A surfer’s wish this holiday season eh? ‘That’s easy’ you say with a Grinch-like grin! No, dear friends, it is not for a bigger quiver of surfboards or a surf break alone to myself every dawn session (although those things are quite desirable too!). Let’s take a pause from all this holiday gift-giving and tidings for a different perspective.

It has been many years since I have indulged in that childhood tradition of wishing and hoping for all good things to come at christmas time, but the spirit behind it … that of believing in something bigger than myself; of simply just believing in something magical … has never abandoned the little dickens inside of me. And so, this holiday season, with all the hope and every ounce of wishing that I have in me, I look to the powers that be and make a wish. A surfer’s wish!

But this wish has to take the form of a story that happened early one morning while surfing:

Surfing saved my life. The distinguished lady on the surfboard next to me said softly, looking steadily towards the horizon. She didn’t sound dramatic or overly emotional about it, just matter of factly and content.

Is that right? How so? I ask, looking at her momentarily then returning my gaze at the waves steadily forming in the distance.

Downward spiral. she says, as she turns her board around to paddle for the set rolling in at about head high. My life was going into a downward spiral until I discovered surfing, figured out what was important, and learned to focus myself!

I watched her gracefully paddle into the wave and disappear into the crest as it moved further away from me, her voice fading softly as I watch her outstretched hand move across the top of the wave.

I sat there at the line up and bobbed around lost in my thoughts until she paddled back next to me and sat up on her longboard.  We didn’t speak for a while, instead opting to watch the waves roll by, surfers from way outside the lineup gliding past us. She knew I was thinking about what she had said, and she opted to let me absorb it in my own time as she floated next to me rather than speak on.

What is it then? I turned to ask her, with my brows furrowed to show confusion … or at least intelligent questioning.

What is “what”? She knew, but needed for me to speak my thoughts rather than imply my intent.

What is it that is ‘important’ that pulled you out of your spiral?

It depends. It’s different for everyone. But the key is to find out that one important thing and focus yourself on it! And she was off again on another wave. I wondered if this was some sort of psychological tool to allow me time to process the words she carefully released to me. And then again, maybe we were just surfing after all.

I didn’t see her paddle back out to the lineup again after her last wave, guessing that she had caught a wave in to the beach. And I was left there with my thoughts. ‘Surfing saved my life’ she said, and left me with more questions than answers. Perhaps it is better this way … that I don’t exactly know what she meant by that brief conversation. Perhaps I already know the answer.

Surfing saved me too, I would have told her if I had the chance. At a time of personal demoralization and crisis, amidst a failed marriage and a wildly meandering professional and social life … surfing managed to save me as well. In the pit of my own despair during the holiday season, left alone and lonely by a failed marriage and an unrewarding career, I sought freedom from the ocean. Although it is difficult to say why or what, despite being unable to swim or surf, I paddled out into the great blue ocean on a ratty rental board into shoulder high waves. At its worst, I thought, I was tethered to a massive flotation device and would not be missed by anyone in particular.

It was during those first moments of desperate paddling and exhausted gasps for air as I rose through the whitewash remnants of what had been shoulder high waves, I caught clarity. What I would hazard to guess as being quite similar to an alcoholic’s sudden realization of the need to change his habits – that moment of clarity – surfing granted me the ability to think clearly, if only momentarily, to see the folly of my ways.

I made changes to move towards discovering what was important to me: family, friends, and time with those I love, and knowing that my passion for living and life focused on being around those people. I realigned my perspective on how important career and job sacrifices were, how much attention and focus I placed on keeping and maintaining my relationships with those I care for AND those that I have yet to care for. I began to look at time as my salary earned, rather than cash, as I evaluated my daily decisions.  So yeah, to say that surfing also saved me would be an understatement.

So what is this, my surfer’s wish? I wish for those that are lost, momentarily exhausted of their daily grind, disenfranchised … everyone who needs clarity, to discover their own version of surfing … whatever form that may take, and much like the wise surfer lady said find for themselves what is truly important.

Happy holidays, and good surfing!

…

Should I be worried??? Have I lost something magical? Lost the urge or drive to surf?

I had to find out, since this may inevitably signal a fate far worse than moving to the frozen wastelands of the NorthWest Territories. I watched surf movies, I sniffed surf wax, I listened to Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter … I even played Kelly Slater’s Surfing video game … all to no positive yield towards the surf and the ocean. Did I get sick of surfing after only 10 years of intermittent sessions?

Did I overdose on surfing after that great series of swells that hit the south shores of Oahu as of late? I don’t have an answer yet, but I was starting to get concerned … even panicky that the one thing that passionately drove me on a daily basis may be slipping away, or worse … has slipped away! There was nothing in particular holding me back from being able to surf: not a demanding job, not a nagging spouse, not the pressures of school and studies, not even a physical condition that prevents me from paddling out.

In fact, I have a truly flexible new career, a more than supportive and equally enthused-about-surfing spouse, a couple of degrees completed and stored in my back pocket, and I am in physical condition that could rival my 20 year old self from so long ago. So what is it? I realized that surfing had become a routine for me – part of the things I perform on a daily basis without much thought. And as incredibly lucky as I am for having such a great privilege allowed to me at this stage in my life, I realized that I needed to step away from surfing, at least momentarily, in order to gain the appreciation that I once held for it. I just needed a break … to recompose and re-approach surfing. Get my bearings on what surfing means to me once more.

Although I am still in the process of this discovery, I did realize one important thing about surfing and myself: I love longboards, and the style and lines associated with the classic style of longboarding. After experimenting with a variety of board styles and board sizes, I have returned to the drop-knee style of surfing … the long drawn lines … and noseriding. Don’t get me wrong, I like shortboarding for training purposes, and for larger pitchier waves … it teaches me to ride anything and everything on a constant basis. But for my money, I prefer my classic 9’2″ … arched back, and hands clasped together behind me on a long clean wave.

I also realized that I need to moderate my surfing. I need to ensure that I still appreciate the beauty and freedom of surfing by not allowing me to get too complacent with the freedoms I have to surf on any given day. As I review this aspect of my life, I have become very aware of the special things I experience on a daily basis, and have begun to hold them with a much deeper sense of appreciation.

…

An unfortunate casualty of the American economic crisis and some corporate cost-cutting, value slashing measures, airlines in the United States have lowered service values and travel options in lieu of raising air travel costs. But have no fear, fearless world traveling surfers, for there are still some entities out there that seek to be a friend to those of us who travel with surfboards.

Although it may be beneficial for some to buy a used stick once we hit our travel destination and re-sell it at the end of the trip, there are those of us who just must have our prized surfboards with us where ever we go! For those people, here is a list of current airline pricing on what it will cost to ship your stick:

BONUS FEES!

SEASONAL SURFBOARD EMBARGOS
Depending on the time of year, some airlines won’t even take your surfboard — for any excess baggage charge. See the list below, and ask any airline, especially if you’re booking during peak travel times.

DELTA
Excess baggage (including surfboards) is NOT accepted from June 3 through August 31 to the following cities: Guayaquil, Ecuador (GYE), Quito, Ecuador (UIO), San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL), Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL), Leon, Mexico (BJX), Zacatecas, Mexico (ZCL). Also, no bag over 50 lbs or 62 linear inches will be accepted for travel during the period.

CONTINENTAL
Surfboards and Wakeboards will not be accepted during an excess baggage embargo when no excess baggage is allowed (0 pieces). Exception: Surfboards and Wakeboards will be accepted to Costa Rica during an embargo period. Continental does not accept excess baggage in the following YEAR ROUND embargoed markets: Caracas, Venezuela (CCS); Houston, Texas to Bogota, Colombia (BOG) Lima, Peru (LIM) San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL) Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI) Tortola, British Virgin Islands (EIS)

UNITED
Travel to Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador

The checked baggage policy for travel from (and via) Los Angeles to Costa Rica and Guatemala effective February 18, 2005, is as follows: During the peak summer travel period of May 28-September 6, and the peak winter travel period of December 4, 2005-January 6, 2006, customers are limited to the number and size of their checked baggage. The following guidelines apply to all customers: Maximum linear dimensions: 62 linear inches/157cm (length + width + height) each. No oversize, overweight or extra bags will be accepted. (= NO SURFBOARDS) Only one box is permitted as part of a customer’s free allowance; it must be the original manufacturer’s box containing the original item.

Aloha!

The YKK stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (say that five times fast). In 1934 Tadao Yoshida founded Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (translated Yoshida Industries Limited). This company is now the worlds foremost zipper manufacturer … making about 90% of all zippers in over 206 facilities in 52 countries.

In fact, they not only make the zippers, they also make the machines that make the zippers! There is no word on if they make the machines that make the parts that make up the machines that make the zippers. Their largest factory in Georgia makes over 7 million zippers per day.

In any event, Mr. Yoshida’s company zipped to number one by practicing the “Cycle of Goodness”, as he called it.  Namely, “No one prospers unless he renders benefit to others.” Using this principle, he endeavored to create the best zippers out there that would hold up over long periods of time in the end product. This in turn would benefit both the manufacturers who used his zippers and the end customer and because of these things benefit his company with higher repeat and referral sales, thus completing the “Cycle of Goodness” zen moment.

So next time you’re zipping up, take a moment to remember Mr. Yoshida!

Private gates and security guards have been placed at some easements, especially in Hawaii Kai, Portlock and Kailua on Oahu), causing concern to all users. Along with closing off access to beaches, private homes and developments have been encroaching on the public’s right of way to the beaches by extending their vegetation line and their properties further toward the ocean.

In response to the increasingly limited access to beaches in these areas, the Oahu Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation helped formed a coalition called Beach Access Hawaii (www.beachaccesshawaii.org). BAH is a volunteer group, whose mission is simply:

• Ensure that City and State standards for protecting public beach access are being complied with.
• Have gates removed from non-private roads leading to the beach.
• Encourage homeowners on private lanes to keep gates open during daylight hours.
• Improve beach accessibility for the elderly and disabled.

Although the group began in Kailua where private gated roads greatly outnumber public rights-of way, it is an island-wide issue that needs to be addressed by the City and State. Currently, the Oahu chapter is supporting SB1088, a state bill that would help prevent property owners from unnecessarily obstructing beach access by “amending the definition of obstruction for access to public property and creating a private right of action” to challenge those who block access.

Help by signing the petition here.

Mahalo!

The renaissance of SUP can probably be tracked to a long summer flat spell in 2000, when serious watermen like Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama on Maui and Brian Keaulana, Mel Pu’u and Bruce De Soto at Makaha, seized on the idea of paddling their tandem boards as fitness workouts. As the years went on they found themselves entering events such as the Moloka’i to O’ahu Paddleboard Race and Mākaha’s Big Board Surfing Classic. Now you can find Stand Up Paddle Surfers in many of the Outrigger and Paddleboard races as participants within their own division.

One difference between the modern idea of surfing and SUP is that the latter does not necessarily need a wave. In SUP, one can paddle on the open ocean, in harbors, on lakes, rivers or any large body of water. One of the advantages of Stand Up Paddle Surfing is the angle of visibility. Because of the standing height over the water one can see both deeper into the water and further across the surface of the water, allowing better visualization of features others lower above the water may not be able to see, whether it is the marine life in the harbors, lakes and coves or the incoming swells of the ocean marching on the horizon.

• Share everything , Play fair
• Put things back where you found them, Clean up your own mess.
• Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
• Don’t hit people, and Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Be aware of wonder.

Fulghum makes the statement that if any one of us takes these concepts and extrapolate it into “sophisticated” adult terms … and apply it to family, life, work, or the world … that it will always hold true and clear and firm as a solid base for good moral living. I believe him, and it’s quite possible that this author and Unitarian clergyman has single-handedly provided surfers all over the world the true key to zen-like surfing! If you take the ideas he has written about, and apply it to the manner by which you surf, and the attitudes that we carry as we surf … well, wisdom also lies in the surf amidst the flowing waves of the ocean.

Share everything: We all know the image of the lone surfer ripping down Banzai Pipeline by him or herself. The isolated surfer carving long sweeping turns at a point break at sunset is also a common dream for the log riders. However, if you talk to almost every surfer, their most treasured surf sessions are peppered with a common element – good surf AND good friends. Surfing as a rule is all about sharing the good times with other people. Hooting and hollering, cheering each other on when waves are good and wipe outs are gnarly. Irrespective, it’s all about sharing the good times … you get some good waves, and you revel in the experience. And sometimes, even if you had it all the way, you let your friend HAVE the wave. It’s part of having fun … sharing, that is, and it’s only fair! Oh, just so we are all clear about this … ‘dropping in’ on another surfer falls under the “Don’t take things that aren’t yours” category!

Clean up your own mess: This particular gem would solve almost all of our environmental and ecological issues as a planet! Put things back where you found them AND clean up your own mess. A simple solution would be the 20 foot rule. Simply ensure that you take care of the area around you within 20 feet! You don’t have to go out of your way to clean up after everyone and everything … but as you walk around, to and from surfing, make sure you pick up the trash and garbage you see along the way! Take care of you, the environment, and the planet around you 20 feet at a time!

Don’t hit people: When you have a six foot spear being propelled by tons of water, hurtling down a spray of ocean water … it sometimes is an unfortunate reality that we surfers may occasionally collide with other ocean dwellers. It’s inevitable, it’s painful and it is something that we all have been a part of (as hurtler or hurtlee, either way, it hurts!) in the water. However, by not observing proper ocean rules and good etiquette, we could endanger other people and creatures in the water more than we need to! An inattentive surfer and a careless surfer can be equally dangerous out in the water, so don’t hit people inadvertently by not being aware of the rules and proper water manners! AND WHEN YOU DO get to the point where you hit someone or ALMOST hit someone, do the right thing and ensure that you say “sorry” no matter who was at fault. At the end, we all have to learn to take care of each other out there!

Live a balanced life: As participants on a lovely dance between board and water, balance is always weighted heavily in our minds. Balance. But there’s more to it, since surfing alone cannot fulfill us. We need play, work, love, life, and learning to round us off … always. Even when the waves are good, we need to know the balance as to when good is something we need or something we are blessed with. I know surfers in the Great Lakes area who WAIT months and months at a time for ONE wave to come, and they revel in it with such joy and pleasure when it comes. I also know of surfers who curse surf sessions in Hawaii when they do not catch all the waves they can at a surf break or if they don’t get perfect chest to head high waves all the time. Balance. (It also needs to be placed with ‘perspective’ eh?)

Be aware of wonder: Touch the water … feel the ocean. Be amazed at the beauty around you! After one particularly uneventful surf session, where I caught half a wave that debatably actually caught me, I was murmuring to myself how the session had been barely worth my time. At that point, a giant green turtle popped it’s head out of the water – as if on cue – and made me laugh in a startled surprise. He was reminding me to never take myself too seriously, and that beauty, especially in the ocean was not just in the waves. Sometimes, we all need a reminder … So Fulghum the wise clergy was right all along.

…

Surfing demands your full attention you see, and every moment out in the water chasing after ‘the ride’ requires being in the moment. One second of inattentive surfing often leads to missed waves, escaped sets, or even worse, critical wipe outs. Although many activities and sports require the participant’s full attention, surfing is unique in that the playing field and playing conditions change at every given turn, on every given moment. It is truly alive!

I speak of being ‘alive‘ as I watch a nameless businessman standing awkwardly in a narrowly covered alley, shoulders scrunched up for mock warmth, smoking a cigarette. He is blankly staring at the sidewalk with a cigarette nestled in between his index and middle finger, and a thin wisp of smoke wrapping around him like a thin, white climbing vine. He lit that cigarette a few minutes ago and took a deep drag from the icy white stick, and then dropped his hand to his right outer hip … there it has remained since as he stood immobile and staring at the sidewalk. Is he in the moment? Is he enjoying the cigarette and it’s almost illicit pleasures? Is this his escape and source of contemplative perspective? I cannot say, and he does not share any hint or clue based on his facial expression. It is plainly blank.

I close my eyes, and like most days when I close my eyes I see surf and surfers coming down the line on my home break. It’s a unique ability to be able to return to your home break simply by closing your eyes … to always be able to go home at any given time. I can see the local surfers and the dawn patrol regulars as they paddle into wave after wave. Smiling, laughing, and happy faces. A can see their exhausted but exhilarated faces as they paddle out of the water back to shore … I can see their excited faces as they climb down to the ocean in happy anticipation of the upcoming surf session. I can see.

I snap my eyes back wide open as the loud honk of a black and yellow checker cab drives by the smoking man. Still engaged in a staring contest with the sidewalk – with the sidewalk only slightly winning as the man blinks from the smoke – and the rain slowly drizzling around him, the smoking man stands motionless. I look deeply at his face and try to find some expression, some glimmer of life, hope, or excitement. He doesn’t even seem to be enjoying the cigarette like the people in magazine advertisements … all happy and smiling at their ‘right’ to be able to smoke.

Perhaps he needs to get away from his daily life to gain perspective, and just maybe, a cigarette in hand for a few minutes a day just isn’t doing it for him. Perhaps an hour a day of being in the caress of mother ocean could grant him just that … if only we weren’t land locked. If only I could tell him about surfing and all the splendor it offers for the human spirit! I momentarily consider walking across the street and chatting him up regarding this crisis of the human spirit, but he flicked the cigarette on the wet pavement and ran back into the office building.

Aloha my brother.

It’s all about constantly being in the now; knowing you don’t get to choose whether you move forward.
You’re going to move forward, so don’t fight it.

Yeah … I just wiped out, and it will be several more seconds before I can move towards the surface of the water, break free of the foamy froth surrounding me and my surfboard, and catch a breath of air. I calmly watch the movement of the water above me and wait for my chance to surface, making my way behind the passing wave.

Yes, I just wiped out on what should have been a really nice ride on a really nice wave! Ahem. A side note: If you are an ocean person, surfer, waterman, or have ever been in the throes of the ocean’s waves, you are more than likely familiar with the concept of “not fighting it”. Swimmers are often cautioned by ifeguards not to fight a rip tide -  a strong surface current flowing outwards from a shore – when caught in one. Rip tides are narrow enough in size that if you swim parallel to shore, you can easily escape the current and then swim back to shore.

Right. Don’t fight it, just go with the flow until you can easily maneouvre around it and be on your way. As I climb back on my surfboard, half gasping for air and half laughing at what was possibly a good wipe out scene for anyone watching, I remind myself of being in the now. In layman’sterms, it is sort of a quick evaluation and assessment of the situation – a “what did you learn” moment in time. I learned to be in the now, watch what is happening, and respond in a proportionate manner. But the quote is more than just a metaphor for surfing … it’s a good mantra for every day living too!

As with most things in this world, we really do not get to choose a lot of what takes place around us, nor do we get to choose when those things happen. We only get to choose HOW we react to each and every single situation. How we react and continue to respond with every given moment is the only thing that we may be really in control of. A less than attentive driver on the speedway who cuts you off should not dictate how you are to respond or spend the next few moments of your life … you get to choose how you react to that. And of course, there will be moments upon moments when emotion rules over logic, but how far you continue to let it ebb is part of that choice as well. I have chosen to see this quote as a statement to choose what to fight and when to fight – like fighting a rip tide in utter futility versus fighting your own fear of drowning into the strength to swim around a rip tide – not as a commandment to lay down and simply not fight.

It’s not permission to surrender at the challenges we face since we are not in control, but rather a resounding statement to know when it is appropraite to prepare, to analyse, think, and to fight back. It is also a testament to the change that this world will constantly go through – both evolution and regression – moving at such a constant pace that nothing is spared from the momentum. It will change, it is changing, and there is nothing you can do except choose how you will react to each moment of change and forward (sometimes backwards) progression.

And now, if you will excuse me, I have another good wave to catch since I have managed to make my way back to the line up … the waves are coming and I want to make sure I’m in the right spot!

…