SURF HERE AND NOW
As a young surfer, I spent all my time in the water focused on the here and now. Surfing's history meant nothing. It was all about the next wave and my next move. After all, surfing is a very transitory experience. The feeling is intense and unexpected and then it's gone, and we are left scrambling to replicate it. My mission was to dash the past and forge on to something new, neglecting the rich history of surfing and the insanely talented characters and athletes who made up the skeleton of a narrative in which I am merely an insignificant ghost. Today, I have gained the patience to sit still for a few moments and reflect on the path that ends at my back and being penciled in as I
step forward.
Just take a gander at the final heat of the 1978 Coke Surf about held in solid tubes in Sydney, Australia. The wind blew off-shore under a blazing sun. Shaun Tompson was on the play-by-play and Nat Young was doing interviews from the water. Earlier heats saw Simon Anderson laying into deep, dramatic cutbacks (not hacks) and Peter Townend leaning on fully committed bottom turns (not punts), but it wasn't until we see the final that it's obvious surfing hasn't really changed. This is 1978 mind you. Barton Lynch had skipped class to sit on the sand and watch Pipe master Larry Blair face off against a fully charged Wayne Lynch. Now, here's the coolest thing for me. These guys are riding single fins. They are flying through sections and redirecting on a dime. Lynch backdoors a sick one and Blair looks aggressive and loose. Analyzing the surfing in terms of today's equipment and modern sensibilities, I see the seedlings of today's top turns and artistic tube riding approach.
But for real, these single fins (learn about the history of the surfboard fin) are flying with minimal herky-jerky drama. Good surfing is all about timing, position, and control. It's no different than today. What's cool is that this is a moment where two goofy footers in perfect lefts are operating at full mojo in front a full house. Things change, but good surfing is good surfing. I'm sure Blair and Lynch are stoked with the way things are moving in the sport, but let me just say that is one sweet moment. A moment Surfer Magazine called one the
top 5 surf contests in history. We should all be so lucky to have just one like that.
BUENAS OLAS,