Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
I was asked the other day if I was obsessed with surfing and my response sounded like that of a young grommet. Yes, of course, I was. Those present weren't all surfers and I could see the crowd was kind of confused at how a grown man could be obsessed with such a seemingly pointless activity. Sure, in my late 40s work and life in general derail my best intentions, but when I get that gap in my week to paddle out and chase some waves – I'm like a grommet again. Okay, the mind of a grommet with the body of ... well let's just say there are a few work ons.
One thing I realised this past week is that your surf fitness has a direct correlation to the enjoyment you can have out there. My surf fitness is way off the mark right now. On one session I would have been lucky to make one out of every five drops. Just fitness and some rusty components holding me back from ripping it apart like Luke Murphy would have. Some of it is in your head. You take off, the bottom drops out and you see a lot of air beneath your board and you start to doubt yourself. Then a head of kelp comes into view right where your bottom turn would be, but it doesn't matter. The wave has run off ahead of you and you're never going to stick the landing anyway. You get smashed and washed into an even worse position where the rest of the set can make your lungs feel completely inadequate.
You paddle out the back sucking in air like it might be your last drop and hope nobody talks to you ... because you can't talk for at least another five minutes ... you're in recovery. In that recovery some surf fitness improvement is happening. The next paddle out will be better – you'll make a few more waves and stick some turns and feel something that's never ever been well described, but it makes you feel great. It fuels that obsession again and the cycle continues. The more surf fit you become, the more self belief you have ... and with self belief you're unstoppable.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS If you haven't yet watched the movie Seaspiracy then I highly recommend you do. It's an absolute eye opener when it comes to the plastic pollution in our seas and the state of global industrial fishing. British filmmakers Ali and Lucy Tabrizi do a brilliant job of taking us inside the big fishing corporations and faux organisations that whack "sustainably caught" labels on all their products. Fishing it seems is big rampant business, full of abuse and human rights issues, run by some pretty powerful operators (including Governments). You may never eat fish again. It's one of those documentaries that you think might be bending the facts, but as wild as they are they have mostly been substantiated by other scientists ... or indeed by the hidden camera sequences that Lucy and Ali have captured at various institutions along the way. Watch it and make your own assessment. Maybe have one last fish dinner before you do.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: