Just Go!
Too many times will you see a surfer on dry land bragging to their mates about a particular day where the waves were huge, clean & they caught the biggest wave of their life, performing an awesome manoeuvre just like what they saw on TV. To top it off they just happened to be the only person out in the water at that time. Similarly when you turn up on a given day to check the waves, someone in the car park who is drying off will begin to explain “ohh you should have been here earlier, it was going off”.
Brings me to my next point, what is a good surf session?
Is it when the waves are big or small, you catch one wave or thirty, or is it when there are not many people in the water ohh ohh wait, is it when the stress of everyday life starts to flick you in the nose constantly that you just want to SCREAM! Guess what? all of the above. Now don’t get me wrong, there are different types of waves & within every real surfer there is a fire that burns inside, a lust to be on a perfect wave, a wave they have never ridden before that is so spectacular that it would make the circus Olay cry. In reality unless you have tones of cash to chase these types of waves or are lucky to live in parts of the world where such waves are found, you are at the mercy of what the ocean brings you. But if you ask every surfer I’m sure they would all agree that a good surf session is every time they get to get in the water, if it happens to be on a utopia of a wave, Bonus!
A keen surfer will learn weather patterns & through experience & local beach knowledge will know what the waves are like even before getting to the beach. This doesn’t stop them however from physically going to the beach & having a look. Phuket which experiences tropical weather means the ocean can change quite quickly, one moment being small & messy then 20mins later being clean & having some nice size waves rolling through. So just because you look out your bedroom window & see rain clouds doesn’t mean there won’t be surf. Once you reach the beach be patient & don’t judge the first wave you see, wait a while & really watch what the ocean is doing.
Tim’s Tip: Don’t think about it, get your family, jump in the car & JUST GO!
