How to be terrible

in order to get better

Time in the Water

Learning to surf.

I was told a simple rule: Kooks and kids go to the beach.

The beach is where you go to learn. Where you’re out of the way.

The spots at the many reefs and point breaks in the area? You need to be able to surf at least a little to hang out there.

But at the beach with the kids?

When I was learning to surf,

I was struck by all of the small ones and how quickly they progressed.

They are bouncier when they’re little my wife remarked.

They are.

They don’t notice as much. The stares of the others. The positioning. The status games. The wave chasing.

Surfing isn’t as simple as just paddling into a wave. There are whole, unspoken, complex social structures to navigate.

Unless you’re a kid. Then you get to go splash around. Care free.

I stated surfing later than most. I was 37. When I could, I went every day.

I was terrible for a long time. Just absolute garbage. Time after time I would go and not catch a thing. All I would do was fall. And I was obsessed. I started exper…