Are the waves better when I can't surf?

I’ve had this running joke with a mate of mine “It’s always good when you’re out of town.” Now my migration holiday time with the family does leave land locked around the same time of year for about a week and usually around that time we get our first big winter swell here in the south bay.

Recently I fractured my wrist, leaving me out of the water in one of the best runs of waves I’ve seen in a long time here in the south bay. Not only has there been size but surprisingly to many, not closing out.

This doesn’t happen often here; leaving me and many other corpo surfers stuck at their desk all day while secretly keeping cams up on their screen to keep them going until 5. Who are these people in the water at 1:00 pm on Thursday, especially the ones boggin every wave. Instead of sitting around being bummed I found myself still heading down to the beach but instead of board I had a camera in hand.

As I stood and watched these strangers score one of my favorite breaks I didn’t feel as much fomo as I would have had at home. Something about being at the beach capturing the moment and watching it live almost felt like I was a part of the session myself. Maybe the waves are more fun when you can’t surf, maybe that’s just something you tell yourself so you don’t feel like you’re blowing it when you can surf. I think not being able to surf( and this could just be my self hope trying to heal my hand faster) allows you to reflect on the time you usually don’t have spending it chasing endless waves. I’m going to try to enjoy this time out of the water, but the second I can pop up, the boys are going to have to find another filmer. Till next time