#2 ~ Charge it!

Almost one week ago a great leader in the community died unexpectedly. His name is Carlos Aceituno and his positive influence spread thick throughout the bay area and well beyond. I studied Brazilian drumming and Capoeira under him a handful of times. From my view he was one of those people with infinite energy and enthusiasm. Even when he was running you into the ground with warm-up exercises he still looked as though he were on a leisurely stroll through the dunes…..and this is why his death has had such an impact on me. You never know when your days in this life will come to an end.

There have been many days I have gone down to the beach to check it before deciding whether or not to surf. I would look out over the ocean and judge whether or not the conditions were worthy of me paddling out. Recently I’ve been working on lowering my criteria for entry. As long as I have the time, it’s not absolutely flat [rare at OB]& it’s not too big [not so rare at OB] I find myself suiting up for a session. The new standard I’ve been working towards is to see one rideable wave. Sometimes I don’t even see a good one and I’ll paddle anyway…..and sometimes I still don’t paddle out. Of course my wife would disagree. She sees me check the online report before leaving the house and says “I don’t know why you bother checking it; you go out anyway."

It’s actually fun surfing on the days when there is “no surf”. There’s never a crowd factor to maneuver. In fact, there’s a slight joy in knowing that I might be the only person to have surfed that stretch of beach that day. The rawness of OB makes it especially exhilarating when there is any size to it. Enduring the treadmill of whitewater is an often humbling, great physical and mental exercise.

When the surf is simply blown-out & basically junky the fun comes in other ways. The game becomes trying to find that one good one. The ocean becomes a living puzzle of closeouts, backwash, dredgers, double-up’s & all-around whitewater chaos. Successfully navigating a wave out of all that is definitely enough to bring a smile to my face. It’s amazing how the criteria for ‘good one’ drops down in those conditions. It’s like Eddie Murphy’s skit on giving a starving man a cracker…..it must be a Ritz!

And if I’m unable to unlock the puzzle that day Mother Ocean has other treats. It’s a common experience for me to be floating alone and then be surprised by a curious sea lion popping up 10 feet away or a passing pod of dolphins which is always enough to awaken my spirit. Our fellow pelicans are always game to show the true mastery of riding the waves. Just the other day I was heading out on a ‘not-so-good’ day when I looked down to see a posse of lime sized sand~crabs scurrying out with the receding sea.

The greatest gift, however, comes from simply being in the ocean. I live right in the heart of San Francisco, which is a luxury in one respect, but it also means being surrounded by concrete, cars and pollution. To escape the unforgiving, lifeless asphalt for the all-enveloping, dynamic, living ocean is enough to make a good session!

Surfing is about a lot more than just ‘riding the waves’. Our lives are so precious. Even with all the drama that is an inevitable part of living we are fortunate souls to be alive at this time in history. And to share in something so magical as Surfing we are indeed lucky beings! I am going to savor it in every way as much as I can!!!

The cool thing is that this idea can be easily extended to everything I do in life......as can most of surfing lessons. Aaahh, yet another reason to paddle out!

You’re invited to pick up one handful of trash after you surf.