Is Surfing Wilderness? I suppose that the question isn’t properly formed, but invokes thought as to where is it that we surf? Are the beaches wild? Domestic? Feral? How do we define wilderness and does this really matter?
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| Crash zone; anywhere, any break |
Of course it matters. Questions usually do, but in this case the idea is that an activity that is highly location based or at least geographic in nature may be classified as a wilderness, but is it? You hear the surfers talk about the various breaks; their types; their locations; or their seasons. The locals talk about conditions and how different sessions went, which ones were epic and others that were not. Even further, the surf schools and tour operators talk about access, location, amenities and ancillary services. Without a doubt, surfing is tied to location. So can this location be a wilderness? Or merely wild, in the untamed sense of the word?
Are the waves wild places? The question reminds me of an ongoing debate in my native Western Canada where mountain going enthusiasts debated the use of cell phones (mobiles) in the backcountry (areas generally difficult to access).
The debate is basically lined up in two camps. One: “Keep the wild, wild and ban the use of cell phones to keep the YUPPIES out.” The contra position is that regulating the wilderness removes the very essence of its character that makes it wild.
Ok, so the two camps are diametrically opposed and there is no middle ground immediately forthcoming. My position is that cell phones should be used respectfully, so as not to interfere with other people’s experience; that such devices have an invaluable safety function; and at the end of the day, if someone can go to the mountains, but has to carry a phone for work or personal reasons, then this is one more person that has been able to experience nature, which is a great thing. After all experiencing nature is something that is fundamentally important.
However, back to the surf. Of course there are no mobile phones whilst surfing. The water element discourages carrying a phone. While I suspect that there will soon be waterproof devices, there is the simple inability to catch waves while on the phone that precludes their use. But does a lack of mobile phones provide a sufficient condition for making something wild? No, probably not.
Living in Australia, the majority of the population lives along the coast and as a result access to the beaches is generally easy. Popular surf beaches are serviced with facilities such as lifeguards, food stands, shops, parking lots and in many cases places to hire equipment for various water sports. In most cases, the beaches are also patrolled by air and sea for the safety of those in the water. But this imposition of civilisation is along the beach, but not in the water or on the surf, right? Does adjacent development make something domesticated? Probably not. So where does that leave us?
How do we define wild? Does it matter? Is there anything really left that’s wild? After all humanity has managed (to some degree) to predict and influence the weather, animal populations and migration patterns, has harnessed (again to some degree) the power of the wind, the sun, the tides and the atom. We have helicopters and locational transmitters that allow us to be found and extricated from trouble, so is anything left wild or merely some form of modified “natural”?
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| Surfer Bear Hawaii Big Island |
A good argument can be made that the surf waves that are in fact wild. In mathematical terms, they may not be a purely chaotic event, but are likely approaching such. (http://www.imho.com/grae/chaos/chaos.html or http://www.abarim-publications.com/ChaosTheoryIntroduction.html) Certainly if one looks at the micro aspects of waves in terms of where they are breaking, when the close out, their force and other aspects that are relevant to surfers.
Sure, you’d have to concede that overall, where waves crash, their height and frequency can be predicted; changes with the tides and is impacted by human intervention such as sand pumping and erosion control structures. But for surfing? Can it be perfectly predicted or merely anticipated?
Is it enough to merely look at the waves that so indifferently convey people along them for a determination of wild? Perhaps its better to look at the over experience. For instance it was pretty cool whilst in Hawaii to see Yellow Tang (see: http://www.bishopmuseum.org/research/natsci/fish/fishimages.html) flitting below me like chunks of dancing sulphur, but really fish are fish and you can see them in ponds at your local sushi restaurant, or in tidal pools along almost every beach. So, still not wild.
The experience that resolved this question for me occurred today. I had finished paddling out to the line-up and was waiting for the right wave and something caught the corner of my eye. It was difficult to discern exactly what it was as I’m still struggling with surfing and I was the busy beach break at Currumbin in SE QLD. There were dozens of people playing among the waves, the surf patrol was there on their jet-ski, and then there was me trying to figure out what exactly I was going to do next, but still I thought I saw something. Specifically, a short grey cap protruding from the water, perhaps 20m away. A dorsal fin?
Suddenly the waves, the line-up and really anything else faded out of my focus and I was transfixed on the water in front of me. There it was again. Dark grey, a soft and rounded dorsal fin, and then, graciously, a beautiful smooth rounded back. This was either a shark that spent time at the day spa to develop a high gloss “glow” with a posture problem or a dolphin. I elected for the later. Then having pointed out my discovery to other guys who were out, confirmed that it was in fact was a dolphin. Whew.
I was elated at how cool this was. Surfing with a dolphin? Really? I can barely surf. But merely 20m (or 30 or 50m) away, there was another mammal that was absolutely amazing.
Having spoken to a couple of other locals I was informed that the dolphins frequent the area and can sometime be seen under your surfboard. Ok, I’m hooked. Is surfing wilderness? Absolutely. Having a chance to be in a natural environment with wild things? Random encounters; uncontrolled conditions; being responsible for your own condition, decisions and well-being all seem like necessary conditions to defining something as a wilderness to me.
Perhaps in the end the definition of wilderness is as ephemeral as wilderness itself. What is important is the experience with nature. I’ve loved being in the water and among the waves longer than I’ve been trying to surf. I’ve always loved the outdoors. The mountains, rivers, creeks and snowfields have provided me with hours of pleasure. The best times I’ve had have been outdoors with my family, regardless of if we were in the mountains at -30·C; on a beach at 35·C or anything in between.
I’ve always been vaguely aware that the connection to our natural environment was important, but initially because of how it made me feel. It was only later when I read Walking the Big Wild by Karsten Heuer, a high school friend, that I saw a great articulation of my feelings. There it was. Without trying to re-create his quote, the thought was that people need to experience nature, in whatever form, so that they can form a connection. Once the connection is made, then nature becomes important and the more people that nature is important to, the more care we will provide it. (See:http://www.beingcaribou.com/index.html) So at once, Karsten unites the hunters, the conversationalists, the off road junkies, the surfers, skiers and snowboarders of all ilk’s, hikers, mountaineers, artists and the most casual of picnic goer. Underscoring this all is the importance of a human connection to nature.
Thus the line between wild and domestic blurs so that our natural environment becomes the focus. The beaches throughout Australia, with their car parks, ice cream trucks, picnic tables and surf shops all facilitate a human interaction with nature.
Surfing with dolphins, tangs and all the other things that I can’t see beneath the waves was today’s experience. Surfing is wilderness.
Maybe David Williams has it right with his Out of the Blue painting.
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