Reunions - Old boards, old friends, old memories

Been a very interesting month or so for me.  First came the annual
Manasquan Classic Longboard Contest.  This is one of the only
2 contests I generally enter a year, and it's one that always brings a
smile to my face.  We started the contest a few decades ago just for fun.
You have to ride a pre-1968 classic longboard and there are only 2 rules
1) no rules and 2) no complaints.  The event is a chance to reunite with
old friends and people who you don't see or surf with that often.  It is also
a trip down memory lane.  The classic old boards are wonderful to look
at, albeit not always easy to ride. When was the last time you got a
chance to see over 100 classics lined up on the beach? When did you
actually get a chance to ride a board you might have had in the 60's?
There is a great photo of me trying with all my might to crank a bottom
turn on an old Weber Performer with a hatchet fin.  Guess I forgot that
you can't actually do that, you have to ride those
boards differently.  As you'd imagine with a gathering like that talking
story, reliving the "old days" is part of the fun.

The next event  was an actual reunion of the fabled Kiernan  Surfing
Association.  Kiernan was the name of the street leading to one of Long
Branch NJ's best surf break.  The street is long gone as are the
bungalows on it.  The great jetty and shoreline lined with poles are
gone as well. The bottom and structure that groomed swells buried
under tons of sand. Waves barely break at that once hallowed spot.
As I looked at the area from the beach it was unrecognizable.  The guys
who were members of the Kiernan Surfing Association were amongst
the best in NJ.  Surfer's like Vince Troniec, Charley Kunes who were
on the  Dewey Weber Surf Team, "Old Guys" like Big Mike and Duke
Fratten, both in their 90's, men we looked up to were all there.
Memories, stories, laughs, and photos were shared.


The final event of this "hat-trick" was my 50th high school reunion.
50 yearsis a really long time.  I saw people I've known for over 60
years! People from elementary school. My first girlfriend, team mates
from football and baseball, people I sat in classes with, people I
partied with,( in a 1950's and early 1960's kind of way) were all there.
Some were easy to pick out, they'd looked  similar to how they
looked 50 years ago with some grey and a few wrinkles, others
were unrecognizable, while others sadly had passed away or been
killed in war. Questions about those who weren't there, updates on
peoples lives created endless waves memories.

Each of these events were chances to reflect and look at how my life
has unfolded. Each event prompted me to be grateful for howit's all
has turned out. How often do you take the time to look back and learn?

 Every surfer has certain waves locked in our memories. We can recall
the smallest details, the break, the size, the shape all burned into our
brains. Life is full of little events, full of people, full of posibilities.
As someone at the  high school reunion said…"hey we're still here"!
As someone commented to me…"keep surfing!"  Good advice for us all.
Cherish your memories but enjoy your life. Remember those waves but
keep surfing and looking forward to the next swell you never know
what's to come.

Pleasure from diversity

Today was a really fun day. The surf was between chest to 

head high and even though thewind wasn't offshore it was

not a factor at all.  The swell direction wasn't perfect but that too

wasn't a big deal.  I was lucky enough to surf twice before having

to go to my office. What a joy!  I rode 2 entirely different boards 

today each with it's own spirit, it's own mood and flow. 

My dawn patrol pick was a 5'9" Larry Mabile twin fin with

beautiful wooden keels.  That board is really quick and riding

it has a curious influence on how I surf.  I seem to make arcing

swooping turns, I coil at the bottom of waves and glide smoothly

off the top.  It's kind of a speedy "go with the flow"gliding type

of mindset.

For my second session I decided to ride my 6'8" Malwitz

widowmaker.  It has two sidebites and a 6 inch Skip Frye 

center fin.  The shape, as a friend who saw me waking from

car commented, was 70's style with updates.  Totally different from

my early morning fish.  Obviously I had to alter my mindset and style.

My turns were different as was the speed. No coiling on the

widowmaker.

Great diversity provided me with great pleasure. Perhaps the 

same can be said for our life experiences and friendships.  How

often do you step out of your comfort zone? How frequently

do you push yourself to try something totally different?  Do

you surround yourself with people who look, think, or act the same?

Might not be a strategy that provides you with the greatest fulfillment.

There is great pleasure from diversity.

Accepting our place in the lineup

Sadly we all reach a time where we must accept our place
in the lineup.  We each must come to confronting our realities.

I recently watched the ASP Fiji contest.  Like many, I continue to
be an avid Kelly Slater fan.  I so much want him to win another title
and then retire with grace dignity and honor.  Tavarua, a place where
Slater has been the undisputed master for decades, looked to be the contest
that would help move him to the #1 ranking.  As we know - it wasn't
to be. Kelly looked like a mortal surfing in his quarter final heat. He made
errors, couldn't quite get into a groove, even tried to switch boards in an
effort to find what he once had.  I'm not saying that the greatest contest
surfer of all time is done. What I am saying is that at some point we all
face the reality that things have changed.

Look at your local lineup.  Those who once were the hottest groms
have aged a bit.  They still surf really well but there is a new crop
catching everyone's eye.  The older masters still are out, still have
their flashes of brilliance, but it's clear that their skills are slipping a
bit, that they are no longer the surfer's that everyone is watching.

In each of our lives there comes a point where we must face certain realities.
We must accept that things are not what they once were.  For many it's
heartbreaking, difficult to accept an end of an era, difficult to accept a new
place in the lineup.  So what can we do about accepting the changes in
our lives? What can we do when dreams fade? Probably not much…sure
we can despair a bit, but ultimately we have to move on, accept what
we can't change, accept our new position, our new status.

I really want to see Kelly win #12. I really want to see him get his chance.
Guess that's true for us all. Do we keep struggling for that chance or do we
strive to accept what we find  difficult or near impossible to change?

Rubber quiver

I often joke with people about being a surfer in the mid-atlantic 

northeast.  Those are places that, with the exception of the summer,

most folks don't associate with surfing.  The average non-surfer

generally thinks about surfers and surfing in tropical places.  They

imagine guys in board shorts and , thanks to popular media and

fashion, girls in bikinis. They rarely think about surfing and wetsuits.

Surfers in places like New York and New Jersey, not generally

thought of as surf meccas, have learned that they must be prepared

to adapt to changing water temperatures and adjust for each season.

Sure dressing to surf in July through September, when the water is

in the high 70's and the air summer like, is easy. Throw on your 

board shorts or bikini and maybe a light 1 mil vest/top or spring suit

for the slight dawn patrol chill and you are good to go. If the air

has that morning chill maybe you need a springer or top with long

sleeves.

As summer winds into fall the water temperature drops a bit as does

the air. Fall usually means it's time for the 3 mil and late fall (November

and early December) when the ocean is warmer then the air usually

requires a hood and even a step up to a 4 mil and grab the boots and

gloves.  Then it's winter. When the combination of water and air temps

are usually a total of 70- 80 (30 to 40 degree air plus water barely 40),

it is time for the heavy suit, the 5 or 6 mil with a hood, 7 mil boots, and

gloves. Not at all the bikini or boardshort look.

So, what does all this wet suit talk have to do with life? Pretty easy

to see that to enjoy surfing, and to enjoy life, you've got to be prepared,

capable of adapting to change, and have a pretty good set of coping tools.

Sure, in some places like the tropics life and climate are easy.  The tools

for surfing and enjoyment are relatively easier. But, even in the topics

surfers deal with other issues - reefs, urchins, searing sun. Their coping

tools for those things must be different. 

Research on happiness tells us that to be happy we need to be able to adapt

to change and have a range of coping behaviors. Just like surfing - a rubber

quiver with many alternatives is vital to being happy. After all, in life

we surely can count on change and those of us who are able to adapt

enjoy the ride a lot more than those who's quiver is limited.

Lessons learned from inconsistency

It has been a long inconsistent and generally pretty
flat few months for us here on the east coast.  Usually
late August, September, and October provide some of
the best conditions we get. The water is warm, the air temperatures
are pretty mild, the kids are back in school, the summer crowds
gone, and the beaches are free.  This year has been quite the
exception.  Sure, the kids and tourists are gone, the water and air are
perfect, but there's been no surf to speak of.

What can we learn from this?  I often ask clients that very
question.  Well, the gang who run the Belmar Pro were really
grateful for the smallish swell that Gabrielle brought. For the weeks
before the contest organizers and sponsors were freaking. The forecast
was ominous...flat, flat and more flat.  Guess they learned to be
grateful for even little things.

The Manasquan Classic Longboard contest, one of the most enjoyayable
events on the east coast now in it's 20somethingth year arrived just as a
little swell did.  Seems the Inlet was about the only place breaking that day.
The tribe at the beach laughed, played, and had fun as the classic has
always intended as it's goal.

The Board Swap at Beach House, another stellar tribal gathering saw
great weather, but no waves. Maybe that made it more special.

Finally this week we had a 1 day wonder swell.  Yeah, it was more of
an east swell closing out many spots but...there were waves. Seems
nobody went to work.

So, what have we learned? We've learned to make the best of what we've
got.  We've learned to enjoy hanging with our friends and laughing. We've
learned that an 80 degree day in October is beautiful and we can actually
enjoy just taking it in.  Guess even the lack of surf has lessons. OK- I've learned
them now let's get some real waves!

Setbacks, frustrations, and lessons

I've been out of the warm summer water for about
6 weeks now.  No it's not really by choice but rather
necessity.  I picked up a pretty gnarly staph infection
that had to be lanced and required 2 courses of antibiotic
medication.  I'm out of the ocean until the wound is
completely healed and the scab is gone. Bummer!

To add to my frustration the month of July has been
a pretty consistent month.  There was rideable surf probably
25 of the 31 days and about 7 or 8 really good days.
Warm water and consistent surf...isn't that what we all
dream about?

So how do you deal with setbacks and frustrations in
your life? As setbacks go this one was, in fact, rather
minor and insignificant but it got me thinking.

 During the past month I was at the beach just about every
morning, as usual. Hey, a highlight of my day and my dogs
day are our sunrise walks.  Couldn't stop those. Sure I could
have tried to sleep in but that would have deprived both of us
of one of my favorite parts of the day.

I watched the waves and learned to study breaks a bit
more than I usually do. I visited other spots and  became
more mindful of the little intricacies of the ocean and,
beach, the sounds, the birds,  the fish, the little things.
I learned to enjoy watching others ride waves and became a
student of style.  I rode my bike more than usual, ran and
worked out more. My yoga took on a new importance. After
all I needed to stay in shape ready for the day I can surf again.
Oh yea...I probably did a few more chores around the house
and did get that fence painted in a more contented manner.

All and all I had to learn to be patient, to try to be more
mindful of things I'd taken for granted.  I learned to be grateful
for my connection to people, the ocean, the beaches, and waves.
I'm excited to get back and surf, paddle, swim and be embraced
by the ocean but I think I've learned a few things from this minor
setback, learned how to cope with frustrations (however minor) a
bit better.  How do you cope with setbacks? How do you cope
frustration?

Understanding your place in the "local crew"

Each day I see or speak to many of the same people. Whether it's at my
home in NJ or my house in Puerto Rico.  We generally find ourselves
at  the same places, checking to waves, letting our dogs run on the
beach, or simply hanging out and talking for a bit.  I know I'm not unique.
I have my crew you have yours.

Having some good friends is an important part of our surfing culture
and lifestyle. It is an essential ingredient for a happy life as well.
Sure we have our close friends or mates, you know the ones around
the same age or stages of life, the ones you share the ups and downs of
your life with .  Yet we also have another group- those who
regularly surf at the same break,  the "local crew".  There is no particular
age to determine who is part of that local crew and each has a unique role
yet, we all are an integral part of each and every break.  All part of the surf
culture.

Every break has a group of "old guys".  They have long surf histories,
have travelled, and are still pretty competent wave riders.  They might
not be riding  latest equipment  or busting airs, often preferring retro or
longboards but their love of, and commitment to surfing is clearly there.
When it is big they are charging! They see surfing as a lifestyle, a way of
being. Surprisingly they are often connected to luminaries
in the world of surf.

Next there are the more "middle aged" folks.  They have to split there
time between and amongst families with young kids, budding and
maturing careers, and responsibilities around the houses they own.
They might not get in the water as much as they once did but they
still make he most of the sessions they get.

The "20 something rippers" are there as well.  They ride the latest
equipment, generally surf really well, often aren't on career tracks yet.
They are the ones heading off for an extended trip to Indo or Bali.
Time and adventure are major foci in their surfing lives.

The groms also are there at every local break and are part of the crew
as well.  They are the surf stoked early to late teens,  They are the ones
wearing the latest hats, the boards with lots of colorful art.  They only
ride short  boards and all seem to weigh right around 100 lbs.  This group
hangs together in a tight knot band.  Once one of them gets a car or
license they are off to explore new breaks, new possibilities  They are the
ones competing in the contests and learning about things like upwelling,
surf forecasting, and board dynamics.
Their smart phones are filled with the latest surfing related apps, their fashion
is the latest.

Surfing culture has a place for everyone young or old, male or female.
The lesson each of  us should learn is where do we fit in to a bigger
demographic. Where do we fit in to the world as a whole.  Like life,
spending too much  time in a society made up exclusively of peers
distorts our vision and our world view.  Don't prejudge, discover your place,
respect and learn from others, and leave your ego out of it. You'll enjoy
things more.