The Selfish Surfer.

"Special agent Utah! This is not some job, flipping burgers at the local drive-in! Yes! - your surfboard bothers me! Yes! - your approach to this whole damn case bothers me! And yes! - YOU BOTHER ME!".

"If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It's not tragic to die doing what you love." 

Point Break (1991) 

How selfish is a surfer? Dropping in on a wave is a cardinal sin in the world of surfing, but this isn't the kind of selfishness I'm talking about. No. I'm instead referring to the passion for surfing interrupting land based life. As a land locked surfer my ocean obsession is contained and very much compartmentalized to fit around my schedule and is restricted by my geographical shortcomings. I allocate time, but even so distance does not stop me disappearing off for ocean based frivolity at the drop of a hat, perhaps to the expense of my work and family.  

There is the stereotype surfer being a somewhat vacant, monosyllabic caricature (Bodhi anyone) and whilst I don't subscribe to this persona I do believe I have morphed into a blinkered surfer girl whose attention is focused on the next set rather than her immediate surroundings. Couple this with new found love and one could suggest I am an incredibly self centered beast at present. 

This post is largely inspired by recent events, you see, I let a friend down when she needed me and whilst my inaction wasn't malicious or intended my blissful ignorance hurt her none the less. It is a terrible thing to let someone down, I'd rather be punched than not be there for a friend. I feel particularly heinous about the whole incident, considering my job as a care worker involves being perceptive, looking for non verbal clues as to someones emotional well being and being compassionate. How did I get it so wrong in my personal life? 

I can't blame all my misdemeanors on surfing because that's shirking responsibility but I do think its shaped me an awful lot, particularly when I think that my choice of university was predominantly based on my proximity to a beach break, (as well as a great course I might add)! 

As much as surfing has saved my life and continues to be a massive source of inspiration I hope that I am able to strike a balance and continue to be there for my friends as well as getting board time. 

How does surfing affect your life? Are you too in flux trying to balance ocean love with land based life? Let me know I'm ever fascinated to learn about other surfers out there... 







































Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well 
Love 

Parallels.

 

 

Above photo courtesy of Jemima Stubbs Photography. 

My life runs in parallels, one being the person I am in the Birmingham city and the other the surfer girl who lives and breathes Saltburn. I shared a wave with one of my best friends this weekend which has inspired contemplation upon parallels and how these two pieces of my life meld together. 

Whilst most of the UK was swamped by snow and rain I traveled with the Land Locked Surfers up to a relatively dry Saltburn. I hardly noticed the less than perfect conditions on Friday being that I was so happy just to be in the ocean at all (we ended up staying there five hours). 

It had been almost 2 months since my last surf.

Saturday we somehow dragged ourselves out of bed at 6.30am in the morning and were in surfing by 7.30am. Watching the sun rise over Saltburn cliff was a 'pinch me' moment, something which I'm unable to properly articulate, there are no words of photos which would do that sunrise justice. 

I've come home bone weary, full of cold but elated that I got to pursue my passion with wonderful, like minded individuals. I always come back a little out of sorts because these snippets of life in Saltburn remind me of the one I'm striving for. One of predawn surf sessions, walking a dog along the beach, warm locals and dear friends. The funny thing was no sooner had I gotten home I got messages from my best friend who said she felt exactly the same. Its the magic of Saltburn I guess, it seems to have this pull over us. 

You know me by now, I don't like to let things get me down for too long, I'm not looking upon Birmingham with disdain I'm seeing my hometown as a greenhouse, it's sheltered me and helped me grow but now it's time to get out and try finding some new soil. 

One day, in the not so distant future, I think Saltburn might become home. 

Fingers crossed. 

Until next time stay strong and surf well
Love

When I was 24...

When I was 24, I aspired to a great many things but achieved very little of these big ideas. Instead I took small steps towards what I thought I wanted and began the arduous journey of accomplishing these expectations of myself. In the fertile turf of my 25th year I reflect back and think it was the accidents, the mishaps and the unexpected which were my gifts. If I hadn't been restless with the borders of my life, I'd have never jumped on a train to Saltburn, to meet a girl I'd only met for half and hour thus growing to become best friends and eventually establishing the Land Locked Surfers Club. Today the group has swelled to 72 members and keeps on growing. 

Way back in January I said to myself that on my 25th Birthday I would be sat on a tropical beach far away from everything familiar and that on my return to England I'd be living out of my parents home. I'm writing this post in the dining room of my parent's house having returned from a weekend in Porthcawl, Wales where it rained incessantly. 

I am however inanely happy, I'm talking coat hanger grin and skipping around the place for no apparent reason. This is what I think I've learned about growing a year older...

Life hasn't panned out exactly how I envisioned it but the curves its taken me on have been better than anything I could have ever imagined. When I saw the ocean this weekend my heart literally skipped, I gargled it in my throat as I ran to get my toes wet. 

To everyone who has read the trials and tribulations of my life on this blog thank you, I've cherished your company along the way. Surfing continues to enlighten my life and I hope through reading my ramblings you too are inspired to pick up a board and have a go. I promise you it will change your life. 

Now for some pictures from the LLSC trip, hope to see you next time!! 

 I realize there's not actually that many pictures of me so here's one of me and one of my best mates Matt. I never see him enough but when we catch up its like we've never been apart, he's a bit of dude! 

Goodness knows what my leg is doing in this picture, but here are some of the lovely surfer girls braving the Welsh weather. 

A combination of it being my Birthday, Halloween and the weather so bad we couldn't go out resulted in a spooky caravan party. I think you can tell we had a good time...

    






































You may be wondering what on earth my costume is supposed to be. Well I was a zombie shark eaten surfer, I was going to wear my new wetsuit until I realized wearing a 5mm wet suit indoors is a bit like sitting in a sauna! 

 Admittedly a little worse for wear in this picture but luckily I had all my beautiful friends to comfort me and make me feel loved hahaha! 

Cakes over the weekend, some successful some not so successful!

Until next time stay strong and surf well! 

Love Sophia 

North Sea Surfing.

Go pro's - great for landscape pics not so great for girls with curves!

Surfing in wet suits so thick you feel like your wearing a tire,  hail storms and freezing temperatures do not sound like ideal surfing conditions. Despite a barrage of reasons for not surfing in January in the UK ( think snow storms, numb hands and hypothermia) surfing the North sea was one of the most magical things I've done in my short twenty four years. 

Amazingly my two hour train ride from Birmingham to Saltburn went without a hitch and despite only technically meeting Jemima my surf companion once, (and rather briefly in the University library before I graduated), we became as thick as thieves minutes after seeing each other again. That's what I really love about surfing the fact that it binds people. It's such a positive, uplifting experience you can't help but make friends. 

You know the best thing of all? I actually surfed, I mean I managed to catch more than a few waves on purpose. The magic happened, I can't explain it but something just seemed to click, I was in the right place at the right time and was actually standing up! I've been pretty quick to criticize my surfing of late, heck my email is sophia.cant.surf! Its largely because I don't like to take myself too seriously, surfing is about having fun and not worrying about how you look. I'm starting to wonder however if perhaps I should be re-labelled to: 

'Sophia can almost call herself a surfer just give it a bit more time,' 

Surprisingly we were so toastie in our wet suits/hoods/booties etc. 

The goofy smile plastered across my face didn't leave me all day, nor did it leave me the next. That's what I love about surfing happiness practically throbs within you after a session in the waves. Something about the sea sets you free and allows you to focus on only the task at hand - surfing. 

Surfer girls! 

Thank-you North Sea for giving me happiness.
Thank you Jemima for reminding why I must try to surf more
Thank you Nick the local surf legend for opening up the surf shack on a day where most people would be tucked up indoors. 

Stay strong, surf well. 

X