That's Some Serious Gas

Not only has the price of gas affected mainstream America, its hit surfers especially hard. What most people don't realize is that for all our environmental causes and leanings, the majority of surf gear is petroleum based. Yes, it's a dichotomy we constantly struggle with. But what does this mean beyond the obvious? For starters, the price of a surfboard has almost doubled in many markets over the last year or so. The same goes for wetsuits? Even a simple 1mm top will cost you about $85, when just a short time ago one could be had for the price of a Beefy T.

The upside of our current petroleum woes is that many companies are increasingly looking for more environmental ways to produce surf products. Patagonia, long a leader in "earth friendly" methods has a non-petroleum based wetsuit and features non-"PU" foam cores in their boards. Other companies are also starting to use natural products like bamboo and hemp cloth in their board manufacturing. And let's not forget SurfTech; they might be petro-based, but they're super durable which means they will last a lot longer than a PU board. It's only a matter of time before the cash-strapped surfer has to contemplate scoring a SurfTech version from their favorite shaper simply due to good economic sense.

Surfers are a persnickety bunch and many of us loathe change even if it's for the greater good. However, when you factor economics and environmental issues into the mix, we have to take a hard look at alternatives that will help the environment in the long run. Obviously that's not a bad thing because it should save us a few bucks so we can buy some gas to get us to the lineup.

Dude! Who says that?

So check this out. According to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, an 1877 reference from the painter and sculptor Frederick Remington states: "Don't send me any more [drawings of] women or any more dudes" This was the first recoded use of the word. By 1883, dude was in wide use. In June of that same year its popularity was noted in a recording of the North Adams Transcript:

"The new coined word 'dude'...has traveled over the country with a great deal of rapidity since but two months ago it grew into general use in New York." By 1885, it was in such common use that it appeared in an entry in Ulysses S. Grant's Personal Memoirs: "Before the car I was in had started, a dapper little fellow--he would be called a dude at this day--stepped in."

Source: Randomhouse.com : The Mavens' Word of the Day, June 21, 2001

No kidding? That's too cool.

The other day, I’m sitting in my office when my cell phone rings. While it’s not unusual for me to get a personal call during the work day, this one was from one of my crew who would ordinarily be at work. Immediately I thought, “damn, must be swell and I’m stuck here for the rest of the day.” Since I was in the middle of something, I let it ring thru to voicemail and checked it a few minutes later.

Listening to his message, I could hardly believe my ears. Apparently, he wasn’t at the beach, he was at home and happened to have the game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” on TV while eating his lunch. The surprise came when he said that the game show actually used Riptionary.com as the one-thousand dollar question. Now that’s cool for sure, but what’s even more wicked is the cat on the hot seat actually got the question right.

Since the question was only worth a grand, I'd like to think it’s because Riptionary has somehow gained a following (or at least some awareness) in some circles of mainstream society. Then again, it could have just been dumb luck. Nahh - what are the odds of that?

Either way, to borrow a favorite expression from my good friend Nibblett, and incidentally the the one that called me, “that’s just too cool for words.”

What is it about surfing?

Visually, it’s beautiful in a visceral way, yet it’s very nature is to be ephemeral, sometimes lasting just a brief few seconds. A wave heaves its energy as it reaches the point of breaking and begins to topple. This life-ending act often enriches another, the surfer, and enables him to achieve far more in life merely from having been a part of the event.

Perhaps this is the one aspect of surfing that results in a brief instant in time that can touch a person to their very core and lead to life altering, lasting change. According to long-time surfer Rabbitt Kekai “once a person rides their first wave surfing gets in their blood and they’re hooked for life.”

No doubt almost everyone loves the beach and rich, blue-green water, but is that all it is? Surfing has so much to offer people both visually and spiritually. If not, why are so many people enamored with surfing even when they don’t surf? Is it because they want to somehow feel touched at their very core and grasp a piece of what every surfer feels? A connection with the ocean; the life-blood of our species?

For me each wave ridden enriches my life to a point that I know I’m better off on days that have included riding waves. My body, mind, soul all feel exercised in a very fundamental and important way.

Could it be that this is what people seek when gazing wistfully at the surf? I think in many respects it is, they’re just not fully aware of it. Some have said that what draws people to surfers is that they are comfortable in a medium that is deeply troubling and ominous to most. There is no doubt that this is alluring to the non-surfer, but can that be it? I expect to most people it's not and goes far deeper. I think everyone desires to be touched to his or her very core, and unlike so many that trod thru their daily lives searching for meaning, only surfers truly feel it.

Ask anyone who wishes they could surf what attracts them and often times you’ll get an almost unintelligible response of “…it’s, it’s…just, oh I don’t know there’s just something about it.”

Revealing Too Much

I suspect the argument could go back to when Lieutenant James King first recorded Captain Cook's findings of natives in Hawaii surfing waves. The question always seems to be just under the surface; is it good or bad to write about adventures into a foreign land? When you toss surfing into the mix; opinions vary greatly.

A recent surf trip led me to submit an article to popular surf site and to my amazement; it was picked up and posted along with some pictures. Following what I believed to be the protocol for such a piece, I only revealed the country and avoided the obvious mistake of naming towns or spots. Just general descriptions for a few of the breaks we surfed. I also mentioned how friendly the people are and bit about the folks we encountered. Based on having read so many surf books and magazines over the time I’ve been surfing, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of what is and is not open to mention.

Not long after the piece was posted I started receiving responses from it. Most inquired about the area, and where to go. A few of them were from those who think I should be admonished for a heinous transgression. I’ve been asked what would fathom me to write such a piece and been told “you revealed an unknown jewel.” I strongly endorse everyone’s right to an opinion, and questions raised did cause me to ask myself and ponder; what is revealing too much and going too far?

There’s no question that mentioning the town visited or spots surfed during a foray into strange lands would be too much. Even worse would be to spill the beans by giving detailed tide and swell information and climatology that causes breaks to turn on. That’s going too far. The piece I wrote was about a perceived “…unknown jewel.” According to some, mentioning the country was bad enough. To one even the general descriptions about the places we visited and surf spots were “over the line.” When I sent him an email asking whether he could name the spots, let alone find them using my description all I got back was a terse “no.”

Clearly there is an interpretable line and opinions vary on where it’s drawn. It’s no wonder the question neither has nor will likely ever be answered.