Monthly Archive for December, 2009

(image via 20days.co.uk)

Gooooooooood Morning SuperForest!

I sort of tweaked my back surfing yesterday, and so I thought I could tell you a bit about one of my absolute favorite activities, SURFING!

Although I grew up on Kauai, I did not start surfing until my late teens, during a school break. When I was seventeen, I received a longboard for Christmas, (a very very long board. It is 9’6″ tall!) and I eagerly took up the sport, following in the footsteps of my younger brother, SuperForester Will, who had been surfing for several years and is quite good. Why did I not get into surfing earlier, you ask? I was wimpy and afraid, that’s why! Good ol’ fear.

When I try to think about why exactly I enjoy surfing so much, all I can think is: Surfing good!
It is great for your posture, as you have to arch your back, suck in your gut, hold your shoulders back, and hold your head up high and strong, all while paddling a wobbling platform through the bobbing ocean. Bliss.

Allow me to define a few words:

BREAK – A “break” is where the waves are “breaking,” which means sea water is hitting shallow island land, forming up into the classic wave shape, forming a barrel, and then crashing down onto itself in a blast of whitewater. The waves come in “sets” which break one after the other. Waves usually come in sets of three or four.

To surf, you must get from where you are standing on the beach, to out past where the waves are breaking. Only once you are past “the break” are you safe, as you can then control whether or not the incoming waves break in front of you, and thus crash down tons of water on your head, rolling you around in foam, as you hold your breath and try to remember not to struggle. Fun!

So, getting from the beach out past the break is what I’d like to discuss today.

(image via flickr user dcis_steve)

On paddling out: When you are paddling out, I’ve learned that you can do it the hard way, or the not-as-hard way. Paddling out the hard way means simply paddling straight into the surf, fighting every wave as you struggle to get yourself out past the break. This method is very difficult, as the newly arriving waves will break (i.e. form a large wave with whitewater at the top) right in your face, and try their hardest to push you underwater and throw you back onto the shore.

This can be very tiring.

But it can be done, friends! Many a surfer has simply charged headlong into the waves and simply battled Poseidon face to face. But this method is very very tiring. After a valiant struggle, one arrives outside the break totally wiped, and needing a few minutes to catch the ol’ breath. This equals less surfing. Sadface :(

The not-nearly-as-hard way involves using a helpful thing called a rip current. You see, all that water that comes splashing in in the form of those lovely surfable waves, eventually hits the beach and bounces back, and when it does it needs a way to escape. Hence, the rip current. The rip, as it is fondly called, is all that water heading back out to sea, and if you use your noggin, you can ride the rip out past the breaking waves with a minimum of fuss. You find yourself outside the break as fresh as a Springtime morn, and you can look back towards the beach and see the valiant efforts of those who struggle through the break without the aid of the rip.

To find the rip from the beach, simply watch where the waves ARE NOT breaking. (Also, watch where the locals are paddling out, as they will invariably use the easiest and quickest means for get out past the dreaded break…) You will see a current of water moving back out to sea, usually running semi-parallel with the beach. Jump into the water here and use this current to whisk you out to sea, past the big bitey waves.

A note on rip currents. The same rip currents that can helpfully whisk surfers past the break is also the notorious rip current that can whisk hapless and unsuspecting swimmers out to sea. Surfers have big floating boards to keep them buoyant, swimmers have no such hardware. Swimmers beware the rip.

And so you’ve done it! You’ve used the rip to get out past the break and now you are in prime position to begin surfing, which means intentionally putting yourself in front of a large breaking wave and then very quickly standing up. But that is a lesson for another day… Stay tuned for another edition of Dr. Surf-A-Little’s Surf-Tastic Surfsplosion! (AKA; Why I’m Not Posting More!)

Surfing is such an insanely enjoyable pastime for me, I hope that I can gently persuade anyone who is in the least bit interesting (interested) to give surfing a try.

When I surf, I am at peace. It requires so much of my conscious mind that I do not have time to wallow, or worry, or think about the future, or think about the past. All that exists is the board beneath you, the water supporting you, and the way you are using one to influence the other. When the waves come, and you pick one and commit to riding it, you will either catch it, or you won’t. If you miss it, it might pull you over the falls and wipe you out, or it might not. It is entirely up to you, and how much attention you are paying to the water and the board.

So simple. Just the water, and the board.

Also! All the salt water up your nose is great for keeping your sinuses healthy, and helping you avoid colds and sniffles.

Love to All,

Jackson