The stoke from surfing extends way beyond the moments riding waves. There is the forecast stoke, the lead up stoke and the dack-crapping stoke of a big swell arriving just to name a few. Patience is a huge part of surfing before, during and after each session.
I remember the occasion when this imbalance of time and energy all made sense. I was on a surf trip with my mate Fabricio (who is a gun surfer from Curitiba in Brazil) in a red, long wheel- based van called Cecilia travelling around the North Island of New Zealand. We were on the Taranaki coast and Fabricio got wind of a big swell coming so we hung out in great anticipation, stretching, smoking and visualising for three days.
The morning the swell finally arrived was beautiful. Cool crisp waves charged into this break and I was excited, scared and ready to paddle out! My experienced amigo took it all in and recommended breakfast, coffee and a smoke before we thought about surfing. We had waited three days by this stage so why rush now?
Eventually, after watching locals enter the water, we paddled out in a classic mad dash timed frenzy between huge sets. I distinctly remember the sound of huge volcanic boulders churning below as I bobbed over the incoming sets. Looking out the back were swell lines for days, and in my rear view towards land was Mt Taranaki looking tough as fuck.
After two hours of paddling around and getting caught on the inside, my arms were spaghetti and I was thinking this could be another no wave surf (not that common but also not entirely uncommon!). At this stage in my surfing life; rocks, reef and hard things were scary. However, egged on by Fabricio, I got my mind into gear (which meant switching off the constant fear factory thoughts) and I got into the take-off zone and paddled for a decent sized wave. To my surprise, I handled the big drop turn and somehow managed to ride the wave all the way in! Feeling charged and elated at having not died, I decided to paddle back to the shore with the stoke beaming out of my soul!
Taking that drop reduced my fear of hard things below the surface and gave me a new understanding of the mental game. When you are out of your depth, I realised that not over thinking and just going is the best decision.
Next day, the wind jumbled the swell at this location, so onwards and upwards we went in search of more waves and no doubt more patient waiting.