Becoming an older surfer

[Kento]

But see, that's weird. All the surf kids are in surf schools? And just for the summer. Then they turn in their softboards and go home until next summer. Nobody went to surf schools when I was a kid. That was for val/souther kooks. Summer surfers. The jetties in front of the house where I grew up used to be packed with 12-20 year old surfers. Frothing packs of groms hunting down anything resembling a wave. Gone. There are more houses, more people living on the beach, but the kids don't show up for the most part. When they do it's with mom or dad in tow. We were on our own. Things were way more Lord of the Flies.

It will be interesting to see what surfing looks like when the current crop of 50 year olds ages out. Interesting for someone who lives long enough to see it anyway. Will crowds actually decline?

Tower 15 Jetty at Will Rogers was exactly Lord of the Flies and it actually broke pretty good from time to time (never bothered with SunSlop). But always froth and I endured a bit of grom abuse there too.

Fast forward to this last summer, ran from Bel Air Bay Club to MDR Jetty and back, surf was meager in that Will Rogers zone, 1-2' dribble, and packed with softtops. Mostly new-age hipsters in their 20s/early 30s from what I could tell. In the 45 total minutes I ran that stretch:

Waves successfully surfed: 0
Waves successfully paddled into: Also 0

 

[One-Off]

A few quotes to start off-

Peter Cole when asked how it is he still surfs big Sunset when all his peers have quit- “At some point you have to realize you’re becoming a kook. Most guys' egos can’t deal with that. I have no problem with being a kook.” (What Sharky said).

Mickey Munoz when asked how he deals with crowds after having experienced crowdless days as a surf pioneer- “All it takes is one good turn to make your day.” (What Sussle said).

70+ year old local at my local who still competes with the yungguns- “If you want to surf for a long time…don’t surf for a long time.” (No more 3 hour sessions).


In my fifties I thought I was going to be one of those mythical age defying guys. I was still surfing a 6-0 x 20 x 2-1/4. At 56 I PR’d the marathon at 3:23 (7:45 pace). Then at 58, incidentally the age my dad and my dad’s dad died, shiite hit the fan. Iwas diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart defect and told not to run marathons and then some time later “injured” my back and was forced out of the water for 6 months.

Now I’m 62 (and just got my lifetime National Park Pass! Something for you youngsters to look forward to). It’s been a process getting back In form. It now includes a 15 minute morning stretch routine initially aimed at the lower back (lots of extensions). Drinking 64 ounces of water (32 right before my stretches). No alcohol other than occasional glass of wine and a very occasional espresso cup portion of whiskey (and I've come to enjoy non alcoholic beer). I now do a once a week barbell strength workout- 90 minutes. I still run- one 10k with stairs and intervals, and one 13 miler a week. I’m hoping to do my first race since 2019, a half marathon (I’m half the man I used to be). And finally, I’m back down to 6-3 and 6-5 daily drivers and just shaped a 6-1 (only now it’s 2-5/8 thick instead of 2-1/4…but with refined rails!).

I’ll probably run 10ks in my 70‘s and 5ks in my 80’s and keep hiking in my 90’s. And if I end up physically unable…well….there’s always the erBB!

 

[Sharky]

Covid and the adult learners did more to impact local crowd conditions

The whole COVID thing caught me by surprise. I was anticipating board orders would slow to a trickle. Instead, I couldn't keep up doing 20 boards a day. 20 blanks go out to finish shaping/glassing, 40 come in. Strange days.

 

[Sharky]

Re the "it only takes one" thing. When I was about 13 or so I was surfing Rincon and Nat Young was out. Stuffing me over and over again. Fast forward to about 5 years ago. I wind up surfing this little reef setup with NY and one other guy. Not many waves. And wherever I paddled there one was. For some reason I was a wave magnate. I paddled back out after yet another one and Nat loudly said something along the lines of he only needs a couple of waves to keep him happy at his age.

"Well that works out well doesn't it?"

 

[Autoprax]

For some reason I was a wave magnate.

I suck at surfing but there have been sessions where I have been a wave magnet.

You can see the guys that are better surfers than I getting more and more irritated by what should not be.

I would paddle up, trying not to laugh, and start giving them tips just to be a dick.

 

[oeste858]

I wonder what the average age of a California surfer is now vs what it was in California in 1973?

My personal opinion is the average age in the lineup has gone from maybe 22 to 50. That's probably different in other places. In California surfing is increasingly the sport of geezers.

The main spots I surf have only a few groms on the inside, and those are mostly 2nd-gen locals.
I wonder if the current state of youth sports being such a serious business contributes to the lack of groms around. SoCal parents nowadays seem to think every kid is gonna play collegiate sports and needs to choose their sport at age 10 and play year-round club ball. This essentially takes up after school with practices, and weekends with games, travel and tournaments.
Unfortunately the groms have been replaced with adult learners. Transplants in their 20-30's that decide now they're in CA, they need to sarf (with the help of cheap wavestorms/ Gerrys and downtime to learn during WFH covid era) now clog the lineups. If they stay in town and stick with it, they're now adding to the older surfer trend too. Without being taught /abused as groms, they lack etiquette ocean awareness, and wave knowledge... which is both dangerous and infuriating.

 

[Sharky]

I suck at surfing but there have been sessions where I have been a wave magnet.

You can see the guys that are better surfers than I getting more and more irritated by what should not be.

I would paddle up, trying not to laugh, and start giving them tips just to be a dick.

Then there are the other days where wherever you paddle, no waves. The moment you decide to move, there is a wave where you were and it goes flat where you just relocated to. Repeat. It's like there is some cosmic wave god judging your worthiness. Making a list and checking it twice...

 

[One-Off]

But see, that's weird. All the surf kids are in surf schools? And just for the summer. Then they turn in their softboards and go home until next summer. Nobody went to surf schools when I was a kid. That was for val/souther kooks. Summer surfers. The jetties in front of the house where I grew up used to be packed with 12-20 year old surfers. Frothing packs of groms hunting down anything resembling a wave. Gone. There are more houses, more people living on the beach, but the kids don't show up for the most part. When they do it's with mom or dad in tow. We were on our own. Things were way more Lord of the Flies.

In high school we used to skateboard down to the beach in the dark, surf the dawn patrol, then hang out all day (sans sunscreen) at our "pit wall," oogle the girls, smoke a joint, challenge the blackball and then hitch hike home in the evening.

It will be interesting to see what surfing looks like when the current crop of 50 year olds ages out. Interesting for someone who lives long enough to see it anyway. Will crowds actually decline?

Nah. "Not just a fad because it's been going on too long."

 

[sponge]

Table tennis helps my reactions. Quick thought and strategy, quite like surfing.

Against my ego, I might start playing pickleball with the wifey (an obvious admission/acceptance of aging). Does that count?

 

[ElOgro]

Then there are the other days where wherever you paddle, no waves. The moment you decide to move, there is a wave where you were and it goes flat where you just relocated to. Repeat. It's like there is some cosmic wave god judging your worthiness. Making a list and checking it twice...

Between insurance and out of pocket how much do you reckon has been spent putting Humpty Dumpty back together again?

Now that it’s easy with plane flights, accommodations, and a serviceable road we see more 55+ people than when it was roughing it to get/stay here.

 

[oeste858]

Against my ego, I might start playing pickleball with the wifey (an obvious admission/acceptance of aging). Does that count?

be careful. My buddy who's an ortho says majority of his patients now are pickleball players. Knees and ankles. People think you don't have to run as much as tennis so should be easier... but it's still quick cuts and change of direction in tight spaces.

 

[sponge]

Peter Cole when asked how it is he still surfs big Sunset when all his peers have quit- “At some point you have to realize you’re becoming a kook. Most guys' egos can’t deal with that. I have no problem with being a kook.” (What Sharky said). ...

I interviewed Peter in 1999 and he said essentially the same thing:
"...Also, when we got worse, we accepted it, where a lot of guys got worse, they quit. I think that’s the reason why most people quit is they got to where they weren’t doing very well and they didn’t like it..."

HI Surf Advisory--Inner Views--Peter Cole

hisurfadvisory.com

 

[sponge]

be careful. My buddy who's an ortho says majority of his patients now are pickleball players. Knees and ankles. People think you don't have to run as much as tennis so should be easier... but it's still quick cuts and change of direction in tight spaces.

My father just broke his wrist playing. He's like 86 btw.

 

[sponge]

That transition to kneeboard reference reminded me of our good friend Bill Andrews.

Live like BA!

 

[Witchipoo]

I'm finding it much harder to deal with crowds. Twenty-year-olds on logs who surf every day are seriously no fun when they lack basic courtesy and empathy. Stop backpaddling grandma, ya little turds!

A couple of days ago a physically fit twenty-something guy rode all the way to the beach right in front of me, despite me making my presence know. Maybe I was too polite.

 

[ElOgro]

I'm finding it much harder to deal with crowds. Twenty-year-olds on logs who surf every day are seriously no fun when they lack basic courtesy and empathy. Stop backpaddling grandma, ya little turds!

A couple of days ago a physically fit twenty-something guy rode all the way to the beach right in front of me, despite me making my presence know. Maybe I was too polite.

Return the favor every time you see him.

 

[Witchipoo]

Return the favor every time you see him.

That's the plan!

Seriously, though, there are days when I get literally no waves because of this fuckery, and it's breaking my spirit. It really is.

 

[ElOgro]

That's the plan!

Seriously, though, there are days when I get literally no waves because of this fuckery, and it's breaking my spirit. It really is.

Remember that every wave you do catch is a bonus after what you went through health wise.

 

[npsp]

That transition to kneeboard reference reminded me of our good friend Bill Andrews.

Live like BA!

View attachment 162748

BA used to give us cripples tons of good natured crap over the years. As his ALS took hold he transitioned to kneeboarding to stay in the water. When he first paddled out on a kneeboard at my regular, we gave him so much $hit for becoming (literally) a cripple and he loved every bit of it. He was a great ambassador of stock and is missed everyday by a lot of people.

Regarding kneeboarding and aging, decades of closeout tube riding do take their toll on the body. Per my ortho, my neck and back indicate that I have been in multiple bad car wrecks and that arthritis in my neck and spine is guaranteed. He told me to never become sedentary because my body will freeze up and I will lose almost all mobility.... So I got that going for me as motivation.

 

[PRCD]

nailed it. I see hordes of these pre-adolescents in the schools with their matching rash guards and foamie armadas. And some of them can actually surf, but it doesn't really translate into more teens in the lineups. Covid and the adult learners did more to impact local crowd conditions

No one is having kids, especially people who live close to the beach. The seaside slums and middle class beach towns are gone. The lineups stay moderately full due to old guys who bought in earlier, immigrants (Brazzos) and adult learners.