Yesterday evening I cruised over to the Blockade Runner to check out a
special surfcamp outrech program put on by Indojax Surf Camp. It was very
low key and like any surf lesson you see the expected pearling, shaky pop
ups and kooky stances. This group was no different really; energetic kids,
excited but worried parents, and stoke invoking instructors... In fact a
few a few of those kids did much better tha my first surfing attempts. But
there was something different about this surf class. These kids were all
visually impaired and some had other impairments too. Indojax rocks in my
book. During this season they are doing a out a dozen outreach programs at
no cost. These guys give their time, equipment and stoke freely to these
outreach events. I am still tryoing to decide who had the biggest
smiles....the kids, their parents, the indojax guys....or me.
... Message sent via Blackberry...
Laurence C. Bergman
Information Technology Director
City of Wilmington
PO Box 1810
Wilmington, NC 28402-1810
Phone: 910-343-3909
Fax: 910-341-4624
Email: larry.bergman@wilmingtonnc.gov.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Of wax and distant waves
Of Wax and Distant Waves
There is a partially used bar of wax in my car. The cooler weather has kept it from ending up as pool of muck in my drink holder although with the current state of my surf heap, it wouldn’t matter much if it did melt. I find myself sticking the tacky white chunk to my nose and breathing in deep. Hours later I will still be able to feel the wax on my fingers and smell the familiar tropical scent that can put me on a top of a board on a pretty left no matter where I happen to be at that moment.
Speaking of which, for the second time in just a few short weeks I find myself on the road and far away from good surf. A good friend said not to worry, that if the waves were good they would comfort me by saying that it was flat. Thanks, really, I mean it… unfortunately they can’t email me with this little white lie because it turns out to be chest high and clean and they are all too busy collecting memories for their “you should have been here yesterday” stories. From 250 miles inland I watched the reports and updates all day, all week, the surf was shaping up nicely and of course there I was , the closest body of water- a muddy brown lake.
The next trip away was to honor the passing of my grandfather. Interestingly, he didn’t swim. He told me about an incident that had put fear into him as a young boy. I think it was probably the only thing he was afraid of actually. When I was much younger he would join us at the beach and he would walk up and down the ocean’s edge and had an uncanny ability to spot sharks teeth. It was pointed by another good friend that ancient Germanic tribes attributed the ocean as the place our souls come from and return to, so this meshed well with my thoughts of my strong German decent Grandfather. He was good with his hands… fixing things, doing woodwork, tending gardens; Utilitarian and creative all at once. I am just now seeing similar elements in myself with a new appreciation. Maybe I can reign in some of his spirit as I shape a new board. Anyway, if you are having a particularly good day of big, shapely swell…. You are welcome, because I must be out of town.
As simple as wax is, it’s much too under appreciated. Knowing how frustrating it is to need it and not have it, I recall scraping some off my board with a shell to let a fellow surfer get that little bit of grip to get through the day. And who hasn’t tossed a little nub of wax to another in need, all in the name of good surf karma. The variations on technique for applying wax are interesting too. I just have to learn to do that sunburst spiral thing before its time to put on the summer wax. There are a ridiculous number of surf wax brands once you do a little research. There is a surf wax collection online that just boggled my mind. I was taught to use lots of wax and put it all over and I still do this. Putting new wax on a clean board is something I really enjoy, and actually stripping it off is pretty satisfying to me. I run my hand up and down the smooth deck looking for cracks and bumps and remember that this is how that board originally looked. This summer a family friend met us at the beach and brought an old beater thruster from the 80’s…it was all original...including the wax. It was so old and dirty I wondered if it was some secret pine tar recipe. Surf wax is also a convenient excuse to walk into a surf shop. I have bought wax in every shop I know of in the area as the drawer in my utility room demonstrates. Sex Wax, the old standard is still probably my preference as long as it’s the white pineapple variety, but I use others too including one with little color coded flecks so you can tell if it’s warm or cold water wax- pure genius. Drop by your favorite shop, grab some wax for your stick, and maybe an extra bar for your desk at work or school or and you will never be too far from those distant waves.
See you in the water.
Drop me a line at writteninwax@gmail.com with comments, complaints, cool surfing pics, salsa recipes or for no reason at all.
There is a partially used bar of wax in my car. The cooler weather has kept it from ending up as pool of muck in my drink holder although with the current state of my surf heap, it wouldn’t matter much if it did melt. I find myself sticking the tacky white chunk to my nose and breathing in deep. Hours later I will still be able to feel the wax on my fingers and smell the familiar tropical scent that can put me on a top of a board on a pretty left no matter where I happen to be at that moment.
Speaking of which, for the second time in just a few short weeks I find myself on the road and far away from good surf. A good friend said not to worry, that if the waves were good they would comfort me by saying that it was flat. Thanks, really, I mean it… unfortunately they can’t email me with this little white lie because it turns out to be chest high and clean and they are all too busy collecting memories for their “you should have been here yesterday” stories. From 250 miles inland I watched the reports and updates all day, all week, the surf was shaping up nicely and of course there I was , the closest body of water- a muddy brown lake.
The next trip away was to honor the passing of my grandfather. Interestingly, he didn’t swim. He told me about an incident that had put fear into him as a young boy. I think it was probably the only thing he was afraid of actually. When I was much younger he would join us at the beach and he would walk up and down the ocean’s edge and had an uncanny ability to spot sharks teeth. It was pointed by another good friend that ancient Germanic tribes attributed the ocean as the place our souls come from and return to, so this meshed well with my thoughts of my strong German decent Grandfather. He was good with his hands… fixing things, doing woodwork, tending gardens; Utilitarian and creative all at once. I am just now seeing similar elements in myself with a new appreciation. Maybe I can reign in some of his spirit as I shape a new board. Anyway, if you are having a particularly good day of big, shapely swell…. You are welcome, because I must be out of town.
As simple as wax is, it’s much too under appreciated. Knowing how frustrating it is to need it and not have it, I recall scraping some off my board with a shell to let a fellow surfer get that little bit of grip to get through the day. And who hasn’t tossed a little nub of wax to another in need, all in the name of good surf karma. The variations on technique for applying wax are interesting too. I just have to learn to do that sunburst spiral thing before its time to put on the summer wax. There are a ridiculous number of surf wax brands once you do a little research. There is a surf wax collection online that just boggled my mind. I was taught to use lots of wax and put it all over and I still do this. Putting new wax on a clean board is something I really enjoy, and actually stripping it off is pretty satisfying to me. I run my hand up and down the smooth deck looking for cracks and bumps and remember that this is how that board originally looked. This summer a family friend met us at the beach and brought an old beater thruster from the 80’s…it was all original...including the wax. It was so old and dirty I wondered if it was some secret pine tar recipe. Surf wax is also a convenient excuse to walk into a surf shop. I have bought wax in every shop I know of in the area as the drawer in my utility room demonstrates. Sex Wax, the old standard is still probably my preference as long as it’s the white pineapple variety, but I use others too including one with little color coded flecks so you can tell if it’s warm or cold water wax- pure genius. Drop by your favorite shop, grab some wax for your stick, and maybe an extra bar for your desk at work or school or and you will never be too far from those distant waves.
See you in the water.
Drop me a line at writteninwax@gmail.com with comments, complaints, cool surfing pics, salsa recipes or for no reason at all.
A few of the recent Written In Wax articles
The new Local Sessions is out, so get to your favorite surfshop in town and grab a copy. If you can't wait to check out the latest Written In Wax column I copied it, and some of the recent issues pieces too.
Surf Now, Apocalypse later. That’s what the beachside graffiti read somewhere in California. This issue arrives on the heels of recession, pandemic, and worse…a rather lame winter and spring of waves. Sure, there have been a few magic days, and with the right stick you can just about always catch a little ride but those long cold months with short days require more commitment. The solution? Summer. You don’t have to wait ‘til June 21…it begins when the wetsuits start getting shed, boards get stripped and freshly waxed (you do take that old wax off don’t you?), and you stop feeling so lonely at your favorite surf spot.
Some of the best days of the year have nothing to do with the size of waves, but rather the freedom of paddling out in just board shorts for the first time that season and feeing the still cool water with the assurance that the sun will quickly warm you. The “right coast” way of surf life is about changes and cycles, it’s about the promise of waves brought by autumn storms and winter swells and the assurance that summer will come and let us feel the ocean without neoprene prisons surrounding us. Think about this…have you ever had a surf dream where you are wearing a wetsuit?
And…some of the most memorable days may not even be about the waves you surf at all, but the waves that a little grom will catch for the first time at surf camp, or that an autistic child will find some peace in at the Surfers Healing event, or that wave that gets a competitor a heat winning score in one of the various competitions we have in the back yards all along our Local Sessions coastline.
But…yes, some of your favorite days of summer will be about waves, your waves and those of friends around you. It will be about those days were you can sit on the beach with friends or family and jump up and run in for a few waves and then easily coast in and build a sandcastle with the kids. The days are long and its once again possible to get in a dawn patrol surf before work or school, and then catch another session after dinner. If we love surfing, then this is a little of the “why” we love summer in the South.
Some will curse the tourist that push their umbrellas 4 inches into the sand only to have it blow away and spear your favorite board (yes this is fact not fiction), and others will moan about the surf zones and regulations (which you should obey and educate others about if you plan on keeping these rights), and maybe those human obstacles that are in the surf keep you from a great ride now and again. The contrast is part of what makes changes in the seasons something to look forward to; who knows, maybe in a few months you will be wishing for an empty lineup and 48 degree water.
Write your comments and questions on a twenty dollar bill and send it to Local Sessions...or just email me at writteninwax@gmail.com …see you in the water.
Not So Regular
I am not overly conscious about myself, but I am pretty sure that I don’t have a goofy haircut and my wife is good at keeping me dressed so I am not too goofy looking, or at least not when she is around. So why is it that just because some of us surf or skate with a right foot forward we are destined to be called a “goofy foot”? I can vaguely remember someone telling me I was goofy as I was learning to surf, but that it didn’t really matter. Of course they, a regular foot, had no Disneyland stigma attached to their stance. I have since learned that left handers tend to be goofy and right handers tend to be regular, but it’s not always the case. I am actually right handed and goofy footed which must make me even rarer.
Of course I am in good company and you may have heard of these before…Tom Carroll, Joel Tudor, Gerry Lopez, Rob Machado to name a few. I thought my son was going to join me in this elite status, but I am afraid he is going to stand regular like his momma. I guess everyone can’t be blessed with a right foot forward stance. In fact, of the 70 or so male surfers listed in the Fantasy Surfer statistics, only about 25 percent are Goofy footed, and only one of the 19 Women riders, 5%, is a right foot front stance. This has no real value in knowing or having shared with you, but if other sports aficionados can spit out useless trivia about how many footballs an NFL home team has to provide the referee (24), or who reached 1000 strike outs first (Babe Ruth), then you can stun them with your prowess on the footedness percentages of professional surfers. There is a fair amount of research on handedness, but finding surf related handedness and footedness research is pretty slim pickens. I am guessing that surfers would rather…well…be surfing than researching.
As the story goes, the 1937 Disney cartoon, Hawaiian Holiday (you can find it on YouTube) depicts, among other things, Goofy surfing right foot forward on a blunt tailed, finless, no rocker plank and it has stuck ever since. I suppose I have grown fond of the term. Regular sounds so…regular. A “goofy foot” t-shirt would be kind of cool, but “regular”? Yes, your parents must be so proud that you are regular. Of course plenty of regulars seem to be adamant that their stance is dominant and more prevalent for a reason. I found a great story about the late legendary surfer/shaper Dale Velzy and his great dismay as he learned that is young son was goofy foot. This is a family magazine, so I will have to leave that particular quote out…just use your imagination.
As I have progressed and become more confident of my abilities on a surfboard, the name for how I stand isn’t really that big of a concern…although, now that I think of it, maybe when that person called me goofy when I was surfing that it had nothing to do with my stance…
See you in the water.
Writteninwax@gmail.com is your direct email link to send comments, suggestions, or to enlighten me with more useless trivia.
Surf Now, Apocalypse later. That’s what the beachside graffiti read somewhere in California. This issue arrives on the heels of recession, pandemic, and worse…a rather lame winter and spring of waves. Sure, there have been a few magic days, and with the right stick you can just about always catch a little ride but those long cold months with short days require more commitment. The solution? Summer. You don’t have to wait ‘til June 21…it begins when the wetsuits start getting shed, boards get stripped and freshly waxed (you do take that old wax off don’t you?), and you stop feeling so lonely at your favorite surf spot.
Some of the best days of the year have nothing to do with the size of waves, but rather the freedom of paddling out in just board shorts for the first time that season and feeing the still cool water with the assurance that the sun will quickly warm you. The “right coast” way of surf life is about changes and cycles, it’s about the promise of waves brought by autumn storms and winter swells and the assurance that summer will come and let us feel the ocean without neoprene prisons surrounding us. Think about this…have you ever had a surf dream where you are wearing a wetsuit?
And…some of the most memorable days may not even be about the waves you surf at all, but the waves that a little grom will catch for the first time at surf camp, or that an autistic child will find some peace in at the Surfers Healing event, or that wave that gets a competitor a heat winning score in one of the various competitions we have in the back yards all along our Local Sessions coastline.
But…yes, some of your favorite days of summer will be about waves, your waves and those of friends around you. It will be about those days were you can sit on the beach with friends or family and jump up and run in for a few waves and then easily coast in and build a sandcastle with the kids. The days are long and its once again possible to get in a dawn patrol surf before work or school, and then catch another session after dinner. If we love surfing, then this is a little of the “why” we love summer in the South.
Some will curse the tourist that push their umbrellas 4 inches into the sand only to have it blow away and spear your favorite board (yes this is fact not fiction), and others will moan about the surf zones and regulations (which you should obey and educate others about if you plan on keeping these rights), and maybe those human obstacles that are in the surf keep you from a great ride now and again. The contrast is part of what makes changes in the seasons something to look forward to; who knows, maybe in a few months you will be wishing for an empty lineup and 48 degree water.
Write your comments and questions on a twenty dollar bill and send it to Local Sessions...or just email me at writteninwax@gmail.com …see you in the water.
Not So Regular
I am not overly conscious about myself, but I am pretty sure that I don’t have a goofy haircut and my wife is good at keeping me dressed so I am not too goofy looking, or at least not when she is around. So why is it that just because some of us surf or skate with a right foot forward we are destined to be called a “goofy foot”? I can vaguely remember someone telling me I was goofy as I was learning to surf, but that it didn’t really matter. Of course they, a regular foot, had no Disneyland stigma attached to their stance. I have since learned that left handers tend to be goofy and right handers tend to be regular, but it’s not always the case. I am actually right handed and goofy footed which must make me even rarer.
Of course I am in good company and you may have heard of these before…Tom Carroll, Joel Tudor, Gerry Lopez, Rob Machado to name a few. I thought my son was going to join me in this elite status, but I am afraid he is going to stand regular like his momma. I guess everyone can’t be blessed with a right foot forward stance. In fact, of the 70 or so male surfers listed in the Fantasy Surfer statistics, only about 25 percent are Goofy footed, and only one of the 19 Women riders, 5%, is a right foot front stance. This has no real value in knowing or having shared with you, but if other sports aficionados can spit out useless trivia about how many footballs an NFL home team has to provide the referee (24), or who reached 1000 strike outs first (Babe Ruth), then you can stun them with your prowess on the footedness percentages of professional surfers. There is a fair amount of research on handedness, but finding surf related handedness and footedness research is pretty slim pickens. I am guessing that surfers would rather…well…be surfing than researching.
As the story goes, the 1937 Disney cartoon, Hawaiian Holiday (you can find it on YouTube) depicts, among other things, Goofy surfing right foot forward on a blunt tailed, finless, no rocker plank and it has stuck ever since. I suppose I have grown fond of the term. Regular sounds so…regular. A “goofy foot” t-shirt would be kind of cool, but “regular”? Yes, your parents must be so proud that you are regular. Of course plenty of regulars seem to be adamant that their stance is dominant and more prevalent for a reason. I found a great story about the late legendary surfer/shaper Dale Velzy and his great dismay as he learned that is young son was goofy foot. This is a family magazine, so I will have to leave that particular quote out…just use your imagination.
As I have progressed and become more confident of my abilities on a surfboard, the name for how I stand isn’t really that big of a concern…although, now that I think of it, maybe when that person called me goofy when I was surfing that it had nothing to do with my stance…
See you in the water.
Writteninwax@gmail.com is your direct email link to send comments, suggestions, or to enlighten me with more useless trivia.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Mexican Surfari
I arrived back from Mexico early on a Sunday morning, the hot water of the shower at 3 AM felt very foreign after a week without, as I felt the dust of Mexico wash away. I could feel the soreness in my shoulders and back, and feel the various surfing inflicted rashes, pains and scrapes of a week of surfing 3 and 4 times a day. Playa La Saladita is is a warm water, looooong, left point break in the state of Guerrero in Mexico. I easily had the best rides of my life on that wave, long rides where I could relax and enjoy the surroundings and experience it all. If that wasn't enough, I had a chance to meet with and surf near my favorite author Allan Weisbecker who is camped out just yards from this magic spot. The group also spent a fair amount of time at a small local school volunteering and becoming more a part of the community, and hopefully showing the people of La Saladita and Los Llanos that the surfers coming to their world are more than ghosts passing through.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
If you have not caught the latest Local Sessions Magazine, here is the latest published "Written in Wax"
Close to the Soul
I added a sticker to the beloved “surfmobile” with the stylized silhouette of a noserider that says “Stay Close to the Soul”. I don’t really need a sticker to remind me of this, but it seemed fitting to add it there next to the Fuel TV decal and right above the Local Sessions sticker. This is a small, outward expression of what surfing is to me though it is essentially impossible to relay the feeling to someone who doesn’t surf. Certainly friends and loved ones can sense my excitement and hear my “stoke” as I talk about one of my best days on the water. It’s no wonder so many people have taken up surfing because we are the best marketing tool that any industry could hope to have…millions of devotees spread across the globe who can hardly contain themselves as a good swell comes to their favorite break, or that talks about their latest session with a sparkle in their eye. This club without a roster shows up to the beach toting foam and fiberglass works of art under tan, muscular arms and shoulders so it’s hard not to notice and aspire to this subculture. The surfing world runs on this engine that we help fuel and as much as some may complain, it’s what pushes the new generations of surfing technology. Just like the sticker on my jeep, I think deep down the surfing world wants everyone to know how amazing and perfect a ride on a wave can be, and like any good secret, it’s hard to keep.
Still, when you strip this away, when you subtract out those who will try and fail, or those that never get that addictive thrill, and that do not connect to the ocean, you are left with those who have a soul of surfing. They might compete and even get sponsored, just ride with friends, or look for the solitude of an empty dawn patrol spot, but the soul is there in any of them. A few years back when I finally figured out the “act” of surfing, the “soul” of surfing quickly washed over me like the clear, turquoise blue ocean of a summer afternoon. My favorite new quote says… “the cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea” (Isak Dinesen). Though this surfing soul was born in the “ride”, I think this quote sums up why it stays strong in me. I didn’t really know I had an ailment, until surfing and the ocean healed me. For every specific ride or memorable session I have just as many memories of things like seeing a school of fish under me as I rode down the line, or seeing a dolphin up close in the wild, or feeling the curative effects of the ocean on my stuffy nose or lingering hangover. You have to work for this, and you might get hurt. However, if you are good to surfing, it will be good to you.
There are other facets of my surfing soul. While the surfing bug was biting hard, anytime I wasn’t in the water, I was reading about surfing, hanging out on WBLivesurf.com or Swaylocks.com, or in the garage giving life to old boards. I read a few of Kem Nunn’s books and then stumbled onto Allan Weisbecker. I now count Weisbecker as a friend and who has recently been very ill. He wrote among other things “In Search for Captain Zero”, the first book of his I found and read. The story isn’t all about surfing, but the soul of surfing is present throughout. It’s worth your time. A lot of the most interesting people with whom I have connected to over the past year or so are as a result of surfing or Local Sessions which of course fuels this soul and stoke. This human element of soul surfing comes to me when I meet someone in the lineup, or as I learn the name of a mystery surfer from that foggy morning session, and from the fellow surfer at the Midas shop who keeps the “heep” running. Of course I can’t forget the family that puts this great magazine together. If Chris and Patsy aren’t close to the soul, then I don’t know who is. A lot of what surfing is to me is very personal, but I have learned that staying “close to the soul” has a broad, inclusive meaning.
See you in the water.
Got a comment or idea? Let me know at Writteninwax@gmail.com
Close to the Soul
I added a sticker to the beloved “surfmobile” with the stylized silhouette of a noserider that says “Stay Close to the Soul”. I don’t really need a sticker to remind me of this, but it seemed fitting to add it there next to the Fuel TV decal and right above the Local Sessions sticker. This is a small, outward expression of what surfing is to me though it is essentially impossible to relay the feeling to someone who doesn’t surf. Certainly friends and loved ones can sense my excitement and hear my “stoke” as I talk about one of my best days on the water. It’s no wonder so many people have taken up surfing because we are the best marketing tool that any industry could hope to have…millions of devotees spread across the globe who can hardly contain themselves as a good swell comes to their favorite break, or that talks about their latest session with a sparkle in their eye. This club without a roster shows up to the beach toting foam and fiberglass works of art under tan, muscular arms and shoulders so it’s hard not to notice and aspire to this subculture. The surfing world runs on this engine that we help fuel and as much as some may complain, it’s what pushes the new generations of surfing technology. Just like the sticker on my jeep, I think deep down the surfing world wants everyone to know how amazing and perfect a ride on a wave can be, and like any good secret, it’s hard to keep.
Still, when you strip this away, when you subtract out those who will try and fail, or those that never get that addictive thrill, and that do not connect to the ocean, you are left with those who have a soul of surfing. They might compete and even get sponsored, just ride with friends, or look for the solitude of an empty dawn patrol spot, but the soul is there in any of them. A few years back when I finally figured out the “act” of surfing, the “soul” of surfing quickly washed over me like the clear, turquoise blue ocean of a summer afternoon. My favorite new quote says… “the cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea” (Isak Dinesen). Though this surfing soul was born in the “ride”, I think this quote sums up why it stays strong in me. I didn’t really know I had an ailment, until surfing and the ocean healed me. For every specific ride or memorable session I have just as many memories of things like seeing a school of fish under me as I rode down the line, or seeing a dolphin up close in the wild, or feeling the curative effects of the ocean on my stuffy nose or lingering hangover. You have to work for this, and you might get hurt. However, if you are good to surfing, it will be good to you.
There are other facets of my surfing soul. While the surfing bug was biting hard, anytime I wasn’t in the water, I was reading about surfing, hanging out on WBLivesurf.com or Swaylocks.com, or in the garage giving life to old boards. I read a few of Kem Nunn’s books and then stumbled onto Allan Weisbecker. I now count Weisbecker as a friend and who has recently been very ill. He wrote among other things “In Search for Captain Zero”, the first book of his I found and read. The story isn’t all about surfing, but the soul of surfing is present throughout. It’s worth your time. A lot of the most interesting people with whom I have connected to over the past year or so are as a result of surfing or Local Sessions which of course fuels this soul and stoke. This human element of soul surfing comes to me when I meet someone in the lineup, or as I learn the name of a mystery surfer from that foggy morning session, and from the fellow surfer at the Midas shop who keeps the “heep” running. Of course I can’t forget the family that puts this great magazine together. If Chris and Patsy aren’t close to the soul, then I don’t know who is. A lot of what surfing is to me is very personal, but I have learned that staying “close to the soul” has a broad, inclusive meaning.
See you in the water.
Got a comment or idea? Let me know at Writteninwax@gmail.com
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Safe Passage
Latest contribution to Local Sessions Magazine... get a copy at your local shop cape fear shop for lots of great pics and original content...
Craigslist Post: surf board - $25
one full size surfboard with safety rope, it belonged to my son but he is in heaven now
that is all it said. Reading this posting I felt lucky and hoped I replied in time. When I opened the ad and read this simple statement I really had to pause. Lots of emotions and thoughts about life, surfing and surfers who have passed fell onto me like a good rainstorm. I felt a deep sadness as I thought about my perfect children and how very much I love them and couldn’t fathom losing them ever. I can clearly see the smile on my son’s face as he turned back from the shore to look at me standing in the ocean searching for a “thumbs up” of approval as he surfed in for the first times. Anyone who has ever surfed has the privilege of feeling a little closer to his or her maker and perhaps that is why I felt compelled to see if the board was still available not because I need another board (whoa…did I actually write that !? ) but rather I really wanted that kindred spirit to be nourished and given new life and I had something in mind.
I troll around craigslist looking for boards, some to fix and resell, some to ride, and even broken ones for art projects. So yes, I don’t really “need” a surfboard I suppose. Giving life to old or broken things is very satisfying. Fixing up an old longboard that was nearly part of the landfill into homage to a favorite writer (the Weisbecker Board) became an obsession, and I just finished one art piece from thruster with a broken tail for the Art to Heart auction to benefit Duke Children’s Hospital that used the surface of the board as a canvas. This board however had already found a new home. Maybe to be resold, or hung up somewhere, but ultimately I hope that board finds the ocean again since my plans to paint it and give it a new, multifaceted life as a surfboard, art and donation for charity events won’t work out with this one- but I will find another.
Still, this unnamed surfer will be given a little more life here among us; at least this is my hope. If we remember people, then a part of them keeps living and if we can pass these memories or things along, then maybe they are never fully gone, and they live forever. One thing I dwelled on much after a friend passed on some years back, is that I would have much rather been driving to go see him living and not driving to a memorial in his honor. So, go see your friends and family, don’t take them for granted.
Life and Surfing becomes synonymous to many. I don’t know much about some of the people I surf with; often I don’t know their names even if I have seen them a dozen times and even chatted with them. I do know that they are a surfer. Someone who shares the thrills of the ride, or utter awe at the ocean’s beauty and power, or maybe they too find a lot of calm and peace in the ocean. As I go left, sliding down the line on a glassy wave, I thrust my hand into the wave face, and I’m connected and time no longer exists. It doesn’t stop or slow down, it’s just not there. As I paddle out for a dawn patrol session, I breathe in the ocean air, and float facing the sunrise and experience one of surfing’s great pleasures. I know nothing about this surfer, and not much about others that have passed on really, but I don’t need do. I didn’t need to know anything else about this man and his son.
Now and again we lose a fellow surfer and remember them by paddling out and joining together in the ocean that drew them in and gave them new life as surfer. Isek Dinesen wrote…”The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea…”, and so wishing fellow wave riders a safe passage beyond in this way is really more for us, for those left behind. I am guessing the waves are always warm, glassy and chest high where they are now and the paddle out is always easy. I hope I have given a little more life to this surfer, and others you might think of now. See you in the water. Contact me at Writteninwax@gmail.com with ideas, suggestions or for no reason at all…
Craigslist Post: surf board - $25
one full size surfboard with safety rope, it belonged to my son but he is in heaven now
that is all it said. Reading this posting I felt lucky and hoped I replied in time. When I opened the ad and read this simple statement I really had to pause. Lots of emotions and thoughts about life, surfing and surfers who have passed fell onto me like a good rainstorm. I felt a deep sadness as I thought about my perfect children and how very much I love them and couldn’t fathom losing them ever. I can clearly see the smile on my son’s face as he turned back from the shore to look at me standing in the ocean searching for a “thumbs up” of approval as he surfed in for the first times. Anyone who has ever surfed has the privilege of feeling a little closer to his or her maker and perhaps that is why I felt compelled to see if the board was still available not because I need another board (whoa…did I actually write that !? ) but rather I really wanted that kindred spirit to be nourished and given new life and I had something in mind.
I troll around craigslist looking for boards, some to fix and resell, some to ride, and even broken ones for art projects. So yes, I don’t really “need” a surfboard I suppose. Giving life to old or broken things is very satisfying. Fixing up an old longboard that was nearly part of the landfill into homage to a favorite writer (the Weisbecker Board) became an obsession, and I just finished one art piece from thruster with a broken tail for the Art to Heart auction to benefit Duke Children’s Hospital that used the surface of the board as a canvas. This board however had already found a new home. Maybe to be resold, or hung up somewhere, but ultimately I hope that board finds the ocean again since my plans to paint it and give it a new, multifaceted life as a surfboard, art and donation for charity events won’t work out with this one- but I will find another.
Still, this unnamed surfer will be given a little more life here among us; at least this is my hope. If we remember people, then a part of them keeps living and if we can pass these memories or things along, then maybe they are never fully gone, and they live forever. One thing I dwelled on much after a friend passed on some years back, is that I would have much rather been driving to go see him living and not driving to a memorial in his honor. So, go see your friends and family, don’t take them for granted.
Life and Surfing becomes synonymous to many. I don’t know much about some of the people I surf with; often I don’t know their names even if I have seen them a dozen times and even chatted with them. I do know that they are a surfer. Someone who shares the thrills of the ride, or utter awe at the ocean’s beauty and power, or maybe they too find a lot of calm and peace in the ocean. As I go left, sliding down the line on a glassy wave, I thrust my hand into the wave face, and I’m connected and time no longer exists. It doesn’t stop or slow down, it’s just not there. As I paddle out for a dawn patrol session, I breathe in the ocean air, and float facing the sunrise and experience one of surfing’s great pleasures. I know nothing about this surfer, and not much about others that have passed on really, but I don’t need do. I didn’t need to know anything else about this man and his son.
Now and again we lose a fellow surfer and remember them by paddling out and joining together in the ocean that drew them in and gave them new life as surfer. Isek Dinesen wrote…”The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea…”, and so wishing fellow wave riders a safe passage beyond in this way is really more for us, for those left behind. I am guessing the waves are always warm, glassy and chest high where they are now and the paddle out is always easy. I hope I have given a little more life to this surfer, and others you might think of now. See you in the water. Contact me at Writteninwax@gmail.com with ideas, suggestions or for no reason at all…
Monday, October 27, 2008
season has changed
Wearing a wetsuit for the first time marks a change of season for me each year. Winter, which really in my North Carolina surfing terms goes from late fall to early spring, is that elongated season of wearing a full suit. Yes, there is the harsh, dead of winter around February surfing that really sets you apart from the weaker, casual surfer- but its all still "winter" to me. Spring and Fall surf seasons are fairly short at my local breaks. They seem like a few weeks of transition between full neoprene maybe just a wetsuit type shirt or vest, or maybe a few days where you surfed in board shorts but could have used a little warmth. The other elongated season is Summer. As a kid they seemed much longer than they have as an adult, but thanks to surfing, I have managed to stretch them out once again to include part of spring and fall too! The cool water does wonders for thinning out the crowds, but I still love surfing in warm air and warm water.
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