When I hit the beach to surf I usually head down to Mermaid Beach. Though the waves are not among the best of the Gold Coast’s offerings, I choose this spot because of the ability to dodge the swelling crowds. Crowds and surfing: they’ve got a funny relationship. No serious surfer out there will tell you that they enjoy surfing in a tightly packed spot, yet nonetheless we all tend to exacerbate the matter by obeying certain sheep-like behavior (i.e. the “follow the pack” mentality).

On any given day at Mermaid, there will be at least 3 or 4 peaks. Typically only 1 is being surfed and by many surfers. I’ll always have a look before jumping in and invariably, I will pick a different peak to surf on. Both the quality of wave and the number of people on each peak will all play into my calculations. I’ll typically trade some degree of quality for a smaller crowd, but 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.

I’m constantly amazed by the number of surfers who arrive at the beach and do not look for a wave. Rather they just paddle out to the closest group of surfers assuming that will be where the best waves are.

Often I am out surfing on days where ideal conditions exist all up and down the beach, with nobody else on their board except for me. Then another person gets into the surf and ends up at precisely the same area of the water where I am surfing. Of all the places they had at their disposal, they decide to compete with me at my break. In these cases, I just paddle off to catch the next wave down the beach and keep surfing, pondering in the process about the other person’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.

Some food for thought though: each time you hit the beach for some quality surf, take a minute or three on the beach to really observe the waves before paddling out. There will probably be a better option than the most crowded one and you will definitely get to catch more waves.

Tags: Surfing

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