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Those special surfing days

Surfing: it's always worth it, but especially on those days when everything is aligned | Photo: Mokuenko

One of the great things about life is that there's always something that makes us get out of bed, even during rough times.

We could be going through difficult times for quite a while, but then, here and there, there's always a glimpse of hope and light, making it all worth it.

Why does that happen? I do believe we reserve a little corner of our hearts and souls filled with hope, one of the scarcest resources in modern life.

Surfing is often that one of the ingredients of that spark.

My favorite surf sessions nowadays are clearly those that are totally unexpected for a number of reasons.

When you've been surfing for decades, you tend to become more picky regarding conditions, crowd factor, and the place itself.

Sadly, I rarely get super excited and psyched about 90 minutes of pure joy and bliss. Blame it on my personality, maybe.

It's not every day or weekend that you keep that overwhelming stoke long hours after having a special surfing time.

Here in the southwest of Europe, autumns have been particularly summery in the past couple of decades.

The summer that we never get during summer is showing up in full force in September and, this year, in mid-October and for a few consecutive weeks.

Dream waves: sooner or later, there is always a day like this waiting for you | Photo: Bruzitis/Creative Commons

Saltwater Molecules Aligned

So, when you get the best of summer and the golden, crispy lights of fall, punctuated by splendid swells and perfectly aligned sand banks, a blanket of magic covers my dear northern beaches.

Not even a gathering of dozens of non-local longboarders screaming and shouting support among themselves in a peak apart can drain the good vibes I've surrounded myself with.

Last Saturday, I paddled out at around 9:30 am.

I found myself a nice, clean peak 100 yards away from the screaming loggers and started having fun.

The windless, chest-high blue wave arrived, and I performed my dance the best I knew and could - a smile after every wave, a grateful thought after every ride.

I knew this was one of those special surfing days. I am sure you've had them too. Everything in its right place - you know?

And then, even when a couple of groms and another two young men joined, I was able to keep my greed and negative thoughts under control.

"Shall we share all waves? No priorities? Is that OK for you?" I asked the older of the young adults. "Sure. No problem."

Music to my ears.

And so we had endless fun. I praised some of the kids' waves, and they started praising me back. We all shared party waves, and we all multiplied our share of rides.

Drained and happy: on some days, surfers only leave the water when there's no arm power left | Photo: Balseiro/Creative Commons

A Virtuous Circle of Fun and Performance

You can't arguably script it any better. It's the dream within the dream.

And this virtuous circle also generates great surfing performances. All my roundhouse cutbacks, close-out reentries, and signature backward riding were flawless.

As with all these days, I left the saltwater only when my arms were declared officially empty of any padding power whatsoever.

For common recreational surfers like most of us, these days are framed forever in our brain's gallery of outstanding life moments.

Moreover, as I touched terra firma, one of my best friends arrived for his slice of nirvana before the high tide guilhotine put an end to the show.

Interestingly, for me, it's the rarity factor of magical days like these that make them so unique and unrepeatable, and keep me going and glued to the dream of another similar experience in the future.

If we can't keep these moments alive in our hearts and minds, our joie de vivre fades so slowly that at some point our connection to one of the most exciting vectors of our lives is broken forever.

Stay wet. Find your magical surfing days. I promise, sooner or later, you'll live them.


Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com



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