Sometimes you are at the beach and don’t have time to surf so you watch for a few minutes. There may be people surfing or not. But you stare at the waves… just stare at the waves.

Surfers do it all the time. It’s called mind surfing. Watching the surf and thinking of how the wave you’re watching could be surfed. Imagining how you would maneuver around a breaking section, come off a bottom turn or drive down the line and pull a big turn back and redirect.

Then the time between sets you absorb the elements, the sun and cool breeze. Watching how the water moves while it washes up on the sand then back out. Thinking of the feeling of walking into the water for a go out with you board under your arm.

Then another set shows up. The first wave of the set the guy sitting on the out side picks it off. Then the other guy on the out side misses the second wave… oh to bad. But, you’re there on the beach and are now mind surfing that one. It’s easy to see that a quick turn at the top to get a little distance on the wave face is in order. Then dropping to the bottom for a solid turn but you’ve got to draw your turn out to get under and past the fast moving section. But the section is not make able so you’ve got to either straighten out or maybe pull out over the top. So you see 3 more waves in the set and you will now need to push through all 3 if you straighten out or, maybe if you were able, pull out off the top. You might be able to paddle fast enough to get over the 3 waves without getting picked off.  

Yeah, all that and you haven’t even gotten wet.

Mind surfing. I don’t do any other sports stuff so, don’t know if you can play tennis in your head by staring at a tennis court? Or. how ‘bout staring at a snow covered mountain and ski in your head down the slopes?

There is just something in surfing that isn’t really in other activities, like mind surfing. Even when the surf isn’t very good I can sit and watch the waves rolling in to the beach and attempt to visually pick the ride able waves. Thinking if I was in the water it would be possible to get a couple waves out of the junk surf.

Yeah, we’ve all surfed plenty junk surf and the number of half way decent rides that were gotten was probably not worth the effort. But mind surfing…doesn’t take much effort, you are always on your game. Pull off some good moves and really never fall off your board.

How can you not like that? But, it’s not as good as the real thing is it?

D.R.

 

The Gadget 8'0 and 7'10