The Patience Game

Wet suit aside, surfing in Hawaii is very different than where I surf in Southern California. There were a lot of aspects about surfing[image error] that I have only begun to understand through surfing in different places.

I knew that they surfed on longer boards in Hawaii but it wasn't until I got on the water until I realized why: you get a longer ride because the break lasts so long. That makes it easier to get up because the board is longer (I used a board over nine feet long on the second day on the North Shore; a board over eight feet long in Waikiki that first day). And it also means you can take your time getting up on the board.

Duh.

I'm so used to surfing in California where you have to get up quickly because the ride is so short. The pop up is fast and easy to miss. But in Hawaii there is a lot more time, just like I joke that while New Mexico is the land of manana (tomorrow), Hawaii is the land of the day after tomorrow. No hurry. Everything moves like molasses and that includes the waves in certain places.