The facts of life
Second hand accounts are valid and appreciated.
Geez Blowin, I'm fucked if I can remember, the true fact of life is that you lose ya memory at 41 and a bit, so don't worry champ you'll be right.
I hope that lifted some weight of ya mind.
I'm 46 and (conceitedly) reckon I surf pretty well for my age.
Can't get around the lineup as quickly as I used to, probably fitness-wise peaked in my early 30's but I think I surf better these days overall. Apart from a niggly shoulder and the occasional gammy knee, I can still get up and boogy when I have to.
I hope to be surfing and snowboarding well into my 60's.
My experience says it is true too, at least for surfers who surf right through and not take a few years off here and there.
Some of the older guys along my home coast are so solid in bigger waves. Out there in their wetsuits and sunhats it is hard to tell how old they are. Often times I will surf on a great 6-8 foot day midweek with a handful of blokes who are charging harder than me and getting far deeper tubes, and not realize that it's 55 year old Mick who I previously thought couldn't surf for shit. They seem to excel on the bigger, straight down the line and into the tube days where timing and the right board is paramount to success. Put him in anything under head high and he can barely do a turn.
Some of the blokes you see surfing G-Land, Outside Corner and some spots around West Java really well are 40+. I guess it is a certain type of wave, and the confidence that is borne from experience, that lets allows them to keep charging.
Like the rest of us, I'd like to be surfing until I can't stand any longer. Any advice would be great.
I believe there is something to that theory Blowin. I had a short discussion about this a couple of years ago with old Zen. Mentioned that as I get older (coincidentally I am 42, the magic number), I believe my ability and timing is better than my younger years. In what might be a strange twist, instead of getting old and senile, I'm putting my improvements down to my brain helping me out. I am thinking my way through surfing a lot more.
To explain, In my younger years, I feel like I used to take off and at the end of a wave my mind was just blank for the entire wave, not a thought at all and everything was just reactionary. I don't believe I read (past tense) waves particularly well either.
Now, when I take off I am actually clearly thinking my way through the wave. I am watching it building or backing off, calculating speed, looking ahead for pockets to appear, etc. It's actually registering in my brain quite clearly. Like a process, I believe thinking my way through the wave is allowing me to plan, and planning is helping my timing, and as the old saying goes, timing is everything. Maybe as you get older, you start getting more efficient at things, including riding waves.
I have no idea why in my later years this has started happening, but I'm not complaining. I just hope that it isn't downhill from 42 onwards.
Steve Pezman in Glass Love talks about the sum total of his surfing effort not changing but transitioning from the physical to the mental as he ages. To me that makes a lot of sense.
dandandan, I agree its on the bigger days the older blokes on my coast seem to shine.
From a physical point of view keeping flexible is very important and yoga helps greatly in that regard.
asharper001's comments above caused me to reflect on surfer's thinking.
Not sure if much goes on really, if they drove as mindlessly like most surf the road toll would be x10 times higher!
Yes, I think 42 is the magic age. Up to 42, I felt youthful. From 43, I felt fine, but somehow I couldn't honestly describe the feeling as youthful.
Also, optometrists say that age 42 is when they start seeing people who have never worn glasses before, the next wave of new glass wearers.
Decline in surfing? without being disrespectful, it would depend a little on whether you were much good when you were 41. Your ability to jam turns is definitely in permanent decline, but maybe you were never much of a turn jammer. You do gain experience, and hopefully a certain calm (maturity?) with age. I think that calm is what can actually work for your surfing. Anyway, as you get older, your pleasures change, you enjoy understatement, there is a bit of swings and roundabouts.
It's all part of the ride of life. At about 42, that is when your second puberty starts. Hair will grow where it hasn't grown before, like on your back and your ears. Parts of you will grow larger, like your stomach. Do not be afraid. These are perfectly natural changes.
Thanks for the replies fellas. It doesn't sound as obvious or as hectic as the article stated.
Of course I know older surfers , it's just that I hadn't thought to ask and sometimes the anonymity brings a bit more truth to the table. Plenty of older guys rip the bag but , in their eyes ,do they still surf to the level they always had , be it well or not ?
For sure larger waves see more experience pay dividends and fitness is essential regardless of age. But it sounds as though most are still happy with they're personal standards. Gives an man hope.
Cheers gents.
floyd wrote:asharper001's comments above caused me to reflect on surfer's thinking.
Not sure if much goes on really, if they drove as mindlessly like most surf the road toll would be x10 times higher!
Gee Floyd, not sure if I should be insulted or I have read it the wrong way.
Like a lot of things in life, everybody (yourself included) do things on autopilot but we all make it safely in this world. Our brains are wired to subconsciously include some common sense and safety. We can walk through a crowd to get from a to b without bumping into everybody or even anybody without too much effort on the brain front. We can turn on the stove and automatically know not to put our hand in the burner without thinking about it. We can take off on a wave and still get to the end without causing havoc. So whilst I made the observation that in the past when on a wave, things was a blank, there is still enough going on in the melon to safely (for me and those around me) navigate the wave from start to finish avoiding all hazards and putting in a reasonable showing. It's just that these days, everything appears clearer and more conscious than subconscious.
No offence intended asharper001; off topic and on a tangent about surfer aggressive behaviour … drop ins, snaking, letting boards go in the line up, no leg ropes and paddling for every wave that comes through as if one's life depended on it. Its been a big swell week locally and every nutter has come out of the woodwork and I'm a little over it.
No worries Floyd mate. I'm a pretty mellow cat and it takes a lot to offend me (if at all). I did actually think that was the angle you were coming from. My immediate thought was of Snapper (or any other QLD point break where the sheep congregate) especially after this last little period of near flat conditions. As mentioned in other posts, I tend for the solo, to avoid the situation you find yourself in. I know for some, it's not possible due to geography or transport or time and I wonder how people keep their sanity. It's not too far for me to head over into Northern NSW and find a little solitude luckily. My go is that I would rather surf slightly uglier conditions by myself (jagging the odd pristine day) than add another piece of shrapnel to the hand grenade in crowds. I hope for you, that this week has been an aberration, and you get yourself a great little session soon without the nutters.
im in my early 50s and im still having a lot of fun, in my 20s I thought I ripped, in my 30s work and family meant I didnt surf as much, I no longer felt like I ripped, in my 40s I put a bit of effort into my fitness and started to have some fun. Im ripping again in a senior citizen sort of way : )
Not too sure about charging the bigger waves as you get older.
Late fifties for me and I know it takes me that little bit longer to get to my feet.
Hardly noticable, but enough on a late drop to make a difference.
Just wish I could get used to a long board but have difficulty with that.
High volume fish for me, but definitely not "ripping" at this age.
Kelly is 42 and Curren is 50 (Still absolutely ripping going by what we saw at J-Bay recently). Having said that those two are freaks and probably two of the best surfers of all time, which makes it pretty hard for the average Joe to make comparisons with.
wally wrote:... optometrists say that age 42 is when they start seeing people who have never worn glasses before, the next wave of new glass wearers ...
Perhaps linked to other aspects of their lives decreasing, so more self stimulation?
Maybe the urban myth is true ... it does send you blind!
With the the 43rd approaching in a few months, this is quite a timely subject for me.
In the past few years, I have felt like I was fitter than at anytime in my life. Those times coinciding with periods when I was surfing more, and felt, I was surfing better - whether I was may just be a figment of my declining brain ... you know, the older I get, the better I was ;-)
I look back and see that from around 6 years ago, when I was mid 30's, I made a conscience decision to rearrange my life so I could surf more ... that all came about from a period in my late 20's to mid 30's when I surfed way less due to work, career, life commitments. And, in the process, did not look after my body (eating poorly, drinking too much booze, sucking down coffees, and generally being heavier so surfing was more of a struggle). Once I got the focus on surfing more, the surf fitness came, and the feeling of surfing better followed ...
That then sparked my thoughts into board design, and getting boards that suited me, that I wanted to ride, and from there, making my own ... tweaking and learning more about what works for me, from volume to fin cant, rails and bottom contours ... so in turn, adding more fun, more enjoyment and thus an increasing sense of feeling like I surf better in the past couple of years than I did in my earlier life.
Well just came second at the local boardriders comp at the ripe old age of 44 .A hell of a lot calmer in heavy waves now not so much of a chicken with it's head cut off approach as I have aged.Keep up the cardio and flexability work and enjoy.
Fraser, a year older and you might have taken the gong. Well done.
How old was the winner?
SCBR comp doesn't count.
Ha Moth your probably right.Around 18 /19 yrs old Zen.
Wingey
Ya site does not work on here.........! FFW,,,,?
I was just looking
wellymon wrote:Wingey
Ya site does not work on here.........! FFW,,,,?
I was just looking
Thanks Welly ... hit the rocks, in for minor ding repairs ;-)
wingnut2443 wrote:wellymon wrote:Wingey
Ya site does not work on here.........! FFW,,,,?
I was just lookingThanks Welly ... hit the rocks, in for minor ding repairs ;-)
Hey Welly (and anyone else interested)
I had to rebuild it thanks to some software updates ...
Content is mostly now all back (some of the more recent updates have to be reentered, thanks to no backup) ... I am still working through all the posts and adding back in the pictures.
Cool stuff where are you based???
Northern NSW ... like so far north I can almost touch the Qld border ;)
Wingy been following your FFW site for yonks good stuff, Do what Stu did and get yourself a balsa blank just for something different, do you know anyone that has had a balsa blank machine cut ?
A big plug to "Blue Tongue Laminating" for the quality glassing service,
correct me if im wrong Wingnut
Yep, udo, spud and the boys at BTL did the 'good' ones ... he's closed up now. Works for Superbrand.
Ah, timber construction ... one of the many project I'd like to get onto ... if only there were more hours in the day, or less commitments.
If ya been following the site for a while, you'll notice its now under its own domain. The wordpress.com free site got a major spam attack ... so, now a more "robust" solution that I can have under my control. Chipping away up bringing all the pictures in the posts back in ...
Wingey cool site,
Will have to come down and visit you one day in my time off.
Talk fins, customs etc, nice one champ.
Best of luck and keep it real as it seems you do;)
You fellas reckon you can do your best surfing at 42 years of age? Good luck to you if you can honestly say that. I sure can't and I'm 42. In pure performance terms I'd say my surfing peaked late 20s/early 30s, I can even remember a few trips taken when I'd say I did the best surfing of my life. But yeah, been a while since those glory days. Big waves? Shit, I can't even say I've got a wiser head when it comes on strong. This is the east coast, you get an hour or two at best each swell and if you're sitting back stroking your chin then you're missing everything. I get flogged as hard as I always did.
Best I can say is that I don't paddle out and try to dominate each session as I once did. Still, when young guys paddle out and try to dominate I have to do all I can not to arc up. Haven't reached that lofty perch of wisdom where transgressions can be easily ignored.
So I spose I'm right in the middle - I'm not what I was, but I'm not what I should be either. Least I haven't bought a red sports car and throwing looks at 18-year-olds.
I agree with pretty much everything you've written above and to clarify, I was probably doing my best surfing in my late 20's. But these days, definitely surf with more flow. I suppose where I live I don't have to constantly froth and catch anything that moves, surf is rarely crowded here. I tend to wait for the better waves now.
Yeah, there are aspects of my surfing that are probably better, flow being one of them. That might be due to improvements in boards i.e concaves for lift making it easier to get speed then in the bad old days. Then again - Zen Again! - it may be due to a more measured, less frantic approach to wave riding. Have to think about that.
wellymon wrote:Wingey cool site,
Will have to come down and visit you one day in my time off.
Talk fins, customs etc, nice one champ.
Best of luck and keep it real as it seems you do;)
Thanks Welly, and yep, happy to talk boards 'till the winds turn offshore ;)
Where are you based?
stunet wrote:... In pure performance terms I'd say my surfing peaked late 20s/early 30s ... I'm not what I was, but I'm not what I should be either ...
... there are aspects of my surfing that are probably better, flow being one of them ... it may be due to a more measured, less frantic approach to wave riding ...
mmm, interesting ...
"... I'm not what I should be either" ... Do you mean fitness, and hence impact on your surfing?
Assuming that's what you mean, that's where I was in my mid 30's due to my commitment to my career at the time. So, when I look back at my surfing in that period of my life, it's not pretty. Carrying extra weight, surfing under volumed boards, no paddle fitness, etc ... I've got some footage of me surfing in October 2004, sheesh, it's ugly ... could hardly catch a wave and when I did the board was so bogged down I was flapping and flailing all over the place. Which brings us to:
" ... there are aspects of my surfing that are probably better, flow being one of them ..."
This is where I feel my whole approach has improved. In my early surfing life, say teens into 20's, I have no doubt I had way less flow, more bash and smack, trying too hard and not linking turns, weaker bottom turn, etc ... then the slump period, then the resurgence a few years ago linked with more surfing, increased paddle fitness, less weight and boards more suited to me and the waves I'm surfing.
"... I'm not what I should be either"
Nah Wingy, I meant I haven't gained the wisdom that supposedly comes with age. I'm still impulsive, still act without thinking, and it still causes me strife in the surf. But to be honest, I kinda dig acting without thought and handling whatever gets dealt your way - up to a limit of course.
stunet wrote:...I meant I haven't gained the wisdom that supposedly comes with age. I'm still impulsive, still act without thinking, and it still causes me strife in the surf ...
I have never thought of wisdom and impulsive behaviour being linked.
Wisdom and age, or more so experience, yes. But, wisdom and impulse, no.
Interesting ... (Walks off scratching chin) ...
" I still get excited to surf, but now it's a more measured and calculated excitement ." - Tom Carroll.
I recall driving like a freaking idiot for half an hour to get a fifteen minute surf in after work when I was younger. Those days are definitely gone .... For better or worse.
Speeding tickets too expensive now Blowin
Lose of demerit points and whamo, inside time with the ped rapists..?
Whingey in behind Mudgeeraba in the bush;)
The older I get the more fitness plays a big part in how I'm able to surf.
Being near 44 I can say my best was a long time ago.I may be wiser but not better.
Also I am too picky in which conditions I surf these days.So I don't have any surf fitness because I only go out a few times a year.My last surf I got absolutely nailed and it hit home that I'm not 20 anymore.
Surfing ability , like every thing else in the world, peaks then fades.
I read an article a while back written by a surfer that estimated his surfing talent peaked at 42 years of age. Not fitness, but his actual ability. Specifically his timing. This particular statistic has been weighing on my mind for a while and so now I'd like to ask the Swellnet Brains Trust , especially those older surfers, if they had an opinion or an experience that could provide to shed some light on this issue.
Cheers legends.