Right now, a decent wintertime NW swell is hitting the North Pacific. Hawaii and California are firing and I’m stoked. I pride myself on being a bitter, jaded surfer who hates crowds, GoPros, kooks, SUPs, etc., but the surf and recent experiences within “surf culture” are making me happy and excited. Stoked to be stoked.
While this isn’t California, the crowds are no different. Photo: Cyrus Sutton
There are scenes like this repeating themselves up and down the California coast. Wetsuit technology and flexible working hours have turned winter into the new summer. The swell started in earnest on a national holiday, and my last two sessions weren’t exactly mind-blowing. The local news is making this head-high swell seem like it’s the winter of ’82/’83 when this is just a normal winter swell in an otherwise drab season, and I ordered my 6’1 too late to have it for this swell. Get off my lawn.
However:
1. I sold a board to a really cool guy who I later ran into randomly taking our kids to a movie. We were able to have a good talk and he could be a buddy instead of just someone I sold a board to. That makes me stoked.
2. I finally got to meet Barry Snyder, get a tour of his factory, and order a Hitchcock grovel board that is going to be killer. Barry does all aspects of board production in-house, by hand, by himself. He’s a fountain of surfboard knowledge and, all-in-all, an awesome guy. That makes me stoked.
3. My friend’s brother-in-law is visiting from Costa Rica and is getting a taste of what California winter should be like. That makes me stoked.
4. I’m getting texts and seeing InstaFaceTweets from so many people that are scoring. That makes me stoked.
5. I’m surfing every day and there is no end to the waves in sight. There’s a possibility of getting surfed-out on the horizon. That makes me stoked. Even though there are many reasons why some people have a glass half-empty view, there are always better reasons to have a glass half-full view. Surfing is so important to me and my well-being that honestly it pisses me off sometimes, it’s good when nature brings everything together to remind us of the reason we surf: fun.
Check out Andrew’s blog here.
