I recently took a surf trip to a distant part of the tropical country where I live.
The goal of any surf trip is always the same: to score perfect waves.
Yet true to the sport, when we got to the surf break it wasn’t exactly what we imagined. As a matter of fact, it was a lot better!
Huge waves (six to eight feet) peeling right and left in long hollow beach-break tubes for hundreds of meters in each direction. The conditions would have been perfect for any great surfer, but alas, I am not that.
My name is Carly and I am a lifelong surfer and a surf instructor with Bodhi Surf + Yoga. I have also taught surfing with a variety of international student travel organizations in Costa Rica, such as Rustic Pathways.
Furthermore, I was the head surf instructor at UCLA’s Marina Aquatic Center when I attended university there.
As a California native, and Costa Rican resident, I have dedicated countless hours to surfing, and teaching surfing. But somehow, in that moment, I still wasn’t good enough to surf those near-perfect waves.
Has anyone else felt this way with surfing?
The stoke for surf trips comes from a variety of sources. First, everyone needs an occasional shake-up of the routine and to venture away from comfort into the unknown.
Second, magazines, youtube, advertisements and social media constantly bombard us with imagery of perfect, glassy barrels or long peeling points with few people in attendance.
Crowded lineups or cold water at home fuels our imagination into thinking the “perfect” wave is a short drive or flight away. But this isn’t true.
Lineups are crowded the world over, and let’s be honest, that perfect overhead barrel is probably a little too perfect for you.
As I was getting launched off the lip and pounded to the seafloor of nearly every set wave of the trip, I was actually day dreaming of my home break.
Yes, after driving for hours, splurging on a beachfront accommodation, and carefully selecting my quiver, all I could think about was surfing the same mushy beach break waves a short drive from my house.
In addition to big swells and hollow waves, my surf trip was also blessed with howling 30 mph offshore winds—whipping sand across the beach and bending coconut palms close overhead.
Offshore winds are generally good, but too much of a good thing, well, is bad. After a couple days we called it quits and drove home.
That very same afternoon, after a long car ride back home, defeated and cranky, I paddled out at my home break. It turned out to be a fun, funky, low tide session. I thought, “there’s no place like home.”
Having a home break is something sacred. We know the lineup, the faces, the tides and swell directions. And despite constant grumbling from the locals, it’s the place we always surf our best, since we know it the best.
For me, six foot waves at home are routine. But alone on an isolated beach six feet became a whole lot bigger.
What this disaster surf trip taught me was to appreciate my home break, and to see it with a fresh perspective.
Having a failed surf trip isn’t the only way to see your home surf break with fresh eyes. Bodysurfing is the perfect opportunity to “take a surf trip” without ever leaving the comfort of your town.
Often, what we crave from surf trips (the adventure, camaraderie, pushing our limits, exploration) can be found simply by shifting our vantage point in the lineup at home.
By grabbing a pair of fins, my entire surf routine changes. I no longer have the pressure of surfing the “right” tide, or using the “right” board.
Bodysurfing allows me to challenge myself (a lifelong surfer) with a new sport that can be both demanding and intimidating.
On the other hand, bodysurfing also turns a small, shitty day into a fun session getting sand-blasted with friends. Maybe I can’t get barreled surfing, but I definitely can bodysurfing!
The other important thing bodysurfing does for surfers is give us confidence. Of course we know the lineup from surfing it everyday, but nothing compares to the intimacy of bodysurfing.
Without a board we are able to freely explore all aspects of the surf break, the inside shelves, the outside open ocean, the contours of the sea floor, and the shape, speed, and depth of each wave.
Bodysurfing our home break shifts our perspective—similar to a surf trip—which helps us recognize and appreciate the simplicity of getting to know a wave better.
The surf trip mentality is a greedy one. We think that if we travel far enough, spend enough money, buy the right board, we may be rewarded. It might, or it might leave us feeling emptier than before.
The bodysurfer’s mentality is a humble one. We take what we already have, and learn to appreciate it in a new way. Instead of living an endless search for more and more, we accept what is and cherish it.
So if you are fantasizing about a surf trip to some remote destination, I encourage you to grab a pair of fins and bodysurf your home break. You might even walk away from the session thinking the same thought as me—there’s no place like home.
Written by Carly Stoenner.
Carly Stoenner is a lifelong surfer, English teacher, surf instructor, and recent recipient of the Paul D. Coverdell Fellowship at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She is also a certified NOLS wilderness first responder and a former Peace Corps Nicaragua volunteer.