Observations of a pointless pastime

Five months ago, I had a shoulder surgery tagged with an expected recovery time of 9-12 months. Although I can’t surf, I still find it necessary to frequent the beach almost daily to check the waves, exchange high fives and soak up the ritual that happens in the parking lot pre & post surf. Is there a better way to spend my time? Probably…

I´ve watched more surfing these past few months than ever before in my life. Im not sure what I’m looking for… Inspiration? The cure for boredom? Upon first glance, everyone basically looks the same in the water. Black hooded wetsuit with a clear board and dirty wax. As my number of sessions viewed from land increases I notice differences between the types of equipment being used.

High volume shortboards. Everywhere. These boards were originally made as small wave boards (grovellers) for professionals and meant to be ridden 4-6 inches shorter than their normal shortboard. Experienced surfers appear to rip them equally as good as their normal board, but something about the short wide design makes it look more fun, more accessible.

Fast forward to present day at my local beaches and it seems the surfers´ board of choice is a groveller scaled up to the size of what their normal shortboard length should be. This design doesn’t discriminate and shouts a belligerent fuck you, not only to its own rider, but also anyone observing from the beach. This is not fun. This is not surfing.

I find that the ladies are more humble in their approach and open to riding equipment appropriate to their surfing level and the conditions. Mid lengths and small longboards. I wonder if their humility is linked to the fact that the lineup consists primarily of males? Anyways, the girls are getting their waves and linking up the sections to be rewarded in the form of rides all the way to the beach. This raises the internal stoke and I find myself cheering for them from the sidelines. They should dominate the lineup, no one would stop them.

Hands down my biggest source of froth from within the little bubble here has been from viewing riders of the surf mat. One can’t help but smile when you see someone take off on one of those. It can go faster than a surfboard. It gravitates towards the pocket. The rider has control over the rocker profile – sometimes altering it multiple times during a single ride. Could the surf mat actually be more high performance than a standard shortboard? To top it off, it can be folded up to fit in a backpack.

On a recent doctor visit I enquired about the possibility of riding a surf mat since I technically wouldn’t need to use my shoulder or do any paddling. The sports specialist said that as long as I can get on a wetsuit, I have permission to ride the mat. Did I just discover the best ever post op rehab solution?

Perhaps I am disillusioned, living in an injury induced fantasy. Exercising judgement over the majority and their design preferences while favouring the virtues of an overpriced and out of date inflatable mattress simply because its the only way I can currently relate to wave riding.

Text: Jeff Roussell @beachdayno / Photos: Naomi Dalsbø @volomii / Surfers: Jeff Roussell & Joar Mæland @blancnoir6750