Always worth it

Or course all of us at some time or another, look at surfing's equivalent of porn.
We look on websites, in magazines and on furtively purchased DVD's at strapping young men ravaging perfect curves, displaying a potency we could never attain, not in 10 lifetimes of surfing. We imagine riding waves we will maybe never even see, let alone muster the courage to make a pass at.

That is just how it is, we accept our reality and make the most of it.

And that is how it was last Wednesday. We had all been enjoying larger than average swells on the South Shore which had been accompanied (and driven) by strong onshore south-westerly winds. Sometimes at the end of one of these swells the wind drops, the sun comes out and the waves line up, smaller than before, but in clean, nice longboard line of waves - the kind we like. All the conditions seemed to be coming together last Wednesday for a nice little session at the Hotpipes, we had been refreshing Sharkbait and MSW eagerly over the past 24 hours in anticipation - and it was going offshore.

In 4 cars and vans we swung up the harbour road round the back of the power station. The thing is you never know, really, until you are almost at the beach how the swell is doing.

5 minutes later we can be found in the café a round of coffees (and one bacon sandwich) being devoured as we sa , deflated.

"Aww, it looked like it was going to be real good"
"Yep, and I lied to my boss that I had a meeting"
"I really should be finishing off the job I am on"
"and I am meant to be at work right now"

None of us should have been there, we had all scrambled away from our routines to grab a little piece of wave, it is worth it.

The tide was slowly coming in, it having been at its lowest as we arrived. Naturally we had been taking turns popping out from the café to return with the news that it was indeed flat out there.

So we supped up our drinks and wandered out to the car park, saying our goodbyes. Someone of our party saw a ripple slowly building up, the faint offshore whipping it up into maybe 20 inches of wave.
"I reckon that is surfable"
That was it of course, surfable is a magic word, for those of us in Brigthon and Hove it is sometimes a long awaited signal to go, go , go.

5 minutes later we were wading out ( tide was low as I said ) and laughing as we caught short rides on clean and sweet 2 footers.

As someone far wiser than I once pointed out, "it is not California" but it is always worth it and always fun.

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