Surf Quotes that Attempt to Capture the Mystical Awesomeness of the Incredible Pursuit Known as Surfing

Surfing.  In the realm of physical experience, it is the most fun, mystical, and intense thing we can do in our lifetime and can actually lead us to transcend the physical.  The perfection of the universe, the hand of God, is visible in a wave.  You can spend hours just watching them break, having travelled from open ocean thousands of miles away, given life by storms that no one may ever see.  For the casual beachgoer, it can be a great joy just to play in the shallows and get battered by waves.  But surfers get to do more than just watch, or frolic in waves.  We join with with waves, give ourselves up to the raw power and hurtle along as the wave completes its journey, taking flight with the energy that it gives us.  Pure energy animates water, making it bulge, swell, and fall in on itself while sometimes offering up perfectly sculpted barrels that we may be lucky or skilled enough to pass through.  If we do, we get to witness first hand an ephemeral space that is not compared to cathedrals by chance.  Like the water flung around us, exploding in chaotic fury, we too are sent where the energy of the wave takes us.  Waves have existed since the oceans were created, before there was air that was breathable by humans.  For something more to go on in trying to understand surfing, consider Bill Hamilton's quote that "Surfing equates to living in the very moment of 'now'. When you ride a wave you leave behind all things important and unimportant, the purity of the moment is upon you."People who have never experienced the feeling can only compare it to other things they have done or seen; they are invariably mistaken in thinking that they understand what it feels like to be so intimately connected with a wave.  Which is why you may have heard that "Only a surfer knows the feeling."  It's true. 

Excuse me for coming off like a snob, but I am only sharing a realization I had a while ago that for the nearly the first two decades of my life I had no idea of what surfing was.  I had been active as a snowboarder, swimmer, scuba diver, martial artist, had tried white water rafting, had a trampoline in the backyard that I sprained my ankle on when I didn't land my backflips correctly on the first day.  I had even been bungee jumping and cliff jumping.  These things were all fun, some exciting, and some of the more physical ones were even exhilarating at times.  But after moving to Santa Cruz, California, and catching a few quality waves,  I realized that none of the activities I had once pursued could touch surfing.  It was also the hardest sport I had tried, one where you couldn't take a time out if a big set was holding you down and you were struggling for air.  What other sport involves a medium where you are attempting to harmoniously join a force that has the power to crush you or drown you?  I was plenty scared many times, what with not being able to see too well (nearsighted, pre-contact lens days) and with the frigid waters of Santa Cruz (thanks to the polar current) making me so cold I didn't feel like I could really function.  There were scary situations with near drownings and rip currents.  It was really hard, and not even all that enjoyable sometimes because I was a kook who couldn't catch waves too well.  As a matter of fact, about three or four rides are all that stick out as being really amazing from my two years surfing in Santa Cruz.  Most times, I felt like I didn't know what I was doing and it could be really frustrating.  So why didn't I just quit?  Because those few good rides were so magical that I had little choice but to keep pursuing the art of waveriding.  This quote sums it up quite nicely:
"There are no more committed people on the planet than surfers. We fall down a lot. We turn around, paddle back out, and do it over and over again. Unlike anything else in life, the stoke of surfing is so high that the failures quickly fade from memory."
- Gary Sirota

Nat Young also had a good quote which sums up a big part of the surfer's attitude: "If in doubt, paddle out."  Personally, no matter how crappy the conditions, I have never had a session where I regretted going out in the water- even if I didn't catch any waves.  Usually, even on days where the surf sucks, I end up having a great time (but that's because I've been riding a surf mat almost exclusively for close to a year now- that will have to be the subject of another post).
Along the same lines, there's the quote "Better a bad day on the water than a good day in the office". 
   
Kelly Slater, the greatest professional surfer of all time, is considered to be an alien by many people- that's the only satisfactory explanation for how amazing his surfing abilities are.  This is what he has to say about the subject:
"It's like the mafia. Once you're in - your in. There's no getting out."
Some people say surfing is better than sex.  I won't enter the debate, but I will say that sex is not better than surfing.  “Surfing is very much like making love. It always feels good, no matter how many times you've done it.”PAUL STRAUCH
If I were to become celibate ever, I would still surf.
If the non-sufer cannot understand "regular" surfing, how much less will they understand big wave surfing?  Here are a few quotes to shed some light on the topic:
"For those searching for something more than just the norm. We lay it all down, including what others call sanity, for just a few moments on waves larger than life. We do this because we know there is still something greater than all of us. Something that inspires us spiritually. We start going down hill, when we stop taking risks."
- Laird Hamilton

Laird has taken on the biggest waves in the world, and lives for surfing.  As someone who hasn't surfed anything bigger than about eight or ten feet, I sort of understand in my heart how it would feel.  Actually, I understand that that feeling is really not understandable.  At this point, I can only dream about riding waves of that size, as is probably true for most surfers.  

Surfing itself is an inherently dangerous activity, with the likelihood of injury or even death increasing with the size of the wave.  Our minds are probably not capable of understanding the forces at play in big waves that can snap femurs like they were toothpicks.  That's why big wave surfing goes a step beyond a normal activity into something else:

"In surfing, coming to terms with death -- or at least the possibility -- is an ongoing crisis in big waves. The set is building outside, and it's so beautiful, aesthetically. People are watching in awe from the beach: the blue water, the stiff offshore winds, the 40-foot walls charging in from the open ocean. If you're out there with nothing but your body, your wits and a surfboard, that set can be your coffin."
-BRUCE JENKINS, North Shore Chronicles

Facing this reality, it's no wonder big wave surfers use understatements like "Eddie would go".  There's a lot left unsaid in that quote!  Gerry Lopez has expressed the feeling somewhat more honestly when he said "Okay, shit, I guess this is a good day to die!"
-Gerry Lopez (on towing into Peahi/Jaws)   
 
But back to surfing more normal sized waves:
Surfing, alone among sports, generates laughter at its very suggestion, and this is because it turns not a skill into an art, but an inexplicable and useless urge into a vital way of life.

MATT WARSHAW, Maverick's: The Story of Big-Wave Surfin

As surfers, we don't have to tackle big waves to feel good.  Personally, I think there's a lot of truth to the sentiment that "The best surfer out in the water is the one having the most fun".  That's the kind of surfer I am- the one having the most fun, usually (fellow mat surfers will known why).  You are probably having fun if you have the experience of deciding to catch a wave in, only to head back out, saying "just one more".  Just one?  Sure... 

Surfing is a very important part of my life.  One of my heroes is surfing's ambassador from Hawaii, Duke Kahanamoku.  Listen to what he has to say- surfers and non-surfers.  But especially surfers, because Duke knows what he's talking about.
 
"Don't talk - keep it in your heart."
Duke Kahanamoku

"Just take your time - wave comes. Let the other guys go, catch another one."
Duke Kahanamoku

"Out of the water, I am nothing."
Duke Kahanamoku

Keep surfing people, even if you've found another way to do it that doesn't involve the ocean.  But remember- It's all about the wave.