Caught some mild chest-high swell before the arrival of the first BIG ground swell of the season. Got in at the wave machine with several others, frolicking in the sun while getting freaky on some seriously nice rides...that is until the SUP arrived.
Now, call me "old fashioned", but I'm sorry...an OAR!
Why would you want to completely separate yourself from the tactile touch of the Mother Ocean, cool liquid beauty flowing through cold hands, as you paddle madly for that one last spiritual ride and connection to something unique and glorious.
Yeah, not a big fan of the SUP.
Just as I am not a fan of Pro Surfing...just a bunch of hyped up EGO's who degrade the activity...not sport...with their immature attitudes of stud status, while they travel to exotic locations, polluting the natural beauty with their vicious rides, filled with disconnected liquid leaps and violent hacks!
HACK...what the fuck...I do not surf to HACK...I surf to ENGAGE and ENCOUNTER an entity that calms the chaos that exists outside of its beauty. Yeah, I just do not get Pro Surfing either. I guess maybe if Kelly finally grew up and moved on, it might have a chance to…NOT!
We already exist as a species separated from the reality of...LIFE. Technology is nice, makes life a lot easier, yet it inhibits our ability to connect: FACE to FACE with something real and tactile. Surfing has it...down to its’ very essentials, it is still: A Board, A Body, and a WAVE...connected to LIFE and all that it entails...the ups wit the downs.
Simplicity is a hard thing to find within today's chaotic and fearful landscape...that's why I escape to Mother Ocean...to seek the simplicity and connection lacking on shore.
I keep going back and force on the SUP. Some days I'm all about sharing in harmony... The other days, I get annoyed by a paddle in the line up... I can't make up my mind because in one hand we are all entitled to enjoy the Ocean in so many different ways (a body surfer would have the same speech as you about the SUP, ie, having a board between you and the wave). On the other hand, it is NOT FAIR when a guy with a large board and a paddle get the wave I'm trying, with a lot of effort, to paddle in ;(
ReplyDeleteSurf Mama.. could not have said it better. I get frustrated with them..and it does not help that I am not as strong of a surfer as you and Pabs. I usually move if a paddle boarder is where I am surfing. ALTHOUGH 2 things here. 1)One time I surfed with the nicest paddle boarder who kept telling me to take waves and at a point I was all surfed out, and told him to take some. LOL.. so not all of them are selfish when it comes to sharing the waves. 2) I have said this before. I think paddle boarders do not belong in the surf on a good day or a crowded day. I like paddle boarding on a flat day in a harbor or a lake. I think that is where they should paddle.. if they want to catch a wave.. then learn to "surf". =)..just my thoughts =)
ReplyDeleteI should of been more specific in my acclamation against the SUP...you see, the dude on the SUP is a very well-known local guy who has surfed up here since the 70's.
ReplyDeleteHe has a rep for being a bit of an ass in the water, though I have heard from other older locals that he has "mellowed" in his older years.
Anyways, the location where this incident occurred is a special spot with a consistent A-frame that allows 2 surfers to go either right or left...on this occasion I was paddling for the wave at the same time as the guy on the SUP.
He was to my left, therefore he would go left and I would go right...no problem.
However, when I checked to ensure he was indeed going left, I was shocked to see the edge of his nose rail pointed right at my head!
I quickly backed out of the wave and was very incensed that this wave hog would attempt to force me off a wave that both of us could of ridden.
Of course, the dude stays away from me for the remainder of my session...which was a good idea.
Anyways, that's why I went off into that diatribe against the SUP...
...I still feel that anything that requires an "oar" to be used, is NOT surfing...it's a boat, not a surfboard.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to read your perspective on Pro and SUP surfing. I get a little irked when the SUP's hog a lot of waves. Sometimes it takes forever for a wave to come my way, and then they're all the way on the outside already dropping in. As long as they share, I'm cool.
ReplyDelete