Montauk Pioneer - May 16, 2008

Writing about the feeling of surfing is not an easy task. Putting into words the actions and emotions of riding a wave is a complex set of literary allusions and similes. One person doing it quite effortlessly is Alan Weisbecker. I've been reading my way through his collection of books lately. A Montauk native, Weisbecker writes about his life in nonfiction, from his travels as an international drug smuggler in Africa, to his tumultuous relationship with a longtime girlfriend at the end of the road in Costa Rica. The book I'm currently reading is called "In Search of Captain Zero," in which the author goes on a truck and camper wild goose chase down the Baja Peninsula and into southern Central America in search of his long lost friend Chris. It's quite the entertaining tale, especially if you dig the whole 70's surfer counterculture theme.

As I mentioned, the one thing that Weisbecker does really well in his book is describing the physical art of surfing. The term I am most akin to using is his phrase "The Glide." I'll try to describe The Glide for you, even though I'm sure you'll understand. The Glide is the equilibrium of surfing, the homeostasis of your ride, the pinnacle of understanding the wave your're on and the ultimate goal. The Glide usually exists above the lower face of the wave, but below the lip. I've also heard this area of the wave described as "the pocket" as it gets closer to the foam ball. In this area you are neither pumping nor cutting back. In essence, you can forget about everything because you have succeeded in harnessing the wave's full energy.

At any rate, I think The Glide is an excellent term. It rings true when you associate it with surfing. But you might say it's a bit passé when describing more modern surfing. You might not associate it with 10 foot aerials, cut-backs, shove-its, and big hollow barrels. Well, you make an interesting point. It's certainly two very different worlds. In the book, the author talks about this dichotomy. And stemming from a youth spent in the years of the short board revolution, he presents an interesting point of view. He also progresses in a very uncommon way through the surfing world. The author grows up long boarding, evolves with the short boards, but then returns to long boarding while still young. He gives a couple of reasons for this switch. One, that long boards for the most part are better at catching greater quantities of waves. The one shortcoming being that they fall short on faster inside waves with more critical faces. And the other being that he dislikes the way short boarders tend to lose sight of attaining "The Glide" in trading for tricks and maneuvers. I think he makes a pretty interesting point. Sometimes I too think that surfers might have lost sight of the more simple joys of riding. But then again, I grew up in the era of the extreme (now it's called "Action") sports revolution. And to say that there is no grace to the tricks that are being progressed nowadays would be criminal. It might be in fact, a "Faster Glide." Everyone's entitled to his or her opinion.

The commonality here is that we all experience the same feeling. We just have different words to describe it. So find your own Glide this week.