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At a time when it’s becoming more and more difficult to surf in small groups, with the soothing feeling of being alone in the vastness of the ocean, let’s preach here for slow surfing, a practice that doesn’t aim for exponential growth in profitability, but rather for a reasoned use of a resource that’s actually limited: the wave.<\/p>\n
Indeed, it’s easy to see that there are often not enough waves for the number of surfers present on a spot at any given time. So it makes sense to go surfing alone or with one or two friends, rather than arriving in groups of five or six. <\/p>\n
It might seem reasonable to take the time to enjoy the waves, rather than trying to catch them all, since there aren’t enough of them for the number of surfers present.<\/p>\n
One also wonders what the point is of competing with individuals who are already simply happy to catch a wave.<\/p>\n
The ocean offers us a chance to escape from a stressful daily routine that drives us to hyperactivity, profitability and overconsumption. Isn’t nature there to offer us a respite?<\/p>\n
But technology is man’s best friend, enabling him to do everything faster, more efficiently, in greater quantity and without delay. It’s as if he’s rushing towards his inevitable end, like the insatiable hen, frantically scratching the ground in search of a pittance that will always leave him hungry. <\/p>\n
Let’s identify the technological inventions that, by facilitating access to surfing, have increased the number of surfers in the water to the point of making increasingly difficult what was once the norm: a surf session with a reduced number of individuals on the same spot.<\/p>\n
In the 1950s and 60s, when the automobile industry was booming, Malibu became a global symbol of overcrowding in the water. Archival footage shows surfers taking off 10 at a time on the same wave, deftly slaloming or gleefully telescoping each other. <\/p>\n
1971: first surfing competition on the Pipeline spot in Hawaii. With the advent of color film, the images spread around the world. As photos in surf magazines and videos brought this mythical spot to the forefront of the international scene, local surfers saw hordes of surfers arriving and decided to form the Black Shorts club to resist the pressure. Since then, whenever one of these competitions takes place in any country, it’s all over for the locals. What becomes an economic boom for some, turns into a nightmare for others. <\/p>\n
1990s: appearance of the first webcam at Lacanau Oc\u00e9an. Surfers could see the waves in real time and spontaneously jump in their cars to head for the nearest spot. No need to consult a surf report, let alone read a weather map. <\/p>\n
Late 1990s: the democratization of the cell phone. You can call your friends from the beach, and in a few minutes, the spots fill up with people. <\/p>\n
2010s: the rise of social networks, where people stage their lives in real time, and thousands of people can discover in a few clicks a wave once preserved, now photographed, named, geolocated, for the sole purpose of satisfying an individual’s ego.<\/p>\n
2014: first distributor of fatbikes, bikes with large electric tires, in Hossegor.<\/p>\n
In the space of a few years, a bulimia for big tires took hold of the population and everyone, from the youngest to the oldest, acquired one of these Californian-style bikes.<\/p>\n
Now, even in protected natural areas where motor vehicles are prohibited, it’s almost impossible to surf alone, as the big tires criss-cross the beaches over long distances. Sometimes as many as 10 big tires park on the beach in front of a wave. The gamble on technology as a tool to access virgin waves is a failure. <\/p>\n
Surfers with legs watch the bicycles coming and going on the beach, wondering what the next “surfing plague” will be.<\/p>\n
Taking time for yourself, warming up by observing the elements, walking along the beach in search of a quiet spot, surfing for your own pleasure rather than for the photo that will be posted on instagram and sparkle in the eyes of complete strangers, savoring the present moment, sitting back and looking at the nature that surrounds us – that’s what I call slow surfing.<\/p>\n
As opposed to the frenzy generated by surf coaching sessions: under the pretext that a coach is filming them from the shore, young aspiring competitors pounce on anything that moves, with little regard for the other surfers who have come there to surf, but certainly not to wage war to catch a wave, and who find themselves like sardines in the middle of a school of bloodthirsty tuna.<\/p>\n
As opposed to the guy who scouts surf spots with a drone, gets there on his fatbike, which he has loaded into his car beforehand to park as close to the beach as possible, and who, when he gets home, checks his smartwatch, which has an app that lets him know how many waves he’s caught and adds them up to get a surfing distance so he can tell his buddies, “I’ve caught 150 waves, added together, it’s like catching a 1km-long wave at Chicama in Peru”.<\/p>\n
There are also daggerboards equipped with a motor to dispense with the effort of rowing, as well as a box that emits a signal to help the novice get up at the right moment. These are technological crutches that don’t teach the novice the essentials, i.e. how to develop a sense of seamanship, but give the illusion of being able to do everything easily and effortlessly, like in a video game.<\/p>\n
It’s become fashionable to talk about slow food, wellness activities and meditation, but homosapienus is so supercharged that it has trouble slowing down, savoring the present moment, relaxing and respecting its fellow human beings.<\/p>\n
The same applies to the surf business. While there are already too many surf schools in August on many beaches, the business model of some seems to be infinite expansion, resulting in increasing saturation of surf spots. Is it not blinded by self-interest to ignore this? <\/p>\n
Ki Surf School<\/a> is a member of the Eco-Safe Surfing<\/a> association of surf schools, conscious of the need to use wave resources wisely, as they are not infinite. Despite the ever-increasing number of surfers, the small size of the school means that it can still offer quality lessons on little-frequented spots, even in the middle of August. <\/p>\n