the things you love about surfing

The anticipation......I have been layed up for a bit, and the mental froth and the pics of waves, and the stories of surf, and the promise of swell makes the interminable wait so worth it because I know the waves will be there when I am ready and I can't ****ing wait!

 

Oh... and I still get butterflys in the pit of my stomach while driving, parking, walking thru the dunes, running down to the beach to paddle out on a firing day.

 

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metard continues to open up to us with more and more reflection and self-disclosure. Keep it up bro, you know I like words. Pretty soon you'll be battling with zach619 for longest posts. Dope list metard, I share all of those. Espec the phosphoresence with wahines, did that end of June at 4am. So choice.

Quality content from sidogg and World B. Gotta interject to hombre World B and let him know that if he starts buttering up with Mr. Zogg's then it becomes a high-level aphrodisiac similar to Spanish Fly. Why you think they call it Sex Wax, bro?

My list:

1. It prompts greatness of your being. Something that separates the average/good population from those who are great at what they do is an undying thirst for progress. The great are never truly satisfied with their standing and always seek forward advancement. Surfing is such a vast progression of skills, conditioning, knowledge, and maturity. Each sesh reminds you that there's always more to improve and the ocean constantly keeps you aware of your weaknesses since it's throwing so many variables at you on the reg. Most of the world is able to exist in their comfort zone. The great are never comfortable because they're in a perpetual state of growth and growth is the antithesis of comfort. Surfing allows you, and perhaps even compels you towards greatness - not just in surfing but in who you are. Even if you're not the competitive type and don't aspire to be a dominant surfer, it brings you closer to being great in all ways than if it weren't in your life.
2. Culture. We talk all the time here about localism, lineup hate, going years without speaking to much of anyone in lineups, but when it comes down to it, there's a sense of affiliation shared by those who are committed to surfing. The true surfer knows the gap between sampling it as an activity and then making it a part of your life. There's no real in between due to what's required of competency, access to surfable waves, etc. and all the sacrifice and commitment in even getting to that next sesh. Not every surfer will be your friend but the ones that you do become friends with may know things about you and share things with you that people you've been friends with your whole life never can or will.
3. Sense of natural order and natural law. The cultural element previously mentioned is an extension of this. There are lots of interpretations of what is good and right in our world, and those aren't always represented, protected, or defended (i.e. etiquette, respect). However, if you've got any connection to reality then you know what's right and wrong and the ocean let's us know where we stand with the physical world, with each other, and with ourselves if our awareness allows us the honesty the ocean gives us.
4. Appreciation for simplicity. It doesn't often take us much to find satisfaction, even joy. The aroma of surf wax can quickly change the tone of our day, as can seeing a sunset, stepping into sand then salt water, then planing on that moving water. In the paper chase of society, we are as anti-materialistic and disconnected as it gets when we are out back waiting for a set. Your tech devices (hopefully...) are hundreds of yards away, you may not even have a watch on. Your day will never be as peaceful as it is when you're on your board, even if you're in Nor'easter gnar, and for all of these reasons, the healing surfing gives us in all ways is unprecedented.
5. Wapahhh. I've just recently entered the universe of lip-smacking and still can't quite do it on the reg. But when I do, even if it doesn't land, I've had the privilege of unleashing the primordial beast within. You're not legally able to do that in many other ways in this world.

 

Wow this is getting deep...

It's all about the inner peace I get from it. It helps me stay balanced mentally, physically, and emotionally . Like a drug that helps cope with life and it's challenges.

After a good session I have a buzz, nothing else really compares to that, great sex maybe. But hardly the same feeling, so really there is nothng else like it. You can't buy that feeling at any store, can't get it from wearing surf clothing, or having an expensive board with all the stickers, that feeling comes from tons of hard work and dedication that when it pays off and you are able to do things you use to day dream about, you look back and admire how far you've come. Then throw in all the cliche stuff about the ocean, the wild life, and environment and you got plenty to be stoke about.

I like that most people think I'm crazy for going out in conditions that the average Joe would never consider. I like that non-surfers just dont get it. I like that I DO get it. I like knowing there is a tribe of folks just like me that love doing this just as much as I do that they go to the same lengths that I go to so that I can surf every week or more often at times. I like that I still have a lot to learn but that I have learned so much already. I could go on all day, so I'll leave it at that.

 

Vajayjay always tastes better after a good sesh.

 

1) Agree with the Sex Wax arousal, been that way since '77 and hasn't changed. A helluva lot better than sniffing a lavender candle.

2) The overwhelming mixed sensation of conquest/humility after making it out of a perfect tube.

3) The warm afterglow of a stoked session, especially when a huge stream of salty water runs out of your nostrils in the middle of school or work.

 

Have you ever known you had to get up early, but you kept drinking IPA's like they were Coors Lights....that's kinda what surfing is like...

...and just to elaborate on my last post.:.:maybe it's the salt.


The smell of Surf wax def gets me going, luckily I keep a serious stash in my Jeep and most of the summer the sh!t melts and that's when it really starts to put out the live scents.

 

That huge smirk I can't seem for the life of me to wipe off my face after a fun ride.

 

Can't think of a better way to start the day than an early AM sesh, glassy conditions, slight offshore breeze, and maybe a few dolphins keeping you company.

I also like getting out on foggy mornings, surfing in the rain, and walking through snow to get to the water. Some folks think I'm nuts and well past old enough to better. Kinda like that aspect too.

 

The best thing about surfing is the payoff. That moment when you come over the dune and you see that just like you predicted, its going off. Or when you go on a wave that you know your way too late on but somehow you make it anyway. Or catching it good, before the State park opens, with just a few people out and smiling as you watch the parking lot fill up and the winds turn onshore as you leave. I could go on and on but in the end the best thing about surfing is surfing.

 

On a serious note, the best thing about surfing besides everything about surfing is the rush of adrenaline after catching a great ride, no matter how tired you are, that rush pushes you to get back out for the next one, and the next one...and on and on it goes.

My name is Koki B and I am an addict.

 

There's a lot of things I love about surfing, but one thing that is really unique for me is feeling the power of a wave when you stick right in the pocket. I used to be pretty into skiing and a lot of the things I like about surfing I liked about skiing- the speed, being out in nature, understanding the weather and conditions and the feeling of total concentration and oneness with the action when you are locked into a good run. But I have never gotten the feeling of power that you get from being right in the pocket of a good wave from anything else. It is a simultaneous feeling of control and release that is really very special.

 

The fear....may sound a bit off...nothing except racing cars (and that was just Formula Fords) hits me like striving to get into bigger waves, the moving heaving massive living things of moving ocean, the ones that make me feel really, totally out of sorts as they start humping up, and the wind in my face picks up as the thing starts to pull up, and paddling like hell to make it into something and it gets really, eerily quiet all of a sudden & I know this is size....making the drop & getting on the wave is beyond words, but making that massive down drop just knowing what's moving behind me....

Yah. The fear. And what I do with that fear. Stunning. Every time.

 

the look back after a solid session...walking over the crest of the hill and the anticipation of what the line up will look like the 5-10 seconds before I actually see it...watching the sun rise or set...having the intestinal fortitude to wake up at 4:02 am to get in at first light though getting up for work at 4:37 seems like it's hours earlier than that...eying an overhead peak and the cold syrupy flem in the back of my throat on the first big drop of the day...the smell of campfire on the walk out or in on a day where the smoke smell sits a little heavier...post sesh whisky in winter

 

The anticipation of potentially scoring waves. Kind of like the feeling when you buy a lottery ticket and before you check the numbers.

Fingers crossed trestles is fun and uncrowded this am

 

All you really need to know in life, the ocean can teach you... if you pay attention, and are willing to learn.

It teaches you about how the natural world works, and our place in it. It teaches you humility... how to problem solve... how to react under critical situations. It exposes your weaknesses... and your strengths. It puts you through every human emotion, from extreme joy... to peace... to anger and frustration... to fear. It teaches you that things are not always what they seem, and that the natural world is completely indifferent to humans... it does not care if we're here or not. Neither the beauty of a purple sunrise... the perfect tuberide... the abundance of food and resources... nor the icy pounding... the agonizing flat spells... the onshore wind shift on your lunchbreak... have anything to do with us. We just happen to be here... and we're completely insignificant in the bigger picture. So it's really up to each one of us as individuals to find our place, and make our own joy... find our own peace... within what's available to us. Isn't that what our lives are all about?

 

Damn dudes, good stuff. Everyone pretty much covered the bases so my addition is more of a simple one: all of the petty sh!t that plagues me on land can't get me out there, the ocean is my temporary escape from all that nonsense.

+1 on LB's ocean as teacher perspective...

+1 on Yankee's fear/fight or flight perspective...for me the magic really happens on the days that take me outside of my comfort zone.

 

Good Thread!
For me it's the Glassy Wall with the sun shining through it.
The Stress relief of an end of the day session.
The warm sun and water and the feel of the board just gliding.
The respect that the Ocean demands and the total stoke that it gives!