It's good to have a policy to never be alone out there, its certainly the responsible thing to do. But those lonely sessions can be so fun. Everybody has a built in spidey-sense though, and if it tells you to get out, you follow it.
solo dawn session is the best.. that being said it definitely depends on your age, skill level and conditions. if it doesn't feel right, don't go. BTW: always listen to your mother!!
On the water, in the water, and under the water, one should have a buddy. It's the safe and smart thing to do. Still, we out by ourselves. A buddy isn't often available. Most of my sessions are alone.
If I never surfed alone, I'd never surf. But I'll admit, it does kinda make you a bit antisocial. The more I surf alone, the more I want to. Maybe once a month I'll call this other old head to drag him out with me, but it's gotta be, like, chest high or under or he's not into it. But surfing alone, at least for me, is not about testing one's self... or bravado... or bragging about it. It's just me being selfish and getting every wave I want, and escaping everything and everyone that occupies every other thinking moment of my life on solid ground. For that couple hours, it's me time. And it's a great buzz that keeps me mentally and physically healthy.
Last year my mommy called and made me promise not to go out during Sandy. and NorIda. In 38 years I never got a call like that.
Up until this winter, for most of my adult life I rarely called anyone to go surf. Chances are I would recognize a few faces in the line up, but was usually by myself. With this being the first winter I surfed throughout, I got into the habit of calling a few guys going into every weekend. Actually liked having a few friends out there, and if one guy wasn't feeling it, peer pressure always paid off. As for the OP, at that age, its not about testing ones self, it's about having fun and staying safe. If you typically go to the same break, I would bet some of the older guys will start to recognize you and look out for you. Maybe your Mom, can hang around and watch for a bit, and get comfortable with your abilities and the break. Good luck.
On smaller days, I enjoy surfing alone. For bigger days, I prefer to share the stoke, and have someone there to bail me out if needed. A friend of mine, broke his clavicle in the water this winter, so it was a good thing we were there. He needed assistance.
This isn't for the young cats though I did surf alone at 13............... And surfing alone means........surfing alone. Not paddling out without a pal into a pack. That's not surfing alone. But wow, I can't believe how scared some people are on here....Well, wait, maybe I can. Dudes, most of you are from the mid-Atlantic not Northern California. So you just have to get over that spooky, sharky feeling that can come on those cloudy/foggy lonely days because in reality you aren't really in much risk. OCMD ain't Ano Nuevo. Do I get that creepy feeling sometimes when it's breaking farther out, it's dismal and there's no one in the water or the beach? Sure. But you got to fight that feeling. Surfing alone builds character and makes you able to become a captain of a ship in the Bering Sea.........Plus, in the winter seals will bro-down with you more readily if you are alone. Shoot, I'm pals with a few of them these days. Mitch, Saugy Paws and Casper are all my friends.
Yeah man, down here it's the dolphin though, they like to hang out and pick a few waves off while keeping an eye on ya, shared a wave with like 5 of them once (true story)
Yeah dude, Jersey dolphins suck. They don't like us up here. They don't get cool with us and they never ride waves. LBCrew once told me that dolphin-wave-riding is a learned process. Maybe somebody could tell your dolphins to teach our dolphins how to get jiggy with it. Really, Jersey dolphins hate people. I think it has to do with the ocean pollution especially back in the day. I guess I can't blame them. But the seals, man.......the seals are down. And they seem to be growing in number.
Up here sometimes I have to. During the week even when its decent waves they will at times be nobody.Its a risk and im a good swimmer at least. Still I pick my days and go when its not stormy.
True that, i'll put a word out to Dolly and Flipper down here at the Inlet, they'll get with the NJ Dolphin folk and show em a good time, never met a dolphin that hated people, maybe that's learned by watching NJ summer pros like NJShredmachine? Maybe they just need a hug? Let em know everything is going to be alright...
PJB made a good point. It's not surfing alone if there's other guys in the water. My mom still asks who I'm surfing with when I'm leaving the house. I have a good crew of 4-5 guys who love to surf any sort of wave regardless of conditions so there's usually someone else down to take a look, but if there isn't I just lie and say there is. There's almost always at least a few other guys in the water and I recognize most of them by face. But if there really isn't anybody out there I do feel a little sketched out, but usually not enough to not paddle out. However, at 13 you probably shouldn't be surfing without another human being in the water (sorry, seals don't count).
Quoting Bear from Big Wednesday. " You're alone anyway when you surf". Surfing is about knowing who you are. What you can handle. Be responsible for yourself and agree not to do stupid stuff while out in the water. I surf alone alot and love it. Especially if I'm way up the beach at Chinco. I make a pact with myself not to die. so far its worked. The only time I've gotten hurt is when alot of people are in the water and some dufus either doesnt know what their doing or is just super selfish and doesnt care about harming others. In the winter its actually fun to see someone else in the water to share the stoke. Plus there are so many waves freed up that we all get our own waves to surf. However some of my friends have been hurt or knocked out from their own board and if now one was around to save them then.... so its a perspective
I think that to myself alot, because no matter who you paddle out with, it is ultimately just you and the ocean when sh*t gets hairy...so a group induced false sense of security is just that, false. Also, being a loner at a lot of the things I've done most of my life, riding waves is really the ideal loner activity, especially if you're willing to drop everything(which others might not be able to do) to go surf...it's just you, your gear, and the water. That being said, in the winter, w/ water in the 30's, if the size is getting beyond my comfort zone, I won't go out alone, or I'll find a more protected spot.
