However much we want to live a nomadic lifestyle, our warm houses, good food and home comforts usually inhibit us from making those choices. And let’s face it, there aren’t many reasons beyond maintaining those comforts. But if you’re like me and live in the South West of England, we have to hang on to those days where we abandon warmth for a bitterly cold North Atlantic swell.
Surfing in the UK has gained a strong following but surfers are still the minority, as the realities of surfing in the UK lacks glamour afforded to those living in warmer climates. Many of us aren’t tanned, we lack a visible hierarchy of popular figures to lift surfing to a higher level, and we’ve isolated ourselves from the rest of Europe – so in many ways it seems we are digressing. But ever present amongst the crowd are those who persist in attempting to tackle the North Atlantic. On crisp cold days we leave our soporific towns and cities and head southwest to find small pockets of communities imbedded within coves, and maybe a few in caves, who are searching for some good waves – or any waves really. During the summer months towns like Croyde and Newquay surge with British tourists grappling with foam boards and wiping out in waist high water. As temperatures start to drop during the winter season the general public’s presence drops as well, leaving behind only those with a 5/4 wetsuit, gloves, boots and a hood. But if you’ve picked up a foamy on a family holiday then don’t let its presence linger in the garage, use it. And let’s work to get past the impression that surfing is only for those “advanced” level die hards, rather than embracing it as an art form for everyone. Technology has caught up with the demands of winter surfing; I think it’s time more of us take advantage of what winter has to offer.
In one way or another we are all tied to something we have little control over, which is why surfing becomes the best outlet of that misused energy. Above anything else, surfing is about joy, whether you find that feeling in white water, head high waves or catching up with old friends on long weekend trips. Surfing provides us with the greatest Sisyphus-like feeling, as catching a wave may be a great rush, but you’ll always end up at back of the lineup, searching for it all over again.