Is surfing a curse?

I was the same way.i was horrified from the ocean as a kid.when I was really young I lived with my long lost pops in long island,which is probably the most time I ever spent with my father.anyway I was just a little buggar,I remember the coastline was very rocky,scaley,not boulders but just a rocky bottom.i used to run up to the water as the whitewater comes up then run away,and one day I got hit by a wave and pulled out.cant recall what the surf looked like,but I always remembered it was bigger than jersey.after that I moved back in northern jers,and didn't go back to the beach for 10 years.

then my first trip to the beach after my horrifying childhood lol,my buddy whos a good swimmer,a lifeguard,and a d1ck(he would let me get sucked out and wait til I was on the brink of death before coming in to help me).anyway we went to the beach,he swims out,i walk out and I was right on the edge of the sandbar where it drops off and I feel all this water pulling at me and hes like stop being a pus1y and swim out.well I didn't lol and I was horrified.stayed out of the water for another year.then one day one of my buddies from school that I hung out with all the time had a surfboard and said he was going to teach me how to surf.he taught me the ins and outs about the ocean and what to do and explained u float a lot better in salt water so all u have to do is have lungs full of air and youll float.again he would go out I would stay close in.thats how most of my teenage years at the beach were.

so then I had this gf who was an excellent swimmer and shed tell me not to ever look back and just follow her.we did that all summer and fall just swimming far out and after 10 x I finally understood how everything worked and wasn't afraid anymore.i always thought it was safer close to shore but learned the further u are out the safer u really are.

once I started to swim real good I started taking surfing more serious and spent all year in the water catching every swell.id bodysurf,surf with out a leash,just to feel that more comfortable in the water.my biggest fear when I started surfing was having this big long board tied to my foot,i always felt safer without a leash.

so I don't think surfing is a curse,just a thing to do because its awesome.when I try to lure people in to surf with me because 99% I surf by myself and I would like a few other people around just to be safe but could never get anyone to try it.,everyone always blows me off.and im not the type to go to deal or Belmar and surf with 40 guys and catch 2 waves in 3 hrs.best part of surfing is that flying sensation when u can paddle out for 15 minutes and go wayyy out,then catch 1 wave and in 5 seconds u just covered 100 yards and ur on dry sand.idk but I think that's fukin awesome lol.and wiping out is just as fun,but only in the summer.iv taken just about every senerio that can happen.taking lips directly to the head,chest,getting thrown down with the lip into a foot of water.most of the time u don't touch the bottom.iv been pulled out,sideways,in,lol .summertimes when we get a little 3 ft swell n its breaking in 2 inches of water I go bodysurf and il do some crazy maneuver going down the face then go backwards over the falls and il come up and lifeguards would be running up to me like are u ok and il laugh and run to the jetty and go right back out

 

that's another good point I forgot to mention.

traveling

I always thought whats the deal with vacations,like why would u go to the Bahamas to sit around and look at clear water in the hot sun.that aint for me.but with surfing it will take u to the outermost limits of the world.i got really good at geography from surfing.any country with a coastline I can name a few local cities.

I kinda feel like vacations like going to the beach.if u don't surf why go to the beach?and if u don't surf why would u go on vacations.like people go to nyc for vacation.iv been to the city a billion times and would never go there for a vacation.i always like secluded areas with not a lot of people,like the woods,or the beach after labor day

 

my nomination for SOTYP

stoke of the year post

 

Having said that, its's not a curse, it's definitely a blessing, changed my life for the better

 

I can't even imagine not being a Surfer...not being connected to the ocean would be a curse. I live on the banx, work here and love it here. Just driving down the beachroad, checking the swell, smelling the salt breeze and feeling the sun...warm water and bikinis are def a bonus. I have friends stuck inland...a best friend (Hawaiian) actually stuck in Raleigh and he struggles with it all. We are blessed each of us to have Surfing in our lives. Everything about the lifestyle and how we just look at the ocean is different than everyone else. I dont get to surf a lot like years past. Wife...kids...job...swell window or lack of...but I can't imagine not calling myself a surfer. Once you are a "Surfer" an actual surfer connected or maybe addicted to the ride it will never go away. All real surfers get it and always have it. Everyone else is just going thru life, we are the lucky ones...so thank the person who got you to paddle out for the first time. I show some love to my bro's stuck inland and send them Surfer Mag every month...It's the least I can do. I have been sending one to my Hawaiian bro for 20+ years...stoked like a grom!!

 

u know what I really hate.the seawalls on ocean ave.it would be nice to just drive down the road and see the surf,but when seawalls are in the way u have to pull over every 5 minutes to check a new spot.not too mention every single beach is private.i seen a crazy barrel last Friday but had to keep going past that spot cus there was no parking bcause its phuking private

 

Surfing is more of an addiction for me. I've done all the drugs and never had a problem when they weren't around anymore. But I'm jonesing bad for a real wave. not some cut/diluted azz high slop. As a matter of fact, I'd blow Brewski for a chest high glassy right hander.

 

It used to be a curse to me. I couldn't sit on the sand for 5 minutes in CA when there were waves everyday. My GF, all the homies, drinking, playing volleyball. F that. 95% of the year, the only time I was on the beach was when I sprinting over the sand to go surf...

Now that I live in a place that is more wave-lacking, it allows me to enjoy the beach again. Like when you were a kid. I mean, 8 out of 10 times, if the wife and I say, lets go to the beach sunday, there usually arent waves. Sure, I will bring the LB and maybe 2 hours into chilling in the tide pools with my daughter, throwing back a couple beers with the wife, maybe I will paddle out... And occassionally, when there are good waves, I surf most of the time we are there.

Moving here has certainly put "beach life" back into perspective. I enjoy the sand. The tide pools. Swimming in flat, warm water. Flying kites with my daughter....

So, my recommendation would be, plan to go to the beach, even when there are no waves. ESPECIALLY when there are no waves. Out of site, out of mind. When you are sitting in a chair with a coors lite, staring at a flat ocean, it makes you look at that skim board, or just want to swim, or just relax....

Surfing is a curse if you live in a wave rich place. Otherwise, just go anyway...

A lot of us with jobs, busy schedules, only have time for the "beach" when there is surf. We save up our free time for that moment, but if you have some free time, and you live right on the ocean, USE IT! Go fishing. Just chill. Take a swim... If there isn't swell, it can be really tranquil. If that swell rises, well thats a different story.

Plan beach days when its flat and you will appreciate the beach and the ocean again.

 

This is my setup for the flat days at the beach with the family or friends.

This


Plus this bungeed to the back



There's a insulated cooler pocket for 6-8 beers and a regular pocket to stash...well whatever you gotta stash

Beer holder and cellphone pocket too.

Toss you your back, hop on a bike and you're good to go.