Translating Jerk
Saturday morning (Day 73)
I met Brett and one of the guys from my office at seventeenth at sunrise. The surf was medium sized and fun. I wore my watch, knowing that I'd promised my wife that I would meet her in Anaheim at 8:30 in the morning.
Just as the crowd began to thicken, I paddled after a good sized wave. I stood up and carved a line to the left down the open face. Reaching the bottom of the slope, I noticed a surfer paddling out on a shortboard. He was right in my path.
I veered sharply away from him, cutting back towards the wave, falling off my surfboard landing prone on it sideways, all in one hard and ungraceful motion. The maneuver worked, and was the equivalent of pulling the emergency brake in a car.
I saw his head slip into the wave, right in the place where my turn would have apexed.
I spent the next several seconds swallowing foam, as swirling white water dragged us both a few meters towards shore. I struggled to the air, and looked around for the guy.
He had lost his surfboard in the foam, and was climbing back onto it, turning towards the deep to paddle away.
"Are you okay, bro?" I asked.
"You better watch where you're fucking going asshole." he replied.
(Translation from jerk into English: "I'm fine. Thanks for asking.")
I've been the guy paddling into a wave in somebody's way. The proper way to deal with this is to swim behind the surfer into the white water, sacrificing yourself into the wave to preserve the other's ride. Sometimes though, try as one may, there's simply not enough time to get out of the way, and the rider has to give up the wave to avoid hurting both people. Usually, they do. And, usually, they'll make sure everyone is alright, and go on from there. If no one is hurt, there's no reason to dwell on it.
My watch told me that it was time to go meet my wife. I paddled in, discouraged. It wasn't that I had done anything wrong. Technically, I had every right to run that fool over and yell at him about it later. He was, after all, in my way, and ruined a perfectly good wave for me.
When it comes to surfing etiquette, I've always tried to err on the side of courtesy, no matter what the crowd is. Even with only a few people in the water, I'll speak up and offer peace for anything that could even be perceived as a breech of etiquette. Sometimes I do it just for the purpose of making conversation. I find that most people are understanding, and respond in kind. I've had people give me unnecessary quarters. People laugh off difficulties, or pull back and shout at me to take it, or invite me to drop into their path and share the wave - the ultimate violation of the "one wave, one rider" rule.
Surfers deal with crowds in different ways. Some people become more polite and understanding when the crowds grow thick. They laugh at the frustrations of trying to play a solitary game with nature in a mess of strange people dressed in black rubber. Some surfers can adjust and take the situation lightly. Other people.... well... can't.
More Later
-Travis
copyright 2004 Travis R. English
I met Brett and one of the guys from my office at seventeenth at sunrise. The surf was medium sized and fun. I wore my watch, knowing that I'd promised my wife that I would meet her in Anaheim at 8:30 in the morning.
Just as the crowd began to thicken, I paddled after a good sized wave. I stood up and carved a line to the left down the open face. Reaching the bottom of the slope, I noticed a surfer paddling out on a shortboard. He was right in my path.
I veered sharply away from him, cutting back towards the wave, falling off my surfboard landing prone on it sideways, all in one hard and ungraceful motion. The maneuver worked, and was the equivalent of pulling the emergency brake in a car.
I saw his head slip into the wave, right in the place where my turn would have apexed.
I spent the next several seconds swallowing foam, as swirling white water dragged us both a few meters towards shore. I struggled to the air, and looked around for the guy.
He had lost his surfboard in the foam, and was climbing back onto it, turning towards the deep to paddle away.
"Are you okay, bro?" I asked.
"You better watch where you're fucking going asshole." he replied.
(Translation from jerk into English: "I'm fine. Thanks for asking.")
I've been the guy paddling into a wave in somebody's way. The proper way to deal with this is to swim behind the surfer into the white water, sacrificing yourself into the wave to preserve the other's ride. Sometimes though, try as one may, there's simply not enough time to get out of the way, and the rider has to give up the wave to avoid hurting both people. Usually, they do. And, usually, they'll make sure everyone is alright, and go on from there. If no one is hurt, there's no reason to dwell on it.
My watch told me that it was time to go meet my wife. I paddled in, discouraged. It wasn't that I had done anything wrong. Technically, I had every right to run that fool over and yell at him about it later. He was, after all, in my way, and ruined a perfectly good wave for me.
When it comes to surfing etiquette, I've always tried to err on the side of courtesy, no matter what the crowd is. Even with only a few people in the water, I'll speak up and offer peace for anything that could even be perceived as a breech of etiquette. Sometimes I do it just for the purpose of making conversation. I find that most people are understanding, and respond in kind. I've had people give me unnecessary quarters. People laugh off difficulties, or pull back and shout at me to take it, or invite me to drop into their path and share the wave - the ultimate violation of the "one wave, one rider" rule.
Surfers deal with crowds in different ways. Some people become more polite and understanding when the crowds grow thick. They laugh at the frustrations of trying to play a solitary game with nature in a mess of strange people dressed in black rubber. Some surfers can adjust and take the situation lightly. Other people.... well... can't.
More Later
-Travis
copyright 2004 Travis R. English
posted by travinator @ 4:17 PM
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