. Yes, you read that correctly. 1,500 days out catching waves. No breaks. The Brigantine native even kept his streak going when the family – his mom, dad and 2 brothers – hit the road for vacations, hockey games or competitions. (And the streak is still going.)
Over the past 4 years, Doorley has picked up a fan base on Instagram – @cartercatcheswaves, an account run by his parents – with over 5,000 followers including several surfer celebs. We caught up with the young surfing superstar to chat about boards, country music and being inside a 6-foot wave.
Q: What made you decide to surf every day?
When I had surfed for 100 days, I knew I was going to keep going. But on day 1,000, I was surprised I made it that far – I never thought I would surf for that many days. But there was a very big difference from day 100 to day 1,000. My surfing improved so much, it’s crazy.
And there were so many people on the beach cheering me on when I hit 1,000. I never thought I would see that.
Q: Obvious question: Have you already surfed today?
I surfed at like 4:30 this afternoon. When I surf depends on the waves, conditions and the winds. I have learned a lot about currents and all kinds of stuff like that. Around September and October, my dad will map out days to show when the waves get big and it gets windy, and he’ll tell me the window I have to surf. I never thought I would learn anything like that.
Q: How did you learn how to surf?
My dad taught me how to surf when I was 3. He’s been a Brigantine Beach lifeguard for 32 years, so I’ve been at the beach and in the ocean since I was born.
Q: What has been your most memorable day surfing?
Back in September, I was at the Jetty in Brigantine, and I remember going for this giant wave. I stood up, hands all the way up and I wasn’t even touching the top of the wave. It was insane, people were hooting and hollering as I’m fully standing up in this 6-foot, ginormous hollow tube.
Q: Have you met any celebrity surfers?
I have actually met a lot of famous people and I would love to meet more. I met Kai Lenny, he’s a big wave surfer and has like 1 million followers on Instagram. I met him in New Jersey at the American Dream Mall, and I surfed with him in the wave pool there. It was the coolest thing ever because he was excited to see me surf.
I’ve also met Will Skudin, who’s a big wave surfer, and a bunch of guys in California from Catch Surf. One of them, Blair Conklin, is one of the coolest guys you would ever meet. They have all given me advice and tips.
Q: Is there anyone you would still like to meet?
I really wanna meet Kelly Slater, he’s the best of the best. And a while back, my mom saw that he liked one of my posts. So he knows who I am.
Q: What’s it like seeing all the response on social media?
I think it’s really cool. My mom posts videos with music and she’ll show me the song before she does. I have actually vetoed a lot of the songs. I like Zach Bryan the most, plus Noah Kahan and Zac Brown Band. I really like country.
Q: What are you thinking about while you’re surfing?
I’m mostly thinking about if I’m in the right spot – what waves look good, what doesn’t, where I am and where I should be.
Q: How do you keep surfing when the weather is really cold?
One day, we got like 6 inches of snow and before I surfed, I was shoveling people’s driveways in my wetsuit. The wetsuit is a 5 mm wetsuit, and it doesn’t really get anything in or out so it keeps in your body heat. So I don’t feel the cold at all. But every once in a while, if you take a wave on the head, your wetsuit gets slushed. That’s cold.
Q: What do you like to do outside of surfing?
I play hockey too. And I do all kinds of charity work. I’ve raised money for the Funny Farm, donated food and canned goods to our food pantry and raised money for kids in Ukraine. My mom showed me a post about the war there and I thought, “We should definitely do something for that,” and we raised around $500. My dad is also a 16-year firefighter in Atlantic City, so he has helped countless people. I want to help people just like him.
Q: How many more consecutive days do you think you’ll surf?
I’m taking it one day at a time, but I’m probably gonna keep with it for awhile. I think it’s so cool that I’ve gotten to meet and work with all these new people. I’ve learned a lot, and I love learning new tricks. Since I’m just a kid, it’s so much easier to work with older people, and through them I can inspire more people.
Q: What would you tell someone who’s thinking of surfing?
You should surf, it’s the best thing for you. I have always loved surfing. It helps get you in shape, keep you in shape. It gets you healthy.
