Can't surf no more?

I guess spearfishing would give me the rush of the hunt, the beauty of the ocean, and the physical challenge of being in a dynamic playing field. Too old and banged up to halfpipe in the snow, or on concrete, or even on a plywood ramp. So spearfishing (while freediving to give the fishies a chance) would be a fun pastime, but not the total obsession surfing waves has been for me since teenhood.

 

Which area in the Cascades was this?

 

Tahoe, we were at Heavenly this particular day. Storm lasted maybe three days total, and we were stuck in the condo for the first two days. The lifts were closed because the wind was 50+mph. Couldn't see anything. Boring...sitting inside...shovel snow once in a while...sit inside some more.

 

Those that can't do teach.

So I would open a surf camp at The Wall, NH, and teach a whole new generation of morons.

 

nothing could replace surfing,it is its own thing.but theres still plenty of fun to be had out there.surfing is strictly a hobby for me,im not a pro,dont have plans or the skills to become a pro lol.i just like the ocean

someone was asking me the other day about ocean safety and I said if I didn't surf I wouldn't even go to the beach.the ocean is dangerous for people who don't surf,it takes years of water experience to be comfortable when ur getting 8footers on the head in knee deep water.theres a lot of dos and donts and u can easily die.

I'm not a people person,and when I go in the ocean I feel like I'm leaving civilization as I stare at them from a distance.im comfortable in the water,no troubles can reach me there.not surfing isn't an option for me

 

Good topic. I'd probably get more into music (guitar, bass, but might endevour to learn other instruments, i.e., keys). I already do this during the winter doldrums when north/east winds persist or the weather is just too nasty.

I would also probably flat water paddle (SUP) to keep in shape and explore the creation and take notice of things I overlooked. I already do this somewhat, but no so much when there are waves to be had. This would keep me outdoors and around water. And when the legs start to fail and even SUP won't work, maybe a kayak or something.

There's also lots of hobby type things on the list.

I would hope to also invest time in the next generation.. maybe grand kids one day, but I figure there might always be someone to encourage along the way.

Anyways, just grateful that catching waves still works for me. Nothing like it.

 

I kind of feel the same, but surfing is the one that comes before all others. Not sure if this is a phase or permanent. I mean I've been surfing on and off for 20 years now but moved back to the coast 2.5 years ago after an extended break and have been far more committed these past couple years than ever before. Could be an extended honeymoon phase (though I seem to be getting more obsessed as opposed to burning out)? I don't think so though. When I moved to Colorado (both times) I was, intellectually at least, trying to make skiing my top priority, but can absolutely remember times, even in the first season out there, where I was skiing waist deep untracked powder in the trees by myself and just felt kind of... bored. Like, is this it? This is supposed to be what my life revolves around, and I'm having fun, I guess, but I could pretty much leave the mountain right now at 10 am and be satisfied. To be fair, on the rare occasions I've skied deep powder with close friends, that doesn't happen. I'm stoked out of my mind. But when I surf, it doesn't matter if I'm alone. Aside from rare occasions when I try to force it in sh*t conditions, I don't get bored, my mind doesn't wander, and I don't ever want to get out of the water. When it's moderately fun but not epic, I may get my fill after an hour or two if the wave quality deteriorates, or 1000 people show up, or my body is exhausted, but if it's head high and clean and I'm solo I am going to stay out as long as I can, 100% focused, with no thoughts of leaving or anything else I could be doing. And it happens with surprising regularity in lesser conditions too. That feeling of perfect zen, locked in, in-the-moment flow doesn't happen regularly with anything else, except sometimes playing guitar.

I do have way too many hobbies (surfing, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, cooking, lifting, playing guitar, seeking out and brewing the best pourover coffee I can find, seeking out but not brewing the best beer I can find) and not enough time, and I constantly think maybe I should quit or severely scale back some of them so I can devote more time and money to the others, but surfing has never been on the theoretical chopping block. It's actually usually the driver... I need to cut some of the other stuff so I can upgrade my board and wetsuit quivers, and have more flexibility to drop everything and surf my brains out when it's good (but then compensate by stepping up family time when it's not, rather than just moving to a different hobby). Even guitar, which I have bachelor's and master's degrees in, the latter of which I will still be paying off for years to come, would probably get dropped before surfing if I had to choose.

 

I'd get one of those powered surfboards and surf in a lake!

 

Surfing is definitely my favorite thing to do. When I can't surf I snowboard, bike, kayak, fish, hike. On a 1-10 scale with 10 being the most fun I'd rate a surfing with good conditions an 11 and snowboarding fresh POW a 9. On the east coast you almost have to have other hobbies for when its flat. This also makes it tough to get burned out on surfing.

Would you rather snowboard a fresh powder day or surf a bitter cold noreaster with gale force winds? Lately I've been finding the fresh powder day more enjoyable. But a mild winter day with light winds and peeling waves can be more fun than snowboarding on a sheet of ice.

Someone mentioned not getting the "nirvana" feeling snowboarding. It can happen if you take a moment to stop and really enjoy the view and peacefulness of the snow-covered mountains. Surfing kind of makes you pause to enjoy the ocean view between waves. Have you tried snowboarding with music? Music and boarding can take the stoke to another level and make the lift ride go by faster.

 

They do not need to be taught to be morons--they already are that by birth.

 

Flat water surf?? You mean....a SUP?? AKA "twat yacht"?? Never!!

 

spearfishing is the best. I do it all the time here and get some nice bass and tautog. I prefer it over surfing shitty waves a lot of days. if you do not do it. try it its very peaceful being underwater and checking out all the fish and then blowing one away..

 

I have a system: On clear flat summer days, a Rubbermaid bin, bungeed on top of a boogie board, attached to a longboard or better, an ocean kayak via a 9' longboard leash (make sure properrly tied!!!). In the bin is ice (maybe a couple beers) and a dive flag, and soon some snapper. Get them out of the water fast into the bin, leaving minimal blood trail, drift down the reef and it's a smorgasborg. If trouble comes, hop on the longboard (or way better, the kayak) and head in.

PSA: Be careful not to tip the boogie board/bin on the way in to shore - keep it perpendicular to wavelets as you get into the shallows, or you lose the fish. Or better yet, hop out, and grab the bin/board and guide it in and let the kayak float into shore. Don't let the bin tip!!! (yes, it happened to me the first time I rigged it, I was mocked).

 

From the Book of Bagus, verse 1
"O Barry"

 

I've gotten it, it's just rare and fleeting and I don't know why. Maybe it is the forced pauses. I've actually thought that a lot of it is probably because the actual time spent riding is so short, the fact that it's so fleeting but so blissful makes it addictive, like a crack high (assumption, not based on firsthand experience). And the fact that when you are up and riding a wave, you have to be 1000% focused to even have a chance at getting a good ride. Not sure if that's because it's more technical than skiing (referring to skiing and snowboarding whenever i say this, i do both, kinda find it marginally easier to reach the flow state on a board, but i'm much better technically at skiing so it's easier to get into really awe-inspiring terrain on skis), or the moving surface means there are many more factors in flux demanding one's attention, or if skiing is just more second nature because I've spent thousands of hours going downhill on skis, versus maybe a couple hundred (?) minutes (?) riding a surfboard on a wave? But it could also just be I grew up on the coast and feel more connected to the ocean, between all the time spent sitting in it waiting for a set, the 10 or so summers I spent lifeguarding, i.e. just staring at it for 40-50 hours a week, or the fact that it served as the setting for a significant portion of my social life throughout high school and in the summers home from college. I think this is a big part, because I've met people who grew up in Colorado who experienced the same thing in the other direction... moved to the coast and eventually returned to the mountains because they said the beach just wasn't the same.

I like music on the lift ride but find it to be a distraction while going downhill... a large part of the reason I primarily ski/ride in the trees (when possible) is for the silence and emptiness. At best I space out and don't even hear it, at worst it distracts me. Bit of personal history here though... had to do a lot of listening homework during grad school, learning songs for performances, analyzing styles of different jazz musicians, preparing for listening quizzes... and being in CO for grad school meant I was skiing whenever I wasn't in class or practicing, so I had to do a lot of forced listening to specific things while I was skiing and while I kinda preferred skiing in silence before that, I really really do now. Actually, I don't like doing anything active while listening to music (except dancing, I guess)... not sure if that's a consequence of music school or just the way I've always been.

 

What?? Are you telling me ski hills pump music at you while skiing???
I don't ski, so that is news to me!! Imagine then, sooner or later some idiot will do it at surf breaks--it starts with drones........

 

That's pretty funny. How long does it take for the grey suits to show up once you spear a fish?

 

thats a good system man! I do the same with a SUP. the SUP has a tie down and I anchor it so I can get to some off shore reef areas. I wish we had snapper in Rhode Island but ill take a nice striper too! snapper is the bomb though!

 

bagus be praised