Well it all started this afternoon..... Having vast stretches to beach and ocean to yourself. I left the front (actually back, but really the front if you're looking at the ocean) door today around 3:30pm, got out in the water, rode a few sweet waves, got hammered by a few that I attempted to launch on, and during the whole time? Didn't see ANYONE in the water. That's what's awesome. I got swept down about 25 blocks (= to about 1 mile or more) no one in sight except a few people on the beach or on a balcony who probably were worried of thought I was nuts. Unbelievable. There's nothing better than having the ocean to yourself; I can't express the feeling in words It's just so hard to explain the feeling I get about being alone out in the open ocean with some pounding waves and no one around. It's like meditation to me, just let go of all your thoughts and troubles-forget about all that dumb sh!t-leave it on the shore. No thoughts in mind let you explore your inner-stoke with the ocean. NOTHING can compare to that, if you ask me. I really don't even know how to express it to you fellas. Despite the fact that I did get swept down about 25 blocks from 109th - 132nd (OCMD), I was out in the water till I couldn't see anymore. Once I got out, I kinda just stood still for a moment and recapped in my mind what just happened. Then the mile or so walk back in the dark. UNREAL. I just don't know how to put it. I hope some of you other guys get the same types of feelings from the ocean that I do. There's just nothing that can compare. . .
Ive had that once the whole thing to myself and it was so awesome. It can also freak u out if no ones in site.
10 miles in ocean city? 140 blocks / 10 -> 14 blocks equal 1 mile. Sorry. I had to chime in, I am a math nerd.
Got that feeling once paddling off Koro Island in Fiji. I couldn,t even see any houses back on the shoreline. Probably the most free and most alone I've ever felt in my life. Later that night I had to walk through the trees about a half mile from a friends place back to the cabin I was staying in. He gave me a flash light and I turned it off after about 50 feet. There was less than a quarter moon that night but it was still enough to completely illuminate the ground even under the canopy of all the trees. Gotta get back there one day.
most dawn patrols in the summer when it was small (i did it every day haha) there was nobody out (except on the bigger days only me and a couple of my friends). I know the feeling you have my friend. Just you and the dolphins one with the ecosystem. It's so hard to explain to people who don't surf-like my parents (they just say why do you always have to talk about surfing). and also this one day in october i paddled out right as the sun was setting. It was a pretty long paddle but the waves were like 9ft and pounding way off the jetty. for some reason no one else paddled out (i think the winds had just switched). the waves were just closing out pretty quick but it was fun just to drop in and feel all that energy crash right behind you. if there were sharks though, i would never paddle out alone (even though theyre really not that dangerous... 791 people killed last year from faulty toasters- only 4 people killed last year by sharks!!!!)
That is awesome. Back when the jetties of the north shores in DE were breaking I had many an evening sesh in late fall with zero people in sight. Also found myself surfing completely solo up in Nantucket a couple thanksgivings ago - no one anywhere, for as far as I could see. It was my first time surfing up there and it was real cold.... it's easy to freak yourself out in that circumstance. I kept seeing shadows and hearing the jaws song on the wind! good times. Been a slow couple of weeks, c'mon swell!
allow me to recount a story from last summer. I was at atlantic beach, nc and the waves were tiny, but with it being summer and hot, I paddled out anyway. Even for the tiny waves, it was breaking reeeeeeally far out. The only board i had with me was my shortboard so i figured id be in for a ****ter of a session. When i paddled out, i was, naturally, the only one out. It was the first time ive ever really noticed how quiet it is out in the water. The only noise was the sound of my arms stroking through the water and my breathing. Even though the beach was packed, it felt like no one was around, and that feeling is very purifying. Made me think of surfing in an entirely different way.
