~Last Winter~
Ocean Beach was huge today. It was one of those days where it seems the entire city comes to check out the waves. My whole family made the journey. From high on the hill of Skyline Boulevard I could see waves breaking and whitewash rolling so far out to sea that it seemed like a totally different beach. I had to ask my wife to repeat what she was saying as I got lost in calculations of how far out that must be and how big those waves must be to be breaking so far from shore. The buoys were reading over 20 feet but when we reached the shore it was hard to tell the size for a couple reasons. There was no one out riding it to gauge against. Also, Ocean Beach has a way of ALWAYS being bigger than it looks once you paddle out.
I was fascinated by the sheer power….the energy in the water. Standing in the parking lot I could feel this exuberance in the air. As people pulled up to park their eyes lit up like a kids first trip to the candy store. Explosions of water blasted into the air as the thick-lipped barrels thundered shut. Peaks of mysterious size reared and heaved all the way out to the horizon. I was jealous of the woman who sat in her car with giant binoculars gazing at the outer bars. The inside was pure whitewater chaos. Out of respect I should say that I did actually see 2 guys paddle out a ways and ride 2 giant foamy rollers back to the beach. It looked like they too were curious about the energy in the water. I commend them for taking a feel. I settled for the electricity in the air.
My wife said the ocean reminded her of that famous Hokusai etching of the giant wave off the coast of Kanagawa.
My daughter just kept staring and pointing at the ocean saying, “Waves! Waves! Waves!”
~last winter, too~
What is the magic of big waves?
A few weeks back I was talking my friend Sparky about the biggest waves we’ve experienced. He talked about how he and a crew of guys stood at the water’s edge searching & waiting for a space to paddle out. When the moment came he and only half the crew endured the battle to the outside. Once he got out there however, he realized it was too big and that he wasn’t too keen to catch one. With only one way back to the beach he dropped into one and subsequently received the beating of a lifetime. As he got to the part about how big it was he said, “I’m not sure exactly how big it was but it was HUGE!”
My wife grew up in the bay area with cold, unfriendly OB as her beach. Needless to say she is not comfortable with the ocean. After 8 years together, however I have convinced her to try bodyboarding. We were out in Pacifica riding 1-2' mushy, mellow waves and after crashing on a knee-high wave she popped up with eyes of terror, gasped for air & then returned to the beach because so much adrenalin was flowing through her body that she was shaking and couldn’t catch her breath. In the car she reflected, “Did you see how HUGE that was?”
I love that. There are two different surfers in two totally different conditions who shared the exact same experience! The thing that made it possible was the ‘huge’ waves. Ultimately, the size didn’t matter since it was relative to the individual. Both of them were challenging their own personal potential.
Our potential. How do we achieve it? Paddling out into ‘big’ waves is a great way to explore & learn about how we deal with our potential. It takes planning & preparation to successfully push our limits of wave size. Yeah, sometimes we get lucky and have the easy paddle out along with that one sweet ride but to do that consistently takes dedication & discipline.
There are all the physical preparations like: paddling regularly to build endurance, stretching, studying the waves, swimming to prepare for possible leash breakage, finding the right board. Doing all of that will get you in a very good place but it will be meaningless if the mental preparation is left undone. No matter how great your physical condition and understanding of the break if you panic at the wrong time…..
So I’d say the mental prep is really the most important. How do we do it? I think all of the physical work and studying will definitely help put the mind in the right place. Still, I’ve found there are more barriers that arise. The biggest one for me is fear. I’ll be out on a ‘big’ day for me and that freak set…..that bunch of waves that’s bigger than all the others.….the rogue waves (as my chiropractor calls it) will appear on the horizon. Instantly, fear floods my body. My heart races too fast. My breath becomes shallow. My mind flickers instantly through possible bad outcomes. I’m no longer surfing. The whole experience becomes a life or death encounter. Fortunately, I’ve held it together enough to deal thus far but it’s not solved.
It’s a trippy experience because everything will be fine and then that wave shows up, which is a tad bigger, and my mind shatters. How to trust our experience and stay concentrated when faced with the ‘bigness’ of our potential?
I’m sure there are lots of answers out there. One example of a solution comes from a good friend of mine who wanted to paddle out at Maverick’s. He’s a well-seasoned surfer. He’s traveled extensively. He’s surfed the biggest days at OB. He had researched and talked to friends of his who surfed there. He’d done all of the necessary physical work. From the outsiders point of view he was totally ready. Still, there was hesitation when it came to surfing Maverick’s. The final hurdle was getting over that mental block. His solution: a Maverick’s journal.
Once he decided, “Yes, I’m going to surf this place!”…he began writing about it. Anything and everything that came up relative to making the paddle he jot down. He created a mental workout. It worked. He paddled there last winter! I read that the respected big wave rider, the late Jay Moriarty, also wrote essays as preparation to surfing Maverick’s. There must be something to it! It’s all about the mental exercise…however you decide to get it!
‘Big’ waves could be seen as our potential in our daily lives. How we deal with rogue waves in the water can shed light on how we face the limitless potential of our lives. Marianne Williamson writes:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
No matter how big it gets just keep on riding……
