Nick wrote; >I find it > amazing that here on the northeast coast where surfing is virtually non > existent and sea kayaking is quite popular, that so much more shelf > space would be devoted to surfing than kayaking. Maybe because surfers have more enthusiasm for their sport or maybe because they have a higher literacy rate. Or maybe they are all up here surfing in Nova Scotia or maybe, like my nephew, in Costa Rica surfing. The keen surfers travel a lot and can do so fairly easily because their equipment doesn't require a semi trailer truck to transport. :-) I have lived here on the ocean now for six months and one might think sea kayaking did not exist at all. Havne't seen one paddler in the whole six months unless I count myself. On the other hand a good Northeaster passing up the coast brings out the surfers. Here at Western Head we have conditions that the surfers seem to like. The waves hit the shore at an angle of about 20 degrees or so and the break travels along the shore. I watched one fellow yesterday who caught a wave and rode it for almost half a mile. Not all have so much skill but they still get rides of 300 to 600 yards. Most of the surfers stay up in the bay where more benign conditions exist. The waves come in parallel with the shore so the rides don't last as long but the cobble beach does less damage if you make a mistake. Along our beach rocks the size of smnall cars poke up through the surf and a mistake results in a severe thumping. Now this might not sound like a big deal but the temperature yesterday never got above 3 degrees Celsius and the water stays so cold that they have to wear wet suits year around. How many kayakers would do likewise? Not many I bet not would many aspire to do so. Surfers, on the other hand, seem to revel in it and the ones up in the bay all hope to get good enough to take on the point. They arrive early in the morning and spend the whole day not leaving until it gets too dark to see. They surf here all winter long. One fellow has a kind of mini-suana in his van to get them warmed up. > All these surfing magazines have very attractive covers. One is > virtually an art publication. The whole image presented is interesting > and exciting. I have watched both and I consider surfing far more exciting to watch. A guy sitting on his butt in his techno capsule looks pretty staid compared to surfers riding a wave just in front of the curl. Wish I had learned to surf. >. Wouldn't it be good for the sport if it was > portrayed in the same way that the most enthusiastic experience it? Good point but maybe it would not work. Maybe most people who paddle prefer a less challenging activity. Maybe there is nothing wrong with sea kayaking but there is something different. Jackie wrote; > Actually, Nick, if the surf magazines were to present a "true" > image of surfers, it would be a picture of group of surfers > straddling their boards in a lineup waiting... and waiting... > and waiting for a ride to come along. You must have a lazier breed of surfer down south. Up here they try to catch everything that looks decent just to stay warm. :-) Alex wrote; > Because for the most part it is :-)... Ever seen teenagers doing sea > kayaking (not kayak surfing or whitevater kayaking, but exactly sea > kayaking)? Young people do bore easily. We old folks see the true beauty of the activity (or so some of us think). :-) On the other hand, after looking at a gathering of our sea kayaking club and then comparing them with the surfers I see a key difference. The surfers (both guys and girls) here are lean, strong, and suitable for magazine covers. The sea kayakers up here for the most part look like the before examples of a weight loss program. I stopped subscribing to Sea Kayaker long ago. After the first two years they started re-cycling articles. Different author, different location but still the same old same old. I suspect most activity related magazines have a similar problem. Surfing magazines have an advantage in that their sport really does look exciting and the people engaged in the activity take a better picture than most paddlers. Certainly better than Nick, Matt, or me anyway. :-)
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