What do you miss about surfing?

Sitting in self isolation, crawling up the walls, waiting for an acceptable time to crack a tinnie. I found myself as I often do, missing the waves. 

I missed getting to a beach just as the sun comes up and running over the dunes to get the first glance of the waves. I missed the chat with a new friend as you share the common experience of wriggling into a damp wetsuit. 

It got me thinking about what other people miss about surfing when they have times when they are away from the water. So I asked around. Here is what they said. 

“The sound of rolling water, the calm stillness that’s is interrupted by the horizon rising of set waves. A crescendo of movement in the ocean combined body, mind and foam flowing in synchronisation.”

“I didn't surf for three months. And to be honest, the thing I missed most was the complete mental clarity when sat out in between sets. All the same negative thought patterns that berate me in everyday life still cross my mind when I'm out at sea, but I somehow manage to just let them happen, and not get too hung up on them, on their meaning, on their implications etc etc. Surfing as an active meditation is definitely a thing, and it usually does wonders for my headspace, so not having that for a few months was really fucking grim to say the least”

“What I miss most about surfing is the very purifying feeling that whilst I'm in the water nothing else exists. The waves demand a level of focus and concentration that everything else in my mind and in my life fades into the background.”

"I miss so many different aspects of it. The adrenaline of dropping into a wave a little too late. The colours of the sunset falling over Jura. All of the amazing people it has brought into my life. The beers around the fire, everyone wrapped in 10 layers but refusing to go to sleep. The stiff back after 5 hours of paddling reminding you of your adventures. Checking every single spot before going back to the first. The list goes on for days."

“I miss being in the water with my friends. The feeling of companionship, be that waist high waves, or the 8ft mountains powering towards you, you’re all in it together.

Some of my fondest memories were made last summer, surfing the east coast with my mates. It was some of the biggest surf I’d found myself in for quite some time. We all exchanged the worried looks as the sets rolled in, and screamed as someone paddled for that bomb. It was fucking epic.

I long for those dreamy summer evenings, with the waves mellowing out as the sun sets over the east coast.. coming out of the water, salty and sun-kissed. And just exchanging that look with your mate like “yes mate, that was class”. That’s what I miss about surfing.”

“If I’m not surfing I miss the unique sparkly magical stoked buzz that keeps me happy for days after!”

“What I miss about surfing is being immersed in the water, the power of the natural forces and the elated feeling it gives me when I catch a wave or watch others froth over their surf!”