I always loved surfing, but didn’t have the chance to do it very often when I was younger, so never really made progress. I adopted a relatively simple maxim about five years ago that made a big difference:
If there is surf, go surfing.
I still don’t consider myself a good surfer, but by applying that simple rule I have gradually improved.
That means getting better at riding waves - which is what surfing is all about, after all. But I actually take more satisfaction from my advances in less glamorous areas, whether that is paddling endurance, duck diving under approaching waves, positioning for take off, or general comfort being out in the water when the swell is bigger.
Not just because you spend significantly more time paddling than you spend riding waves, but because it’s those unsexy fundamentals that enable you to catch any waves at all. The local surfers I admire the most are the ones who make their way effortlessly through the line-up in any conditions, and catch more waves than anyone.
I guess it’s another take on the Picasso quote about turpentine.
Meanwhile it’s cold and a bit stormy down in Cornwall, but there is some swell - better go surfing...