Greetings and salutations. This morning I awoke fully amped to participate with the gifts delivered by Ms. Ophelia as she slowly trudges northward. The previous day were a smorgasborg of 5’+ waves (some chop and a beastly sideshore current but, that’s to be expected). As I loaded up the truck with board and other essentials I started to get the feeling that I should not be going. Nothing ominous like shark attack, zapped by a stingray or bailing into a swarm of jellies. Shoved the notion of not going aside and headed to the spot. About halfway there this notion pops back up (though more insistant this time…don’t go…you don’t need this…turn around…go back to bed…). I turned the truck around and went home. Out of curiosity check the cam…thigh high. Mowed the lawn instead and smiled the whole time.
I’ve had that same instinct on a couple of occasions, and I never even question it. If I get a bad feeling, I’m right over it. Even if I’m jonesing to surf, when that little voice in my head tells me to bag it, I bag it. I’m not big on all that mystical stuff, but I’m all about self-preservation.
i woke up at 5:15 to go surf, threw my wetsuit in the car along with the board. looked at the small pear tree outside my window and noticed the leaves rustling. 19 out of 20 times this means enough south wind to mess everything up and make the session not worth it. went back to sleep to be woken up by my friends calling me on my cell 20 minutes later asking me where i was. it was epic. thanks to good friends i was down there and on it 5 minutes before light. got the best barrel of my summer .
dont always trust your instincts. always check it out.
…I go out in thigh high surf all the time . Heck , if I didn’t : -
a] I’d never get to surf alone
b] I’d lose fitness
c] I would not get to surf at all in summer here .
as I get older, I want to surf more …
I surf in anything!! my worst session in the water is still better than doing something else!
I LOOOVVVVVE any surf! and when the waves are really bad i ride the surf mat and have a blast!
he is a good one
one day I was surfing against Tom Curren.at the 12 Apostles… the surf was perfect 6-8ft barrels with a twist in them…rules…best wave wins…out of 3… when you claim it you have to come in…
curren caught the first wave of the heat, short barrell doesnt claim it
…my first one stand up barrell with a few turns inside the barrell and out…claim it and come in…I am flying off the BUZZ of riding such a good wave…as Im at the bottom of the stairs still buzzing a thought comes to mind …you are goin to walk half way up the stairs see Curren take off and get barrrelled all the way down the line and he will win the heat…so I didn’t go up the stairs…like i wanted to…I sat and with 1min to go Curren snags this BOMB…pulls in and threads the needle the front door stays open and he is charging to come out and the lip just clips him on the inside and he gets drilled …I knew If I walked up those stairs he would have made that wave…the 4th way…you cant see it…you feel it…its a vibe…an instinct…
Out of curiosity check the cam…thigh high…
my mate , who would rather cuddle his woman than surf , checked the cam one day …for about 20 seconds .
Rang me up and said “it’s flat chip…I’m going to can it”
I said
“mate … come down , there’s going to be waves for sure !! …”
that was this day … [I was glad he followed my feelings , rather than his d*** / hormones , for a change !]
the moral of the story ?
… as Dave has rightly said … ALWAYS CHECK IT !!
surf cams [luckily !] don’t give the WHOLE picture [plus , they are usually so far away from the surf , if there’s no-one out early , you can’t accurately tell the size of the waves , anyway !!]
Good story Cheyne,
I’ve noticed talented surfers have an instinct for finding the best waves,not just surf the best, in a seccion. I watch them. Sometimes they will show you a line to take to make a section you thought was not makable or where a little tube is popping up. They seem to see things or feel things I don’t see.
Sometimes when I surf alone I get “the feeling.” I always pay attention to it and get out of the water. This time of year the bait fish move closer to shore bringing in everything else. The ocean starts “going off” and I’m not talking about the surf.
I have the same phylosophy as Josh and Chip. You always have to check it and I go out in just about anything. If its junk I have my five wave rule. My feet have to hit the deck 5 times before I can come in. Many of those times have turned into 25 wave two hours of fun seccions. You got to check it! Mike
I’d rather surf thigh-high waves, than not
Drew
I surf for a few reasons
A. I love it. Riding a piece of mother nature is a thrill beyond all comprehension.
B. Being close with my friends. My group are not the closest bunch out of the water, seperate lives, families, etc…so the water is where we catch up and reconnect.
C. Excersise.
D. Spiritual Clarity…i am amzed by how much better my days are when I get in for a dawn patrol
If one of those reasons isn’t good enough ffor you then you should sell all your boards and move to Kansas.
Drew
As I go through different places, different phases, and different directions, I am glad I have trusted my instinct. I’ve met good people, had good waves, and had good experiences.
The further down the varied path I go, the more people I meet who do not know how to trust their instinct, go with the flow and let what happens be a positive experience. They seem to be clouded by all the crap that goes on around them, little realising they don’t have to be influenced by anything except their own choice.
I feel a little sad for them, as I see them miss the untapped potential inside themselves.
If you don’t have a go, you don’t get to know. Just go. You only get one chance as each moment passes.
I’ve noticed talented surfers have an instinct for finding the best waves,not just surf the best, in a seccion. I watch them. Sometimes they will show you a line to take to make a section you thought was not makable or where a little tube is popping up. They seem to see things or feel things I don’t see.
the exact thing that happened to me on saturday. This one guy , Russell, was getting all the set waves , getting tubed where there didn’t seem to be any tubes . "how do you miss the good ones ? " he asked me . That’s a good question . Got me thinking . So , I asked him the opposite …he said two words … "spider sense "… INTERESTING … When I asked him to elaborate , he explained that 80% of the time , he has a “feeling” where and when a wave will pop up , so he goes with it . He commented that maybe 60-70 % of the time , that “feeling” is right . Curren and Slater DEFINATELY seem to have that , catching waves that scored highly RIGHT at the almost last few seconds of a heat . And I feel Buttons must too , pulling outrageous tubes and manouevres once up and riding . Oh , the guy I mentioned , Russell ? does surf coaching for a job , by the way . [No substitute for time spent in the water , I guess !!] ben
i woke up at 5:15 to go surf, threw my wetsuit in the car along with the board. looked at the small pear tree outside my window and noticed the leaves rustling. 19 out of 20 times this means enough south wind to mess everything up and make the session not worth it. went back to sleep to be woken up by my friends calling me on my cell 20 minutes later asking me where i was. it was epic. thanks to good friends i was down there and on it 5 minutes before light. got the best barrel of my summer .
dont always trust your instincts. always check it out.
That is not instinct but logc you are letting your logical mind take over your subconscience. I read a very interesting book by Tom Brown Jr. for thoe of you who have not heard of him he is a wilderness survival expert who was taught how to survive and flow in natur by an apache in the woods of NJ, very good books. But anyway, he said in his course he went over using your natural instinct and getting in tune with it. Two of his students where becoming doctors and on their final neither studied and just used gut instinct both got a’s. Another case two of his students had not found any animal to eat when in a course in desperation they let their instinct take over, it take them to an old leanto from anold class, frustrated one of them screams and throws his throwing stick into the lean to and shouts, out of the leanto debris come several squireels and the scream startles deer laying in the near by brush which jump up and run away, a few rabbits scatter. I followed some of his instructions and applied it, i went to an area in the woods behind my house which i often wander in and is frequented by deer. My goal was to find an antler which the bucks drop every year. sure enough just following instinct i find an antler i probably walked by 100 times before. amazing.
Quite a few times this past summer i doubted my instincts and followed logic and missed days that were pretty good.
Great responses by all (and some good stories, too)! A few of you posted that thigh high surf is perfectly fine to enjoy. I couldn’t agree more. And for a good 9 months out of the year thats as big as it’s going to get where I live (location,location,location)! Hurricane swell is a different animal alltogether and my wave priorities do change so its ,to me, no big deal that I missed out on standard fare. Some of you posted the reasons why you surf. All good reasons and almost all mirror my own reasons (I like it to much to call it “exercise”). There were calls in various posts to check it out. Great thing to do. Always. I even make myself sit on the sand and simply observe whats actually going on before getting wet. And I do think that a cam is the very last tool to use for information…a quick peek. Lastly, I will always trust my instincts. I believe human beings, for the most part, have done their best to squash, quell, ignore, etc. this valuable trait. Who hasn’t pulled into a wave and that little voice chimes in “Are you an idiot?!” before you even finished paddling. For some it is self imposed, for others a matter of politeness or (shudder) political correctness(censorship) and some plain just don’t give a rats ass. I’ll never know for what reason instinct said “turn around”…speeding ticket, alien abduction, attacked by circus clowns(creepy) but, I’m cool with it.
okay , came back from a surf this morning where I did what the previously mentioned Russell said .
Caught some head high plus “bombs” , gave the twin wood keels a good test run , took a few hammerings [caught inside] , and had fun !
the three other guys I regularly surf with were out too , which was good , because they are all big wave chargers . They found the keels amusing [we don’t get many fishes here] , but at the same time , commented on how surprised they were at how they "held in’’ [it was fairly hollow until the onshore beat us after an hour or so ]. Out there EARLIER tomorrow …“spider sense” …
to be continued …
ben
sometimes the simplest things are the best (lessons to learn / remember) …
the ocean’s always moving, and it’s always talkin’ to ya…ya just gotta shut your mouth and listen to it.
Ben,
Photos please? Glad your putting those fins through their paces. It still surprises me how well those little boards work. In my experience they don’t work well in mush. Small waves yes. Mushy waves no. Yesterday was 2 foot mushy slop.I pulled my little fish out of the truck(the only board I had with me) and another guy says “looks like you have the right board.” I said, “hows that?” “You have your mush board.” I think it’s a common misconception that a fish is for mushy waves. Of course, most boards work better when the surf has a bit of concavity and push. Mike
my mate Pete has those ‘pro box’ [I think they are ?] plugs that take fcs fins in his kneeboard , so, true to the fish’s beginnings , I want to make him a pair of keels for his kneeboard …
“Rooster” Mike … THAT I will take photos of , when / if he will ride them ?
he looked at me like I was from another planet when I flipped my board over today out in the lineup next to him …
ben