While some surfers interact well at celebrations, many others are socially awkward introverts. Perhaps that’s because surfing is, at its core, an individual activity where communication with others is unnecessary.
Now, it’s difficult to know if surfing causes an individual to turn inward, or if the activity is what attracts those who eschew crowds and team sports to gravitate toward it. By a show of hands, how many of you ever had “Does not play well with others” checked on grade school report cards? Don’t feel badly; so did I.
Of course, not all surfers are loners, but it does seem to help. Like most of you, I enjoy the company of other people. That said, I prefer those people to be on dry land in a noncompetitive environment. Contest surfers might feel differently, but few among us have ever competed for points or cash.
Surfing in a crowd is also a contest where the generally silent competition is every bit as cutthroat as a Black Friday event offering $50 flights to Tavarua. As anyone who’s ever surfed for a while realizes, waves are best savored alone or with very few friends. Surfers dream of empty pointbreaks where internet surf reports are unheard of.
Solitude is nice, but getting a wave alone these days is as rare as having your own lane on I-5 while Caltrans is “keeping San Diego moving.” Even so, that solitude can be found by those willing to settle for inferior waves, blown out by midday wind.
One benefit of that is that you can sleep in. The downside is that riding what we call “junk surf” is challenging. Unlike the beauty of waves fanned clean by offshore winds, or mirror glassy conditions, junk surf is ugly and difficult to navigate. Onshore winds cause waves to break unevenly, offering up tricky sections that crumble in some areas and are hollow in others.
In such conditions, you need to constantly examine the lineup for changes in the wave face. Wind can pull you out of the takeoff zone without you realizing it is often required to keep paddling to stay in position. While his may sound stressful, it is actually relaxing. Relaxing because of the decreased crowd size such sloppy conditions invite.
I was once known for paddling out just when the surf blew out. Forty of my best friends ridiculed me as I greeted them and sat alone with no company but fish and birds.
For some, surfing can be a team sport and a time for social interaction. For me, and I suspect many of you, however, it is an attempt to disconnect from the modern world of noise and crowds. That may require surfing in less than perfect conditions but trust me when I say it’s well worth the effort.
Here’s to being alone without feeling lonely.
