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12 Aug 2017, 1:30 pm
My cat Kiwi's way too good at stealing my seat. This desk needs an exercise ball.
_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos
12 Aug 2017, 2:13 pm
12 Aug 2017, 2:26 pm
DataB4 wrote:
1Biggles1 wrote:
Wow, trying to explain surfing is a little bit like trying to explain autism to an NT... You kinda have to experience it ..
You've done an awesome job on both counts though. Respect.
1Biggles1 wrote:
I have a deep connection with the water so seemed somewhat natural to progress into surfing... It is very exhilarating. It is as much an art form as it is a sport.. Every wave is unique yet you are connecting with the wave face and in a way dancing with mother ocean.
Poetic.
1Biggles1 wrote:
Each section of a wave has its own characteristics but the most sought after is getting inside the barrel. There is nothing like being closed in a tube of water at speed. Connecting with the sweet spot of a wave. In perfect harmony. It is the ying and yang. You are in a moment of connectedness, a moment of mutual understanding between yourself and mother nature
Hmm, feeling connected, like you and the wave react to each other in a sense... Because you're timing your going under, and you're riding the rhythm of the wave?
1Biggles1 wrote:
but distract yourself from that connection for an instance and that tranquility turns into the washing machine from hell! lol... You will have many tones of water collapse around you and flip you in every direction while trying to hold ones breath and everything is black. It is like having to do a 200 meter sprint then hold your breath for sometimes upto and over a minute while being flipped in every direction and forced to the bottom. This is where many surfers over time develop a technique of what could be described as instant meditation. One goes into an instant sleep like trance to lower the heart rate and to go with the beating so to speak. It is very important not to panic but go with it. More often than not i dont actually always remember being held under as i can go into quit a deep state.. In a weird way, some of the heaviest beatings i got i was actually smiling under the water and would surface with my wetsuit round my waist even a watch was ripped off me...
That sounds terrifying if the wave goes rogue like that. Is it that intense from the beginning when you first learn? Or do you have a progression, a sort of choice? If you can almost meditate, it'd be safer but if not, yikes!
1Biggles1 wrote:
Surfing outer reefs like Fiji where one is surfing on 8-10ft + waves in 2ft of water and no land in sight would be terrifying for many but for me i felt at home... I started off surfing but in my early teens converted to body boarding, i just enjoyed it more. Often doing spins and reverse flips off the lip of the wave kind of like a somersault and then landing in the right spot on the wave as not to lose momentum and get barreled up.... It is an amazing feeling.. Especially at night time under a full moon. The sound and feeling is very different. One is more working on a feeling and sense of the wave and when getting barreled under the moon the sound is entirely different and the moon reflects a silver inside the wave. One can hear the rail of the board zipping through the wave... Its hard to describe but loved it.
I can imagine the exhilaration of flips in the water though, and the sound of the board...
1Biggles1 wrote:
In Bali i would often go out on my own at night. One reef in particular i had to paddle about a half mile out to sea from land to get to the break. Despite it being pitch black, sharks etc i felt comfortable and free... As the saying goes, ''only a surfer knows the feeling'' 
I feel free on the water because it's open and you can float, glide, flip, or push through it in any direction.
So, in a very real sense, you surf blind, in the dark? Finding your way back must be even more of a challenge though... or do the waves somehow orient you?
Hey Cberg
Thank you, just try to explain what i picture, cant always get everything out in word/written form...
Yes as far as the connection goes, it is a rhythm or sorts and there are different areas on a wave face to take in to account. There is a lot going on but there isn't at the same time. It comes with practice and similar to muscle memory, Instead of concentrating on the obvious things , over times one then proceeds to understand the minute intricacies of a wave and ones positioning.
It took me a few years to work up to bigger swells. As water has been an integral part of my life it has been a natural progression from beginning of life. I was what you would refer to as a ''Nirvana baby'' i was holding breath and swimming under water before i could talk, walk.. So have no memory of initial difficulties as in part the ocean became a natural extension of self. I Do fear it at times but it is a controlled fear but didn't seem to feel it as intensely as many others of my age when young. I have paddled out in surf on my own in the past where others will just watch from the beach... The intensity as you mentioned is and can be very extreme depending on size and water movement..
It came from years of experience, physical exercise and learning to hold ones breath for very long periods of time... There are a number of techniques i have incorporated with surfing that i can use in every day life also. So has been a positive cross over into Dry land experiences... Large surf is indescribable and very intense, For your average person they would likely drown, but a seasoned surfer in a funny kind of way has to become part or in one with the ocean. There is no room for any form of panic if being held under. This was a little more difficult for myself as i have had hearing and ear problems for most of my life. So going over the falls of a 15ft wave can push you very deep very quickly and can feel like ones eardrums and forehead are going to explode as i had a hard time equalizing. That was my only fear when surfing larger waves as it is hard to keep that medative state when the pain from the pressure is so great.
Also waves are measured differently to a surfer... When i mention a six foot wave most people would imagine a 6ft person when in reality 6ft in surfing terms is x3 of that of a 6ft person on the face of the wave. Reason for this is that wave measurement is measured from the back of the wave not the face as many think.. At the back of the wave there is a crest and measurement is taken from the top of the crest to the trough. As as indicates in the pic below. So surfers will often say it was 6ft but with a 10 ft face etc
As far as surfing at night, most times it was under some sort of moonlight, so could see a little, however not really that much, ie one cannot see a set coming in from a distance nor the horizon, one can only see the wave when paddling up the face or when it is breaking on you, so can be hard to find the take off point. It is kinda guess work.. Sometimes if s decent size i will take off on a wave no so much paddling into it but as i am paddling up the wave face and do a sudden turn to take the wave. So Surfing is very different at night as one is relying more on feel and sound than by sight. But getting barreled at night is soo much different from the day.. = ultra awesome
12 Aug 2017, 2:38 pm
I really miss Pandora. 
My life is a little bit empty without it.
12 Aug 2017, 2:40 pm
Hey Raleigh
In what context of Pandora are you speaking of?
12 Aug 2017, 2:45 pm
12 Aug 2017, 2:50 pm
Hello, everyone.
(Forgot my manners) 
12 Aug 2017, 2:53 pm
12 Aug 2017, 2:55 pm
12 Aug 2017, 2:58 pm
12 Aug 2017, 3:00 pm
12 Aug 2017, 3:02 pm
Lillikoi
Veteran
Joined: 22 Jul 2013
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 11,797
Location: The Mid-West-East-South.
12 Aug 2017, 3:15 pm
You could try IHeartRadio, that's what I use on my iPhone. It's similar to Pandora.
Also it's totally free.
Last edited by Lillikoi on 12 Aug 2017, 3:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
12 Aug 2017, 3:16 pm
12 Aug 2017, 3:19 pm
12 Aug 2017, 3:27 pm
Lillikoi wrote:
You could try IHeartRadio, that's what I use on my iPhone. It's similar to Pandora.
Thanks.
