By Julia Train
One thousand seven hundred. That’s how many days in a row Carter Doorley has surfed. Actually, after Jan. 14, 2025, it’s over 1700 days.
The 13-year-old Brigantine native started during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to spend time outside after being stuck indoors. Carter was 9 years old and learning remotely at the tail end of his third-grade year.
He started with the goal of surfing every day until school went back in person, but he shortly decided to change it to 100 days.
“I thought it would be good for him because he doesn’t really stick with things, and we weren’t doing anything anyway,” said Dawn Doorley, his mom. “So, I mean, it kind of makes sense because we live right at the beach, so it was easy for him to get there and get some energy out.”
Soon, 100 days passed, and he surfed each day. He continued to do that for a year and two, and now, he’s reached over four and a half years.
“Everything was shut down. I had nothing to do, so we went to the beach,” Carter said.
Since starting that goal, Carter has surfed daily, even during school, vacations, frigid temperatures and rain storms.
He surfed in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina,California and Tennessee during vacations and while traveling with his family for his brother’s ice hockey tournaments.
Not only has he kept up with the challenge, but he has also raised money for local nonprofits.
He raised and donated $300 to the Funny Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, raised $500 to repair the local skate park and more while doing so. He also collects cans of food for the Brigantine Food Pantry annually.
“When I see that people are in need on Instagram, I’ll try and help them,” he said.
Carter said he taught himself to surf through trial and error and was pushed into the waves by his dad, a Brigantine lifeguard.
Surfing isn’t the only sport he participates in. He also rows crew. To fit his challenge in with the rest of his activities, Carter wakes up at 6 a.m. and bikes to the beach to surf before school starts at 8 a.m.
He even surfs when the temperature is below freezing. He told SJ Mag that he wears his 5mm wetsuit, which traps his body heat and doesn’t let anything in or out.
“When it’s cold, I’ll just do the same thing as normal, just throw on my hood, put gloves on and surf,” he said.
He said he spends 15-20 minutes on the water in the winter to catch at least one wave, which is his criteria for the challenge. But in the summer, his mom said he’ll spend hours.
He tracks the streak on his Instagram, which Dawn made for him, and now has over 6,000 followers.
Surfing over 1700 consecutive days is just one of Carter’s impressive surfing achievements. In August 2020, he made waves at the Brigantine Surf Jam, competing for the second time as a surfer and becoming the youngest Super Heat winner in the event’s history.
The competition features multiple age groups, starting with 10 and under, with Carter—only 9 then—being one of 46 participants. From there, competitors of all ages advance through individual heats, and the winners face off in the Super Heat at the end of the event to crown the Surf Jam champion.
Now, five years later, Carter is in eighth grade at Brigantine Community School and has been the subject of countless articles. Several surf apparel companies and stores also sponsor him.
He’s also been featured in People Magazine, on ABC and NJ.com and has surfed with professional surfers like Rob Kelly, Ben Gravy, Kai Lenny, Will Skudin and Ian Crane, many of whom he has met through messaging on social media or mutual acquaintances.
While Carter has found success so far in the sport, he takes it day by day as he tackles his next goal: five years!
If you’re interested in following Carter’s journey as he makes it there, check out his Instagram: @cartercatcheswaves.
