Dan Scheffler's Blog, page 3
September 30, 2012
Never say never!
I used to feel that people who write abo...
Never say never!
I used to feel that people who write about surfing, sell surf related products (especially clothes that drylanders buy for the “surfer look”) and those that make money from surfing in general were doing most surfers who just wanted to go for a quiet session by themselves a disservice.
I thought that they were bringing people to the sport who would otherwise have taken part in other activities or who would just have done nothing. More people to have to share waves with and more twits in the water. We all dream of un-crowded perfection. Those who don’t surf as well as the pros need the un-crowded conditions even more than the good guys, otherwise we simply don’t get enough waves.
I was lucky enough to learn of a certain secret spot relatively early in my surfing life. That spot can get as good as any wave in the country on the right day and after surfing it for a number of years, I felt (for no good reason) that I had some sort of right to the wave. I resented others who came there to surf and I felt that the surf industry was sending more and more of those people who had no link to the place to come and spoil my fun. The more surfers there are in the world, the more likely it is that some of them will discover that secret area.
I became quite bitter about it all. Once or twice when a photo of the spot made it into the Shot Bru section of Zigzag magazine, my chest would tighten up as if I was getting an asthma attack. Then, eventually someone gave a description of the spot in an Internet surf spot atlas, complete with detailed directions of how and when to go there. I felt depressed for weeks after I saw that.
This place is no longer a secret. The days of having cooking waves here all to yourself are long gone.
And this is all because of the surf industry. The surf industry ruined my life. My perfect little secret was blown out of the water, so to speak.
Except that if it weren’t for the surf industry, I would never have known that one could ride waves standing up. I would still be body surfing the dumpers in the shore break while flawless tubes would be reeling along the point just a hundred meters away. I probably wouldn’t even have owned a wetsuit.
And now I have published a book about surf travel and I’m attempting to blog about it too! I’ve made a complete about turn as far as my thinking about that part of surfing goes.
I suppose it all comes down to one’s point of view. What is more fun: having it all to yourself or sharing the stoke? If you can bring yourself to enjoy sharing, then suddenly surfing becomes so much more fun. Selfishly guarding a secret only makes you anxious. When will someone else discover “your” spot? When will the idyll be destroyed?
So, I’m trying to be less selfish now. I’m trying to give other people waves and to be kind in the water, to laugh more and to just be happy.
But I still won’t be telling you anything more about that spot!


I used to feel that people who write about surfing, sell ...
I used to feel that people who write about surfing, sell surf related products (especially clothes that drylanders buy for the “surfer look”) and those that make money from surfing in general were doing most surfers who just wanted to go for a quiet session by themselves a disservice.
I thought that they were bringing people to the sport who would otherwise have taken part in other activities or who would just have done nothing. More people to have to share waves with and more twits in the water. We all dream of un-crowded perfection. Those who don’t surf as well as the pros need the un-crowded conditions even more than the good guys, otherwise we simply don’t get enough waves.
I was lucky enough to learn of a certain secret spot relatively early in my surfing life. That spot can get as good as any wave in the country on the right day and after surfing it for a number of years, I felt (for no good reason) that I had some sort of right to the wave. I resented others who came there to surf and I felt that the surf industry was sending more and more of those people who had no link to the place to come and spoil my fun. The more surfers there are in the world, the more likely it is that some of them will discover that secret area.
I became quite bitter about it all. Once or twice when a photo of the spot made it into the Shot Bru section of Zigzag magazine, my chest would tighten up as if I was getting an asthma attack. Then, eventually someone gave a description of the spot in an Internet surf spot atlas, complete with detailed directions of how and when to go there. I felt depressed for weeks after I saw that.
This place is no longer a secret. The days of having cooking waves here all to yourself are long gone.
And this is all because of the surf industry. The surf industry ruined my life. My perfect little secret was blown out of the water, so to speak.
Except that if it weren’t for the surf industry, I would never have known that one could ride waves standing up. I would still be body surfing the dumpers in the shore break while flawless tubes would be reeling along the point just a hundred meters away. I probably wouldn’t even have owned a wetsuit.
And now I have published a book about surf travel and I’m attempting to blog about it too! I’ve made a complete about turn as far as my thinking about that part of surfing goes.
I suppose it all comes down to one’s point of view. What is more fun: having it all to yourself or sharing the stoke? If you can bring yourself to enjoy sharing, then suddenly surfing becomes so much more fun. Selfishly guarding a secret only makes you anxious. When will someone else discover “your” spot? When will the idyll be destroyed?
So, I’m trying to be less selfish now. I’m trying to give other people waves and to be kind in the water, to laugh more and to just be happy.
But I still won’t be telling you anything more about that spot!


August 10, 2012
Hello world!
I intend to use this blog to say a few things about travelling, surfing and the life that surrounds these obsessions. I was obsessed enough to write a book about travelling and surfing, named Island Explorer. I feel better now, but I haven’t been cured.
Island Explorer is the description of a period in my life that was full of adventure and anticipation. In the book I have tried to describe the excitement that I felt at the time. There were so many things to do in my life and so many places to visit. Travel has always appealed very strongly to me and now that I don’t get the chance to travel as much as before, writing about it is a pleasant substitute and an escape for me. Reading about travel and specifically adventurous travel in wild places is another way of experiencing the thrill of being on the road. There are so many good travel books and in the future I’ll be posting lists of books that I have enjoyed reading.
The other element that I wrote about in Island Explorer is surfing. This is something that I still manage to do on a regular basis. There is nothing else like it; surfing is my fitness training, my meditation, my motivational program and my psychotherapy. It’s the funnest thing I know of and it never gets old. Being out there in the water gives me space and allows me to think. That is why I often prefer mediocre, but uncrowded surf to the busy spots. I don’t see surfing as just a sport.
But there is more to this world than just chasing waves. There are so many things peripheral to surfing that are worth noticing and examining. Nature surrounds us when we surf and there is so much to discover about it. There is also the social aspect of surfing and the whole world that the media and the surf retail industry have created. These are things that are worth talking about. Maybe that is where this blog will head, we’ll have to see…

