Secret Spot
I realize its taboo to discuss secret spots but I will try not to reveal yours, though I might just. Secret spots are by their nature a little mystical and hold some magic for their owners. You read about them on your local online surfing forums especially when they had just been firing off with chest high barrels just minutes away from the sloppy, pond like conditions that I was enjoying at the same time. Apparently there must be some secret time element to this thing too as it never fails that those most desirable of waves occurred in the past and less so in the present. Some spots have names which I don’t dare reveal in ink, but even not so secret places are treated as such. Perhaps if they remain secret to even just one person maybe they retain their magic.
I have a secret spot. The lay of the land there is such that the ocean isn’t revealed so easily, and the walk down to the wet sand where I pause to attach my leash is farther than some spots I visit. I have never gotten barreled in my spot (ok, this is misleading since I have never been barreled anywhere yet), nor is it always chest high, glassy, A-frame lefts nicely lined up. Really, its not even secret, actually it’s right at a public beach access. You can go there right now and if you can find a free spot, it’s all yours. If I see you at my secret spot, then you will be my secret surf soul sister or brother for that little bit of time though I will not likely know or ask your name. I will give you wide berth not because I am unfriendly, but more likely I need it to keep my fin safely out of your tail.
This secret spot I speak of is really more than the “place”. Truth is, my secret spot lies deeper within and exists wherever it is I happen to paddle out. No, that isn’t really true either because I don’t even need my board or be within sight of the ocean to go to my secret spot. I carry this feeling around with me always and it’s easily accessible. Surfing has graced me with a secret spot that not everyone gets to have. I worked hard for this spot over the last few years. I wake early when others are still sleeping so that I can weave surfing with the rest of my life. I paddle out in the cold of February and I paddle out even when it’s flat sometimes. I fix my own dings and bring life back to old boards. I kindle the stoke I find in others, and I try to leave the beach and ocean better than I find it each time.
Sometimes I glide across waves as I sit in traffic, take a moment to stretch at my desk, or when I doze off to sleep at night. Of course I have visited my secret spot in my dreams on those nights I am lucky enough to remember… but I still haven’t gotten barreled there either.
See you in the water.
Surf Karma and Surfers Healing
Good waves and great rides are not just handed out every day around here. Learning to read and understand weather patterns and tracking down all the surf cams is a good start, but what you really need is some positive surf karma. If you have any good karma at all there are some really good ways to lose your surf karma. There has been an epidemic of stolen boards around here. If you steal another surfer’s board, you are doomed to a life of bad surf karma and you should probably take up croquet or something. Of course dropping in on someone, snaking a wave or endangering swimmers because you are showing off will cost you a few karma points, but don’t despair, you can earn them back. Sharing your wax, teaching someone to surf, helping a stranger with their stuck wetsuit zipper, helping someone in distress, picking up trash on the beach, all of this will help earn your way toward good surf karma and I promise, better surfing.
The other day Surfer’s Healing (www.surfershealing.org) was back in town and I spent the day doing my little part to help. This organization was founded by a surfer after discovering how the ocean and surfing seemed to have a therapeutic effect on his young, autistic son. That day they shared, at no cost to the participants, the amazing feeling of surfing with over a hundred autistic children of all ages. Positive Surf Karma was thick in the air as children were transformed, if only for that moment, by surfing. The sounds of crying replaced by laughter as these kids glided on 12 foot tandem boards with what can be best described as true watermen and treated to some surprisingly fun looking waves. There were many people volunteering and much praise should go to the organizers of this event, both local and with the Surfers Healing organization, but it’s the surfers that flew in for this event that impacted me the most. I have watched lots of surfing on the beach, or on videos and yes many gifted, hard working surfers can do amazing things and tricks on a wide range of boards. That being said, I have never been more impressed by any surfer more than these incredibly friendly 7 or 8 guys surf for over 6 hours with little you could call a break, on huge tandem boards entrusted with the lives of these very special kids and do it all with style and incredible stamina. As the event neared the end, I recall one of the darkly tanned surfers who was among those who came from Hawaii, when most of us would have been exhausted and lifeless, lift a kid up on his shoulders as he glided down the line. I think a few of the surfers were some of our own local guys, and the others came in from California and Hawaii, but what they did that day was perhaps the most impressive surfing I have seen and I don’t think they can ever run dry of good surf karma. If you missed this event, there are plenty of other opportunities to make a positive contribution to surfing inspired charities and benefit events. If surfing has been good to you, then take this challenge and find a way to build your surf karma.
See you in the water.
Venturing Out
When I finally achieved some success surfing, and by that I mean standing more than a millisecond and actually choosing when to “dismount” the board, I found myself very reluctant to venture beyond one spot. The parking was easy, the waves never crowded (nor ever that great) and there is a shower and public restroom available for at least part of the year. I had enough to contend with trying to become proficient and in my mind I decided to take whatever this spot would give which was mostly some sense of familiarity and comfort. As confidence and skills began shaping up, I ventured outward to discover other places that suited my surfing needs and wants. In fact for some time, if you ignore the “tourist” lesson in Hawaii on a 12 foot soft top, my surfing experiences were confined to about 100 miles of coast between Topsail Island and Myrtle Beach.
I suspect many of our local surfers reach some point where the depth of your skills needed some balancing with the breadth of surfing experiences. Experiences that come with some exploration whether that is driving a few hours north, or traveling to the opposite side of the globe, or maybe just trying someone else’s board on a fun Saturday morning. Now, I can’t imagine taking a vacation without the chance to surf something. I recently had the opportunity to be in central California and found myself picking my way via subway and public bus to a spot that rented boards and a wetsuits before the long plane ride back home. I will tell you, you can never appreciate the beaches we have until you have surfed with a hundred other people in the water around you. The terrain and views around me, even the rocky makeup of the beach under my feet felt very surreal to this southeastern North Carolina surfer. Described as a beginner or novice beach break, I was faced with large, thick surf and an unforgiving impact zone to cross before any waves were to be caught. Quickly reminded of the love / hate relationship I have with wetsuits, I paddled into my first west coast wave. I caught several good waves and the length and speed of the rides is what stands out about that day…well, that and breaking a leash for the first time and having to swim back in. Did I mention the unforgiving impact zone and the wetsuit? I wouldn’t trade this adventure, but I was glad to get back in our warm waters while I can still surf bareback for a while this season.
All of this reminds me that there are so many places I have never been let alone surfed. I will keep venturing out, and looking for chances to ride the various waves around the world if I am so fortunate, but I am going to start here in my back yard and venture out and see what new spots I can ride nearby.
See you in the water.
The Food Chain
Some may know George at OnShore Surf Shop in Surf City, and as this is a local magazine, I won’t spend much more time on him other than a few words of advice he gave to me freely. They were really just truths that were shared and that I have always kept as part of my surfing knowledge. A 7’9” BIC was my first board from George and though he may not remember me well, it’s hard to forget him or these “truths”. The first was that I should take the bar of wax he had given me and rub it all over the board nice and thick. I did this like I was the karate kid in the famous “wax on, wax off” scene, and I still do use lots of wax as is evident on nearly every inch of 9’6” longboard. Maybe its wishful thinking on my part that I will use those 18 or so inches of the nose for much more than holding wax, but one of these days I will elegantly cross step to that place and hang at least a few toes over while riding a wave.
Enough of that…truth number two from this embodiment of surfing was simply that once you got past your ankles in the ocean, that you were part of the food chain. This was said like only a long haired (at the time), mustached, flip flop wearing, and blank foam dust covered guy could say. I repeat this today whenever others ask me about jellyfish and sharks, with not nearly quite the same effect. Yesterday I thought about this truth a little more intently. Surfing gives a unique perspective on the ocean not just as a scenic backdrop or watery playing field, but as a living thing. From the earliest days of surfing, I have marveled at the life that the big blue sea holds within that relatively small space where waves heave up after traveling from places far beyond. I have seen countless pelicans; a session without seeing my friends the pelicans seems incomplete. I have “experienced” jellyfish and still find them to be the most mysterious of creatures. The first sting felt like a right of passage and its itchy scar a badge of honor. Subsequent stings quickly have quickly lost this charm. I’ve seen fish up close that ranged from the tiny unidentified bait that puddle up on the nose of my deck as I paddled through a wave, to the foot long silvery specimen that hopped out of the water in front of me just feet away, to the barracuda that jumped out right behind in hot pursuit. I was so close, and it came as such a surprise that I didn’t have time to be afraid, just utterly amazed. Dolphins seen from the shore are a treat and almost always create a stir of cameras and pointing fingers but from atop a surfboard at 10 feet away they are majestic and awe inspiring. The wet, grey muscular bodies arc up in that familiar fashion and then disappear leaving most surfers feeling pretty inadequate in the water. The lucky surfer might catch them at play riding a wave or thrusting their sleek bodies completely out of the water (you try that next time you are out swimming). All these wonders plus the crabs and little clams make for an interesting view of this food chain with you more or less on top. Its not until you see the shark do you feel yourself as part of the food chain. So when I saw that dark dorsal fin, I started to smile anticipating that familiar arc of the dolphin, an arc that never came. This fin moved slower and stayed level and was heading my way. Instincts are a great thing so I paddled to shore for a few minutes and I finally appreciated what the waterman from Surf City meant.
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