MovieChat Forums > Big Wednesday (1978) Discussion > THE PHILOSOPHY OF SURF(A Babble)

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SURF(A Babble)

posted 10 years ago by RussellDunn
1 reply | jump to latest

I'm going to begin by saying that this was one of the greatest movies that I never saw.

Let me explain.
When I was fifteen back in 1978, my older brother tossed aside a book he was reading saying," This one sucks!" The book was the novel tie in to "Big Wednesday". I picked it up, read the back and decided to give it a try. I couldn't put it down. Surfing was, to a Michigan kid like me, something occasionally shown on ABC's Wide World of Sports. I used to watch it along with my father and brothers and crowed when the surfers wiped out riding the big waves of Hawaii or Malibu. So I was amazed at how much this book captured my attention. It wasn't just the surfing angle but the story of three kids and how they matured. This being 1978, I could also relate to the time period the story took place(The 1960's). I tried looking through the movie section of the newspaper to see if it was showing anywhere but unfortunately(Or fortunately) it wasn't. So I just kept rereading the book and used my imagination and hoped that someday it would be shown on television(This was before VCR's or NetFlix). Two songs totally unrelated to the movie("Sweet Surrender" by Bread and "The Greatest Love On Earth" by Chicago) always made me think of the book because my brother was trying to learn the guitar by trying to play both these songs and I heard them over and over while reading the book for the twentieth time. But each time I read the book, I always promised myself,"Someday."
A decade later, when the movie was finally shown on cable, I recorded it with my VCR. I can't count the number of times I sat down to watch it but then stopped myself. I had a mental image of every scene in the book and found I didn't want that ruined. So I never watched it. Occasionally I would hear of a hurricane off the California coast causing huge swells and was amused to see that it always seemed to fall on a Wednesday.
Fast forward again to 2000. I'm in my late thirties and on vacation in Cocoa Beach, Florida(The surfing capital of the East Coast). I was laying on the sand next to the WORLD FAMOUS Cocoa Beach Pier watching the surfers ride the waves. One of them, a kid in his twenties, was sitting nearby waxing his board. He bummed a cigarette off me and we started to talk. Finally, he asked me if I surfed. I explained to him that I was from Detroit and always wanted to try but was geographically challenged. He hopped to his feet and walked away and returned a minute later with a boogie board. The kid spent the next half hour showing me the basics(Go out in the water until chest deep, wait for a wave, hop on the board and enjoy. I did as instructed and became stoked immediately. The surfer watched, pleased with himself that he had taught and older dog a new trick. Before he left to go ride the waves with his friends he said,"Keep something in mind." He waved at the water,"That's an ocean that can spawn hurricanes, tsunami's and whatever. Its power and strength is infinite compared with us. And yet, here it is pushing you onto the sand as gentle as a lamb. Don't turn your back on it and enjoy."
I'll never forget that.
I call it "The Philosophy Of Surf".
Someday had arrived.

[–] jl-39962 7 years ago

I find your post interesting, because I'm also from the Detroit area, just 5 years younger than you, and I also remember seeing surfing clips in the 70's at the movies that piqued my interest in the surfing.

Never read the book, but I caught the movie (BW) on TV in the late 80's, and found it somewhat interesting.

Over time, after seeing Point Break, North Shore, etc., I gradually became more and more interested in learning how to surf. I tried once in California in the 90's, but was too overwhelmed by the board, the (harsh) location, and the poor instruction.

I did get into bodysurfing while in California (and other times on the East Coast). I than got into boogie/bodyboarding, particularly on a trip to the Outer Banks in 2012.

In early 2013, I finally learned to surf on a trip to Oahu. Took a lesson, got up a couple times and had a couple good rides in Waikiki, before visting the North Shore (just to watch).

After a bodyboarding trip to Florida (Cocoa Beach, Sebastian Inlet) in early 2014, I went to Costa Rica last March and further developed my nascent surfing skills. Got up a number of times, had some nice rides.

Finally, I again visited Florida last month, and spent several days bodyboarding and surfing in Daytona, Cocoa Beach, and Sebastian Inlet. Took a lesson from an old pro in Sebastian, and started doing more of a "pop-up", vs. a multi-step standup. (The pop-up pretty much required for Florida surfing, where the waves are shorter.)

The Florida surfing was much more challenging than Hawaii or Costa Rica, but on my last day, in Cocoa Beach, I got up a few times, and had one really nice ride that I rode all the way into shore, while kids around me cheered. Really nice.

The lesson, for you and all other readers, is that it's never too late to learn how to surf, or to keep surfing. My instructor was probably in his 60's, and one of the guys I met at surf camp was 68. Both still surfing regularly.

For some people, the ocean is addictive, and so is playing in the surf. This can be enjoyed through bodysurfing, bodyboarding, or stand-up surfing. But to me, the pinnacle is actually standing up on the wave, and riding on that liquid motion.

It's also great exercise, of course. A nice side-effect, and a strong motivation to stay in shape otherwise. But for me, the "philosophy" of surf is how it takes you out of your head, and causes you to focus while also relaxing. That, while becoming one with the ocean, clears your head quite nicely. And even when catching waves is tough, it's like eating potato chips -- you keep wanting to catch just one more.