When the wind dies down, the crowds disappear and you have this aquatic playground all to yourself, you know it’s going to be a good day. Every single wave is yours for the taking. The waves aren’t perfect, but if they were there’s no way you’d be the only one out there. The mention of the fact that there was a shark earlier doesn’t even bother you. “It was out 200 yards. F%$%$ it. I’m not going anywhere.”
There are moments that leave permanent imprints on your mind that are so vivid, so etched for eternity that you can literally close your eyes and you can picture every detail and be back there anytime you want to get there (just few to share):
- The dark haired surfer girl smiling back at you as you come down the face of a wave with an ear to ear smile
- Your new found friend smiling from the beach at the fact that you just caught the ride of your life
- That first time I stood up on the board in Garopaba
- The most awesome wave of the day where I paddled back out to my friends only to learn that my board shorts had a giant rip down the back side (I thought they were smiling because it was such an awesome wave
- That long perfect ride in Sayulita where the water was warm and it the waves seemed to just peel on forever
Certain days and certain waves are just special. These are just a few of the hundreds I have. Like I said before they have a permanent imprint that you can’t ever forget. Forgetting these moments would be tragic.
Mother Nature’s Dance
Consider the waves your song and the ocean the girl you dance with. You find yourself constantly telling her one more dance, one more song. “One more good ride and I’ll get out.” Yet, for many, 20, 40, 50 years later that mantra are are the words surfers seem to live by. In certain moments, mother nature teases you. Right when you plan on getting out, a perfect set rolls in and you realize you can’t possibly leave in that moment. After all, those waves are way better than the one you just caught. It’d be like walking away from a blackjack table on a hot streak. So you paddle back out, and the music stops. The dance stops and she has her laugh. “Sure I’ll dance with you, just wait.” And you do, because that’s how much you’ve fallen for her. The truth is you really never can get enough. It’s just that good.
On the drive home, everything seems to have a deeper meaning. Your awareness elevates and you realize that the The Cure is singing about orgasms in the first few lines of Just Like Heaven and the calm, the smile, and everything else together puts you in a state of ecstasy. With that I’ve barely touched what it feels like to be stoked. Happy Friday.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I needed this, having moved up to the Bay Area last year, it’s too cold to surf up here. I miss the warmth of Southern California, even in Winter. Totally remember dropping in on my first wave caught ever at Swami’s in Encinitas. A good memory so thanks.//Marc
Marc Winitz´s last blog ..Be Hard On Yourself – The Zen of “How”
@Marc: Didn’t realize you were a surfer. That’s awesome. I know what you mean about not surfing up there. I used to live there. I never once got in the water. It’s ridiculous because you have to wear so much gear and you still freeze your balls off.
This is fantastic, Srinivas.
I’ve tried surfing a few times but living so far from a beach it was never something I could keep up, but I definitely relate to the feeling of freedom and openness you are describing while out on a wave.
Oh, and that dark haired surfer girl doesn’t sound too bad either.
Ian´s last blog ..The Law of The Jungle AKA How to Take Less Crap
Ian: It’s really been the thing has been my driving force. I remember hearing in a movie once Kelly Slater describing the fact that a wave has traveled for thousands of miles so there is a tremendous amount of energy behind that. Whatever it is, I love it, live for it, and it’s my drug. The surfer girl is even nicer when you live in a place where you don’t have to wear wetsuits all the time. That is why I plan to head back to Brazil soon : )
Yeah, the full suit with hood and booties thing isn’t happening. I’ll have to live vicariously through your blog for now…
Marc Winitz´s last blog ..Be Hard On Yourself – The Zen of “How”
It’s good to find your drug. That one thing that inspires you and drives you on.
Yeah, when I picture surfer girls I’m thinking along the lines of Blue Crush and not off the coast of Cornwall during a miserable and wet January weekend!
Ian´s last blog ..The Law of The Jungle AKA How to Take Less Crap
I’ve NEVER tried surfing, because there are no waves anywhere where I’ve lived. Maybe sometime. I do agree that some memories are awesome and seem to get etched with a torch into your brain.
Sometimes they don’t get imprinted right away but become apparent and pop up years later. Interesting how that works
Henri @ Wake Up Cloud´s last blog ..How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Blog Subscribers
This sounds like paradise, you explained it perfectly. I miss california so much and i’ve never even lived there, I wish I could live the surfing dream but alas I’ll have to live through your blog like Marc is. Happy Surfing
Brian Cox´s last blog ..Invictus
Heh… I love it up here in San Fran. It’s easy to find empty waves if you’re willing to walk a little bit.
I recall a day a few years ago… dry hair paddle out at OB… 9′ to 11′… offshore… took the 7/9 Aleutian Juice out… coming in deep, so deep, getting sucked way up the face, the wind supporting the nose… then popup! And straight down the face into a tight bottom turn… riding the rail right back up the face… reaching out… a wall of blue water lipping right over head… then closing right over me.
Or the time down at Sloat, made the bottom turn and tried to get back over the top. No dice. Completely tubed 4 feet over my head. Washarama!
Yeah man.
‘Course, right now I couldn’t run around the block.
Perfect… iTunes just cycled into some Iz!
Dave Doolin´s last blog ..How Moderating Comments On Your Blog Destroys Conversation