Thursday, January 13, 2011

A Pretty Wicked Morning.

Being raised on the ocean has left me with a life-long tie which I have yet to sever, not that I would ever try. Living in Germany and being land-locked deprived me of the immediate access I have always enjoyed from my youth in Comox through my adult years in Vancouver. I never realized how much I missed it until living away from it and when my awesome wife took me to Dublin for my thirtieth birthday. After not seeing the ocean for over a year the best part of the vacation was a day trip to Howth where I ran to the water and dipped my hands in, pulling them up and smelling the briny water.

It makes perfect sense then that a morning surfing, albeit completely ungracefully and rather ineptly, centered and energized me. The ocean can be fierce and terrify as I mentioned in my last post but it can soothe and calm as well. The two foot waves rolling in sets of two and three were there to greet me this morning almost as if to say, "Here's your reward for coming back after that bitch-slapping I gave you last time. Enjoy."

Now I get why people feel spiritual about the sport of surfing. It's not the slashes and wicked cutbacks (never gonna happen on my board), the hotties on the beach or how great my ass looks in a wetsuit and it sure isn't controlling or kicking nature's ass. Surfing allows you to connect with nature in a way which few other sports allow. You don't just pass through nature when surfing but rather and quite literally immerse yourself in her and the best thing is that nature considers you part of it.

Sound corny?

While I was paddling out past the break today and fighting to keep on my board like a walrus balancing on a railing I looked to my left and saw what only Canadian eyes would perceive as geese flying low over the water. As the birds approached I saw for the first time in my life a Pelican. Actually, not "a" Pelican but seven Pelicans and they chose to fly no more than ten feet from me three feet above the water. The sight was met with the following inner dialogue:

Wow. Pelicans. I don't think I've even seen them in a zoo. I win.

Friends tell me that I will surf amongst Dolphins in Venice and Malibu. Crazy sauce. My bond with the beloved ocean just increased ten fold.

2 comments:

  1. Well put my friend. I try to refrain from talking about 'the spiritual' side of surfing because it does sound super corny, but what you wrote is all so true dude. I'm sorry to inform you now that you'll always have a desire to return to the surf no matter where you are in the world. It's an insatiable need. My condolences.

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  2. look at this!

    http://www.grindtv.com/surf/blog/23568/surfers+in+alaska+ride+waves+for+an+astonishing+five+miles/

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