EAST LAWRENCETOWN, N.S. – Mark Moore was once a typical Canadian kid, whose life revolved around hockey and golf in his hometown of Brookfield.
It was on an Australian beach that Moore, then aged 23, picked up a surfboard and rode the waves for the very first time – and realized what his true passion in life was.
“Surfing and kite-surfing are both very dynamic sports, so when you’re out there on the ocean with a combo of waves and winds and rocky coastlines, it demands your full attention,” said Moore, when asked how it felt to ride the sea. “It makes you focus on what you’re doing and it takes away from other things that are distracting you.”
Moore took his first surf eleven years ago, while staying with a family on Australia’s Central Coast north of Sydney in the town of Terrigal. He spent nearly a year Down Under on a working holiday visa.
While Moore started out as a traditional surfer, he soon branched into kite-surfing during his time in Australia. By using kites as sails, surfers can better harness wind power to power them across the water.
Since then, he has both surfed and kite-surfed in more than 40 different countries, including such far-flung spots such as Samoa and Fiji in the South Pacific. The life of a full-time surfer was for him a nomadic one, centred around the seasons and often living in a van as he travelled to different stretches of coastline seeking the next wave.
“For the next eight years I would stay in one place for six to eight months,” recalled Moore. “At that point in my life, most of my friends were entering the workforce and starting their careers.”
A desire to translate his hobby into a business finally brought him back home to Nova Scotia for good.
Moore founded his Halifax Kitesurfing and Halifax Surf School on the Atlantic coast east of the city in 2014, where he now lives with his wife Emma and their dog Breeze. He runs classes for clients through the warmer months, with his cocker spaniel-poodle dog sometimes a spectator.
“It’s mostly a good thing, but sometimes it can blur the lines of what’s work and play,” said Moore. “Sometimes I want to surf when it’s windy, but I can’t as I have students to teach, you have to paradigm shift there. I’ve come to learn that I can take almost as much joy from seeing other people learn these skills.”
Unlike Australia and the tropical South Pacific, the Atlantic waves are frigid, if still powerful.
Nevertheless, Moore was amazed to discover such strong waves and pristine beaches maybe an hour’s drive from where he grew up, even if he has to wear a full body suit while on the sea.
“You stop and look around, the ocean waves are really good and there’s beautiful snow on the beaches,” said Moore. “You’re fully present in that situation.”
During the winter, Moore returns to his Canadian roots, coaching hockey six nights a week, which he first did as a youth in Brookfield.
