When the horizon and thoughts got blurry…#300DaysOfSurf
Surfed out. Describing the feeling of the last 3 days!
It’s not always that I have a kind of blankness engulfing my thoughts where I have nothing to say but the last 3 days have been similar of sorts. Days get blurry under lockdown with no end in sight (yet). While NSW recorded the highest number of daily cases (163) and lockdown gets more intense, seems I am just wiling my time away chasing any hint of waves.
It seems like a selfish endeavor sometimes, the idea of trying to live and enjoy fleeting moments almost completely immersing yourself in present but few things in life come close to this feeling.
All I remember from this almost amnesic week is the swell hitting forecasted pumping levels by another crazy east coast low. That’s the beauty of living near the coast, you are at the mercy of mother nature and her myriad moods.
The almost flat and sleeping ocean on Tuesday night 20th July 2021 sprung to life on Wednesday morning!
By afternoon, the waves were pumping, almost making the horizon blurred and distant. It beckoned. I felt the compulsion to answer the call. It’s almost like an instinct, you get into auto mode and are just hardwired to go and that’s one thing that becomes evident as a surfer — when you see waves, you respond.
The swell had picked up to a good 2–3 Ft waist-high peelers. I took my 6'6 board which took some time to get used to but I could feel the flow of the ocean that day. It was almost meditative the 2hours that I was out. There was nothing that existed between the bond and interaction with the ocean that day.
The banks near the flags (entry to the manly beach) were lining up the swell and holding them nicely to long lefts.
I scored some during the swell and went answering the call the day after too. Thursday morning was furthermore epic, the swell had a hint of east to it (almost 6.2 ft SSE) and started showing more size. While the waves were fat and a lot of moving water, I could manage to pull into some good ones, some drops felt scary but it was a manageable swell in 2–3 Ft size.
Long rights, crazy crowds but I had a sense of calm which is hard to describe.
It lasted good two days from 21 July and 22 July 2021 and almost went to junk with northerly winds taking the shine off it the day after.
Through all the blankness, the thing that comes to my mind is the ephemeral moments in life…
It’s almost like the ocean hinted at the nature of the journey I have been on the last few years of life — collecting moments and experiences and the swell almost symbolically taught me that nothing much is lasting forever — the moments come and go. The joy you got from that moment is your tale to tell.
Meanwhile, I will be chasing the swell coming days to tell hopefully more tales…of fleeting moments that create lasting impressions.
Day 13 comes to a wrap. But I am sure this affair will continue forever.
Join my journey as I chase #300DaysOfSurf, share my story, learnings, experiences, and thoughts.
Why am I doing this?
No particular reason. I just hope that this journey encourages you to step out of your comfort zone and do something that enriches your journey and makes the most of the situation during this pandemic!
I will also be contributing to a cause at the end of this journey (for every day of surf I will be giving away $10 to a cause — details are to follow as I shortlist organizations creating positive impact via sport).
Money raised so far:
Day 11, 12 and 13:
21 July 2021 and 22 July 2021 — $20
24 July — $10
Total (to date): $130
