I had a pretty interesting experience, late morning on Wednesday, which had gotten me thinking and reflecting all day. After seeing the impressive power pushing through at OB, I thought I might explore down south a bit, and get a sense for how this swell was lighting up some breaks that are less familiar to me... One after another, most spots were closing out, but a few miles south of HMB, I happened upon an uncrowded beachbreak that seemed to be really working. Screaming fast right barrels off a steep takeoff. I paddled out.
There were three other guys in the water - only one of whom was making the critical takeoff and pulsing down the line. The rest of us, comparatively, were just scrapping for shoulders.
Now, this one guy was killing it; taking off deep and then tucking into almond-shaped barrel after barrel. It was great to see… some really memorable surfing. Now, here’s where it gets interesting to me: As we paddled to get over an oncoming wave, I said “hi”, just real simple, and he basically glared at me and did this angry splashing thing with his foot. Weird, but… whatever.
Then, I noted that every single time he didn’t make a wave, or was too far inside for the set wave, or didn’t tuck into the tube, et cetera, he would yell, scream, moan, kick out angrily, or otherwise somehow express some loud painful angst. If I was surfing as well as he was, I’d have been ecstatic with joy, and yet he was emanating little other than frustration and anger. It really made an impression on me.
It must take a lot of intensity to get to a place of surfing that well… but what about the love, the spirit, the style, the poise? When I left the water, I actually felt bad for a guy that had just gotten barreled more times in one hour, than I have in my life. And I’m so grateful that my usual experience of surfing around here is one of kinship and camaraderie. It’s good here, and I’m so glad that kind of anger is such an outlier. Keep the stoke flowing, all.
Intensity/anger/stoke
1 year ago
Right on man, I think we have a pretty unique situation here at SFOB and i'm also super thankful for the vibes and stoke from this rad surfing community.
1 year ago
yes, Santa Cruzers are wack - caught up in the hardcore local/surf culture/surf media/surf imagery spin cycle so hard they're not sure what's up, down, or real anymore.
1 year ago
For some people, surfing is all they have left so they surf with rage. Every missed wave represents a lifetime of missed opportunities and failures.
1 year ago
I've noticed that in bikers, too (cycling, that is). something about intensity and anger being kind of close to each other at times. or something.
1 year ago
Cloud: That attitude seems to be exclusive to the "Roadie" set, where giving any indication, at any time, that you are enjoying yourself, is considered a failure.
1 year ago
I lurk here, but never posted until now. I've been surfing OB since 1986 - watched the crowds grow, read the New Yorker article in horror as my treasure was exposed to all, seen the trendy surf shops open and fail, speed dialed Wise's busy signal surf report, parked on the dirt at the 2nd lot, watched a Bud Tour surfer save a swimmer and win the contest, watched the construction of the seawall, saw the Oakland hills fire light up the beach in a purple haze and now as much as was hoping it would go away, I finally accept that SR is here to stay.
I now have a job, a good job that keeps me out of the water all week. I have a young child that limits my water time. But I am the happiest guy you'll see in the water every Saturday, and if my wife let's me, on Sunday too.
When I was younger I surfed every day. I had no job. I had no kids. I surfed really good. I surfed angry.
There's more to life than just surfing.
1 year ago
was out today @ B0 and it was dinky with plenty of logs in the water to my shorter board..
sun, sea, knee high, seals
I can't surf angry or even agro
Maybe I'd be better if I did..
I doubt it
1 year ago
Hell, I am so old I have nothing to get angry at. This guy's bitterness will hopefully fade. I have not surfed in about two weeks which is terrible considering the amazing waves lately but work and life have not given me the time. Many are days I would not go out on anyway but I did make it to the mountains for some amazing spring skiing... it all comes down to motivations and state of mind. If surfing is making you angry, I think the point has been lost. Keep the stoke... and know your limits. That is what I say.
1 year ago
I used to golf. Hated the feeling of missing a 3' putt or slicing the drive. Worried about the total score for the day and how it will change your handicap. I like surfing because there is no right or wrong, just surfing and having fun.
1 year ago
@tehdely & @cloud: I used to be one of those "roadies". Did it for 11 years, a lot of it at a high level. Oftentimes, roadies don't look like they're having fun because the entire point of road racing is to kick other guys' ass (or have your ass kicked). It's totally testosterone and ego fueled and it is fun if you're able to be the ass kicker rather than the kickee, but we all have to grow up someday.
Surfing is nice because if there's a struggle, it's not against other people, it's against the elements. The struggle to paddle out, the struggle to catch a wave. There's no "winning" - nearly all of us are just out there to get a workout and have fun while doing it. Unlike sports where the struggle is against others, surfing will nearly always make you humble. I feel much better about myself as a surfer. When I was bike racing I knew deep down inside that a lot of what was driving it was ego-driven insecurity from athletic failures in my childhood. Better to let that stuff go. Better to go out in the ocean, compete with no one, appreciate nature's beauty and be stoked.
1 year ago
I swear it wasn't me. I was busy that day, also, someone found my board in the jetty the next day so I'm the second luckiest bastard considering everything that happened at Mavericks that day.
1 year ago
@AG, awesome. Stoked you got that board back. All in one piece?
And, couldn't be you... You've mellowed out. Haven't heard you cuss a wave in years!
1 year ago
@Danimal....415 665 WISE......I remember the days of the busy signals....we'd start calling at like 9:55 hoping it would be updated and we could get it before the dreaded busy signal :)
Thanks you just brought out some good memories.
1 year ago
@AG @sticker....Does the double flip the bird at a solid 10' of wash count? :)
That's still pretty loud even if it is in sign language :)
1 year ago
There are lots of surfers, stuck in this perpetual state of "stoke", who claim everyone else is not having fun. It seems these are the guys who hated on Andy Irons and worship Rasta. "He has such great style," they say, when Machado does a check turn on a 2ft oceanside wave. "Whatever," they say, when Jamie O'Brien gets the deepest barrel ever in the history of surfing.
This angry ripper may have well been me. From my perspective, getting barreled is bliss beyond bliss. On the flip side, "every wave not made, was too far inside, didn’t tuck into the tube, et cetera" is pain beyond pain. I don't paddle out for a group hug, to look at rainbows, and to smile in the sun. I can go smoke some herb in a grassy field for those feelings. No, I paddle out to get barreled.
1 year ago
@surfingstoke...is that name a misnomer or irony? Trust me, nobody wants to hug you...in fact, we wish you would just paddle in. See, we get enough scowling and mumbling from walking on the streets or driving on the road, don't really want to hear that in the line-up too, thank you very much. Why don't you just let your hot-shit-shredness speak for it's awesome self? "I ONLY PADDLE OUT TO GET BARRELED"... come on, you should listen to yourself, that sounds way too corny to be taken seriously.
1 year ago
sunday. down the coast with lots of nice guys getting in a little exercise. decent waves. a bit crowded but worst of all is the stand up paddle boarder who was not sharing a thing. what a jerk! he got in arguments with two separate people. have not seen that up here. it felt like santa cruz. I guess he never shared the blocks in kindergarten. He was like someone going up to a buffet line and walking off with the entire roast beef. his vibe will come back and bite him in the ass eventually. then two more paddle boarders show up. I was out of there.
1 year ago
@surfingstoke, that's like fucking only to procreate. Sure its the "ultimate", but fun is fun.
