An Age Old Question
Did a little strike mission down the coast to an old home-zone when the East Coast swell drought broke last month.
With a wide open window and scant responsibilities for a few days I had no excuses not to go.
This was a place I spent a decade at during my twenties. I knew where to score, I'd catch up with mates still living in the area, a bit of me time. Tick, tick, tick.
First morning I was already getting texts at sunrise: "It's pumping". I'm not a great super early morning surfer so I cruised a bit before making my way down. Monday morning and the car park was buzzing. Fark, why wouldn't it be? I'd been literal months since there had been anything that could be qualified as a real swell, now it was three to five and offshore. I'm sure the plot graphs on sick days regionally and probably state-wide would show a definitive spike on that day.
I cruised into the line up and started chatting with faces I know. It was cool to find that nothing has really changed. Same OG big wigs ruling the lineup. We're all sitting towards the mid-bracket of life: kids, mortgages, work, accumulating aches and pains etc.
What surprised me was that the OG's we're still going hard!
Margo rocks a white beard and rides a sensible surfcraft yet still mixes it with the yoof (Dan Scott)
I'm self-reflective enough to acknowledge that, while I still enjoy surfing and still partake consistently, it's place in my life has definitely waned over the last few years. I'm incredibly blessed to be able to surf each session almost exclusively solo if I wish, and "going surfing" has become less about the actual act of surfing and more about going out into the coastal environment. The walking, paddling, horizon-gazing, and everything else that comes with the surfing package now seems just as meaningful as actually catching and riding waves.
The catch to this Chicken Joe-style zen transformation however was laid bare when I bumped back into a dog-eat-dog, high-octane environment. While my peers still stalked the lineup, hustling and hassling and flaring, I was stuck floundering in low gear. My surfing has comparatively slipped, because I'd stopped caring about putting effort into my surfing.
So, when slapped with this reality, what to make of it?
I've never been even remotely competitive as a surfer, I learnt to surf competently because I loved it and as a teenager I got a little social kudos for it. Then it became trying to emulate what was happening in the pro scene, drinking the marketing Kool Aid, an identity and peer relationship thing.
And now?
I'm middle-aged, comfortable in my own skin, no longer believing I'm the new revolution. Does it matter that my skill-set is sliding? Is it enough to get a few pits and enjoy the ocean or am I just making excuses for getting lazy?
After ruminating the topic for a few days, I messaged one of my mates, who'd also been out that morning and surfed himself almost to exhaustion, the question: "What keeps you so motivated to still go hard and surf as well as possible?"
His response: "My body won’t be able to handle hucking into heavy waves for much longer so why not give it everything, plus not getting waves very often this year gets you motivated once the swell turns up."
So my question to you Swellnet readership-of-a-certain-age-demographic: Where do you fall on the Animal/Cruiser ageing continuum?
Are you determined to not waste your surfing lifespan and rage against the ticking clock, or are you happy sliding into the comfortable slippers of age-appropriate mediocrity?
//DAN DOBBIN
Comments
ugh, too real.. i feel every word of this alongside a little bit of back pain
good read, Dan, hope you're scoring
Surfing feels good, and I usually clears the funk from my brain, but, you know what, there are a million activities which do that - and each has its attendant skills and knowledge, and cultures and history.
Disconnecting surfing from my identity has allowed me to be a newbie at other sports - just like I once was with surfing, when the smell of coconut wax and the feel of my first board and the deep feel and awareness of how waves moved all burned into my soul.
Now I get that with other pursuits and it makes life twinkle and seem more than its component parts.
Feeling annoyed when I surf worse than I once did seems a cheap price.
Yeah Dan I'm of the same opinion, I just don't have the heart for hassling/hussling any more. Give me space and time out there and I'm a happy camper. Bali last year really highlighted that, it took 3 weeks to come to terms with the crowd and surf schools, the year before I scored plenty of waves each session, not last year but I finally got over it and settled in.
For a long time since I've been mulling getting a longer board, it's been ordered, but I'm not so sure now that's the answer. More likely positioning and patience will make a difference and getting to know the punters out there while bobbing around. Either way I'm keen to get back, you can't beat warm water and clean waves.
You can cruise the turns, but the Pop-Ups are the tricky bit.
Esp with a few extra Kgs...
100% that's the cage I'm in. If you don't keep hip/lower back flexibility up then you're on a slippery slope. Keeping moving is the bare minimum but being time poor in the middle ages with baggage doesn't help.
At late 60’s I’ve recently sold all my short boards and faced the music of larger wider boards.
I’m the victim of a serious not at fault car crash when young.
Nobody could believe I walked away from it and it was all pretty good until older age….
I used to turn my nose up at longboards and larger hybrids etc but they actually go really good these days and I’m loving the daily surf in a new light….
I’ve even got into taking a 9’0” performance mal out in larger waves for a bit of fun and the things fly…..if I can get it out that is….
My shorter boards now are 7’ 2” 7’4” and 7’6”…..and still perform really well surprisingly.
Getting up with a stuffed back and stiff body is a problem but the wide boards make it easy and you can reinvent your start out of the blocks if you’re persistent.
Once you’re up it’s all pretty good like a young fella…..sorta.
Persistence is key when older and just to be out there and appreciate the beauty and majesty of Gods creation makes me happy.
It’s all about the love…..and if you can find your little spot down the beach a bit the love grows even more….
The bigger boards mean bigger opportunities as well.
Keep at it , it’s good for you.
Good question Dan - as you note there's crew across the spectrum of OG chargers - cruisers - spectators. I'm 69, and having carried various injuries for the past decade (usual suspects - lower back, shoulder, knee, ankle), I have, by necessity, backed off at various times to recover. In my case, post-65, fitness waned, as did desire. I've never been overly competitive, preferring quieter sessions with a few crew in the water - that all-important equation of more waves than surfers, which can be as few as 3 in a set, or at the other extreme like those recent cyclonic conditions, where fitness is crucial (unless you have a jet ski - not a fan when crew are paddling). Wandering off-topic here, but I am still surfing, and hope to continue for a few more years. On boards - my go-tos are 7'0 and 7'6" round tails, for the ease of paddling / catching waves. Obv. I'm not doing anything radical, just trying not to waste waves. Having started on a mal in the 1960s, I'll likely end up on one - full circle!
I think people underestimate that doing a small amount of stretch and strength everyday will help keep you in the game , flexible and strong, just do it everyday, if only for 20min, every day.
If you're worried about going longer with boards..
Go to Christian Beamish's instagram for inspiration..
His stoke is infectious
Boards are one thing.
Proper rest and recuperation/recovery and then prep (strength&mobility training, stretching etc as mickseq said) are vital in prolonging ability and fitness as we age.
My favourite sessions are done unaccompanied. First in, first out. Usually get my fill by the time the sun cracks the horizon and a handful of others turn up. Backed by quiet surfs between 10 and 2. All harder to come by as the years turn.
Certainly struggled with the difficulty of finding such occurrences as surfing became more popular. A period where seeing a crowded spot made me angry whether I was surfing or not. Something changed in recent years though, if it's not good and empty, I don't bother and I don't feel anything about it. The wisdom of age or the abatement of a particular hormone that comes with it, can't be sure I've not been tested.
Either way, there's little else that feeds my soul like being alone in the lineup on a midwinter morning, no cars around, no humans around, just me and the stars in that special secret time alone in the ocean before daybreak. I still have what it takes to charge heavy water, but certainly not raging against the line-up, the clock, or the "progress" that comes with it any more... and happier for it.
"Are you determined to not waste your surfing lifespan and rage against the ticking clock, or are you happy sliding into the comfortable slippers of age-appropriate mediocrity?"
Why not do both?
Cruise and relax and enjoy all the fun in the sun days on mids or longboards or whatever is needed and be ready to have a crack when the surf gets good.
As others have noted, a bit physical maintenance work required but there is so much incredible knowledge out there now about fitness, nutrition and recovery.
Older guys can go harder for longer now, for those reasons. Not to mention they can keep advancing in board design/wave knowledge etc etc.
A good wave surfed at your limits or close to, still feels amazing.
You don't have to surf it like a pro, just be able to catch it and competently ride it to get the thrill.
I think crowds and competition are part of surfing, and they don’t bother me, it is what it is if you don’t catch many waves,
But if you’re that allergic to them, as@ sprout says, you can avoid them, and more volume definitely increases the number of places and conditions you can surf in .
I regularly surf somewhere that is notorious for its crowds , but often maybe higher tide or light onshore, and you can have a handful of guy’s spread out down the line , and heaps of waves ,
That’s why it doesn’t worry me on the crowded days wether I get waves or not
Confucius once said “ The bigger the crowd, the more people you are sharing the experience with “ !
Thank you, FR. Close to my philosophy/MO.
I mostly seek out solo or quiet sessions, and will sometimes do very rudimental surfing - just going fast or doing big, simple carves. But I'll also find myself really givin' it, with nobody to witness it.
On banner days, though, I'm not holding back. I'll be farthest outside, looking for the best waves, and while far far from the top tier I'm not backing down.
This works if keeping reasonably limber and fit. I don't spend hours every day on it, but do a little something daily, and eat well. Good boards with some volume help too, but I don't rely on crutches these days (did for a while, and it just doesn't feel good).
Kidding oneself is stupid, but there's something to be said for not selling yourself short.
(61yo)
IB, you said exactly what I was thinking.
Still - crowds shit me and it's never as 'nice' when you have to shit fight. I don't mind sitting a while and picking the odd bomb off - but now you seem to have some prick want to paddle straight out or straight up the inside and take it - sorry not on.
My rose coloured glasses just remember more general manners and etiquette. Interesting the sessions with mostly locals is far more relaxed and enjoyable.
Have I become a grumpy old man?
I'm well into my mid 60's too. The key for me, as mentioned above is bit longer, higher volume boards and maintain surf fitness. Living on the coast definitely helps. I do think about how many years I've still got to get waves on the good days. 10 maybe? I still get excited by good clean waves whether it's 2ft or 6. Having mates who are older and still going strong also helps.
I've been surfing boards that are big and small since my beginning in surfing. That continues as I age. So there's not really an amount of foam that is a red line over which pride dies if I cross it. There's horses for courses. A proper noserider is just another type of board to master. It can be tiny and I'm having a ball, or bigger and serious and I have a board that will suit it. Whatever keeps you surfing. Found an alaia to be so much fun recovering an injury last year, wasn't even standing up.
Avoiding injury, choosing the spot depending on your tolerance for crowds - there are still choices to be made.
Some great comments above. Keeping the hip and lower back flexibility is the key for me. Loving riding longer boards, more volume but also more rail to bury when the opportunity presents. Hate crowds would rather surf a lesser wave than put up with the hassle. Was never anything more than (barely) competent so the fading of skills is hardly relevant. Still enjoy every session I can get. Speed runs through a double up rip bowl today. Fun.
You don't stop surfing because you get old, you get old cause you stop surfing.... :)
Good read....
Just keep paddling out....
Correct