Carving Nostalgia

Last week I wrote about how much I have grown to dislike surfing in the cold months of Winter.  Well, it seemed that no sooner had I hit publish, the weather shifted, in that the sun came out, and dare I say it, the first signs of Spring emerged.  Someone on a much higher plain must have taken pity on me! This changes everything.  Already I can feel the pangs of stoke that I get each year at this time, signifying the start of several months of surfing in comfort, although comfort is a relative term, but when compared to cold water surfing, it is wholly appropriate. I have already begun the ritual taking stock of my surfing equipment, the main boards have been checked over, and everything is in place for the day that I make my annual come back, the day that I remerge into the surfing world!  I find this feeling heartening, for it reaffirms my stoke, which admittedly lies almost dormant for a little while each year.  But as of now, just looking at my...

When it comes to Winter surfing, I have little or no interest, not any more. There, I've said it, it's out there. I have always preferred the Summer for surfing, as well as everything else for that matter, but I know that I am more suited to surfing in warm(er) water.  That said, I always felt duty bound to surf through the cold months, besides, that's when the best swells hit, isn't it?  The first few Winters were fine, I think, for the stoke of surfing and just wanting to be in the sea doing what I love took the pain of the cold away, plus I was a youth and as such I probably didn't feel it. I certainly don't recall complaining too much, OK, that last statement might not be wholly true, I've always complained, about most things cold or otherwise! But gradually, with each Winter I would find it just that little bit more difficult to go in, I would go through the motions, but in my heart I was beginning to resent the cold. Weighing up just how much...