Since this is my first entry I feel it necessary to give you one important piece of information about me - I am a surfer and if you must label me, I am a soul surfer. However I am also a surfer who currently resides inland and surfs on a limited basis. If you’re a non-surfer and wish to begin to understand how that feels then read this short transcript taken from the excellent movie Riding Giants, of a statement made by Stacey Perlata (Director). If you are a surfer then you’ll know exactly how it feels.
"If you applied the same amount of devotion to a religious pursuit do you think anyone would call you a religious bum?, probably not. When you consider that surfing is really more than anything else a faith, and devotion to that faith becomes paramount in your life, then there’s no such thing as a surf bum.
Think about everything that comes together to make a rare vintage wine. Think of the soil, the different fruits they mix, the wood they build the casks from for the ageing, all of that combines to make this rare vintage. Think about what it’s like for a surfer, he’s looking for that rare vintage as anything that comes out of burgundy, but he has to find it in the wild. Can you imagine if wine tasters had to hunt down their vintage? Imagine if they had to search the world and that the vintage existed for a mere few seconds and they had to be there at that moment to get the grape, squash it up to get it into that glass and drink it, that’s what surfing is like. When you’re looking for that vintage it may only exist for a few seconds at a time. So what does that do to even the lowliest surfer that surfs on the weekend when he gets the chance? It puts you in a constant state of anticipation. You are always anticipating the next swell, the next ride, the next wave".
Most of the time when I cannot surf I spend my time looking at surf reports, weather charts, DVD’s and books, or in my mind. More of this at a later date. That’s it for now, yours in constant anticipation JOHN
