Friday, April 29, 2011

home









i love watching people interact with their ocean: the ocean they grew up next to with its moods and colors, smells, attitudes, dangers, pleasures.


the relationship we develop with the sea is one which takes time and patience. localism.... there is no place like home, the slice of ocean known best by proximity, the comfort of familiarity, of family.


the fishermen in their dory pictured above took this boat out on a solid 8-9 foot, long period south swell. amazing.






Sunday, April 24, 2011

your excuse?








there is no excuse for my poor attitude or my slack surfing, or, my lack of motivation, for that matter. there isn't an excuse for yours either.


while traveling in central america, i watched some serious ripping going on.... the above pictured wave, ridden by locals on the above pictured boards: broken, water-logged, heavy, leashless, dinged, often with missing fins.... not in the thomas campbell ailia (however you spell that word) trendy kind of way.... no, not heavy and leashless and finless in that way...


no, these lads were ripping old, heavy beat-up boards because those were the only ones available. they don't make 3000 dollars a month, they make 150. new boards are just out of the question. yet, they were stoked, smiling, happy, friendly and generous. the soul of surfing.

it's not dead (not yet). you might just have to have your helping of humility (as i did) to remember where to find it.


no bad days. (not like that lame tee-shirt. why, oh why is every god-damned thing for sale?!). but just really, no bad days. it's a state of mind, right? one we can choose for ourselves despite the circumstances.


so next time I (or you, or your surfer bros) go through the quiver of amazing boards and cruise out to the surf in the automobile... don't make any excuses for not surfing, or not getting waves, or the crowds or whathaveyou.... I'll try not to.