Easy Way to Happiness

I tend to surf at Mermaid Beach most of the time. The waves are certainly not the best the Gold Coast has to offer, by a long shot. The main reason I surf here though is to avoid the crowds. Its a funny thing, surfing and crowds. There is not a surfer in the world who professes to enjoying surfing in an overly packed line up. Yet as an observation, we often needlessly exacerbate crowding through sheepish behavior (IE. Following the pack).

On the average day, Mermaid Beach has three or four peaks, though only one will be taken advantage of and by a big, poorly distributed mob. When I get there, instead of jumping in right away and paddling out, I take a moment to ponder the scene and choose my spot wisely. Ultimately, my decision will be shaped by the quality of the waves rolling in and the amount of surfers in a given area of water. Personally, I am always willing to give up a bit of wave quality to be able to have plenty of room, though that’s just me.

I’ll sometimes end up walking about a kilometer in either direction to determine which wave I really want to catch. Once I’ve caught one however, it’s almost invariably the case that one of the surfers crammed into the pack will branch off and come surf the spot I’m at. It’s not clear to me why they didn’t do so at an earlier point, since the wave had been breaking there all day long. It seems to be a matter of a lack of imagination on the other surfer’s behalf, not realizing the wave was there until I chose to catch it.

It never ceases to amaze me how many surfers arrive at the beach yet make no effort to seek out the best wave. Instead, they merely paddle up to the spot where all the other surfers are, automatically assuming that that’s where the ideal conditions are.

There have been days when I was the only surfer getting wet on days with excellent conditions all along the beach. Yet when another surfer gets in, they come sit on my tail instead of taking advantage of the ample space. In such scenarios I simply paddle over to the next wave to keep surfing, wondering the whole way there about the other surfer’s intelligence.

In sum, all of this brings me to the reflection: what in the world ended up happening to the spirit of exploration that used to define surfing? Where did it go? At what point did this flock mentality usurp its place within surfing culture? Maybe I am just the odd one out with regards to my predisposition for spacious, uninterrupted surfing? Perhaps the crowd surf is what people really enjoy now? I can’t make heads or tails of it in the end, but it definitely strikes me as odd.

A token piece of advice: next time you go down to the beach to surf, stop for a moment and contemplate where you’ll position yourself. The spot with the big, unwieldy crowd is likely not to be where you’ll surf the most or the best waves!

Damian Papworth understands that when it comes to a surf trip, the Gold Coast is a great destination. It really is the earth’s ultimate surf resort. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service