I wonder how Owl Chapman navigates at Sunset Beach; smell? hearing? sonar? did he develop some wave reading extra-sensory perception in the 60’s and 70’s? It’s really amazing how he still catches those bombs even with his poor eyesight… and no leash. He is definitively one of my heroes…
Hey Herb, make sure your dog has the same foot as you. If he's goofy and you are regular.....whoops. The only question is which of the four do you go off?
Wow - thanks - alot of input (dog being the favourite - I have cats but not sure they like water).
Will try the sft contact route - am guessing you can buy a 20 pack disposable set up (based in UK) without going to the expense of getting amazing one-offs made up.
Near enough will be good enough for me.
I’m about :
Right : 6(sph) - 3.5(cyl) - 10 (axis)
Left : 4.5(sph) - 4(cyl) - 172 (axis)
So yeah, pretty much guess work!
You do kind of get used to it a bit and yes, I suppose you fill in the gaps alot and make the best guess - normally works out.
Will look into contact lenses…
Thanks alot - Ed
I have the same problem. I just just follow the guy in the line up who is getting the best waves and sit deep at the peak and take off deep! Its realy hard to surf blinded but you get better. Just go for it and have fun!!
Me , I'm the same as you huckleberry !!
people are always telling me "chipper , you rude prick , you paddled past me yesterday and didn't even say g'day"
To which I reply the age ol' surfer retort [only , with me , it is actually TRUE !] .....
"SORRY , MATE , I never SAW you"
( next board I make , I'm planning to write all OVER it ...
"warning .....MR. MAGOO's SURF TEAM MEMBER " )
[maybe even thick , dame edna everage [google it] glasses painted 4x lifesize for artwork ....'speedneedle ' , this could be a new calling for you?]
plan b....
find the hottest girl surfer and follow her everywhere in the lineup
people will think
a] you're her guy
b] you're her stud
c] you're her dad
d] you're a pervert [uh oh , time to paddle in]
e] you rip
or
f] the actual truth of the matter [but few will really figure this out]
...you're just using her for her
.....
......
......
.......
yep , you GUESSED IT ........
......eyes ?!
[cause , face it, i can't see her , ANYWAYS ! ]
Soft contacts here too for 19 years. I keep a pack of disposables in my truck on the beach in case one gets knocked out of my eye, which happens rarely.
~Brian
i can see it(in my mind)now..............
ray charles with his cane and dog trimming by me on one of those jet type boards..........wouldn't that be a great skit for a surf movie.
but seriously folks..............
my sight is slowly vanishing,at first it was my reading sight,now i'm noticing my distance sighting is leaving me............this is coming from a person with better than perfect sighting.
sucks....lol.
reading glasses suck,
small print well you know...............
a friend of mine back in the 70s........a venice transplant .........mike short was very nearsighted........really damm near blind..........never stopped him from surfing.
i asked him how he did it and he said squinting his eyes several times ,rapidly worked for him.
give it a try................it got him a center spread in surfing magazine back in 73.
herb
I’m nearsighted, but it’s not real bad. I can see things far away, but not clearly. When I surf I look for the contrast on the horizon to see the waves coming in. I can usually see them coming in from way out. The things I can’t see well are people’s faces. I need to be about 15 to 20 feet away to make sure you are who I think you are.
Helps to keep the pretty girls from being a distraction, but I’ve often said hi to someone I thought I knew then realize it’s not the person I thought it was.
I don’t open my eyes under water if I don’t have to. If I get pushed down far I will, but I normally close them.
The tales of not seeing people you know reminds me of me and hearing since I started wearing custom plugs… Keeps the water out, but mostly I’m “Huh? Huh?” Or, they just think I’m a rude kook, which isn’t to far off either… Ha! WHAT??? Ha!
Thanks … how long did you have to stay out of the water after having it done?
two weeks…a reputable eye doctor will always suggest trying contacts before contemplating eye surgery, and many folks are happy with them…usually those who can correct their vision to 20/20 or really close…the less astigmatism, closer you can get…and fairly inexpensive, so always worth a try…
If I was a younger guy, however, wouldn’t hesitate to go the Laser route with the best availble surgeon…and often the best eye surgeons are affiiated with University systems where they teach…
In my case, I lost too many contacts to count over the decades…usually in offshores going over the ledge…have left them floating in many lineups around the world…LOL
You know.....maybe the line isn't so full of snakes. Maybe it's just a bunch of Mr. Magoos. Next time a guy says "I din't see ya" I might believe him for a minute.
Howzit Herb, My eye sight was getting really bad and it was cataracts so they operated on me and now I have had both eyes done and I can see great except for reading and then I use glasses but that is no big thing since it's just the fine print thatis hard to read and I can actually read with out the glasses but it is so much clearer using them. Aloha, Kokua
How about Peter Cole?? I remember he lost his board at big Laniakea , in the mid 60’s, and went back out , into the rip near sunset time, swimming out looking for his board in the near dark–I believe he got it (Stanford swimmer), and made it back in–But to think, with his vision, of attempting that—Wow!!
soft contacts here too. have your doc fit them a little tight so they won’t float out in spray. I have a prescription that I use only for surfing.
Did contacts for years and then did the big spend for Lasik surgery. Was very expensive but I went to one of the best guys on the east coast to get it done. Had some issues with bright sun for several months. I just kept buying Knockarounds sunglasses and strapped them on with the wide band holders that I saw fishermen wearing worked ok in small surf. I went in the water just a few weeks after the surgery. The Dr wasn't really concerned with anything other than infection if I had tried to go in sooner. Long term the improvement held up very well but the trade off was my near vision, now I have to wear "readers" to read and work on the computer etc. But I would do it again tomorrow if I needed to.
[quote="$1"]
soft contacts here too. have your doc fit them a little tight so they won't float out in spray. I have a prescription that I use only for surfing.
[/quote]
I have a pterygium [sp?] in my right eye , [I CAN post a photo , IF you like being "grossed out" ?]
and also , one eye is weaker than the other.
My optometrist reckoned " contacts wouldn't work properly , as they wouldn't sit 'flat' against the eye" .....
questions ....
Has anyone ELSE out there had this problem / been given this advice ?
and ...
what are the way[s] around it ?
cheers !
ben
Guys a long time swaylocks watcher here - and novice board maker
Finally a topic a can add some value on ,
I have over 30 years in the eyecare field and still intimately involved in the laser surgery industry - I can safely say the lasik surgey available today is streets ahead of the procedure 10 years ago.
The procedure I would opt for to get rid of glasses if I needed them is iLasik there is a surgeon finder below
http://www.ilasik.com/2000-iLasik-doctorfinder.aspx
Happy to answer any pms relevent to questions on the topic
Chip, I have no idea if the tighter fit would help that condition. The tighter fit is a Base Curve of 8.6 compared to my normal fit with BC of 8.5. I only wear them for a half day in the water and I can tell they are tight. HTH
BTW, loved those mini sim pics.