It’s not too often you get the best of both worlds. Photo: Krzysztof Jedrzejak
The saying goes, “There can never be too much of a good thing.” When the waves are pumping, we often risk bodily harm, staying in the water until it’s impossible to see the next set. Social relationships suffer, too. I have been late to work, missed friends’ birthdays, and blown off dinner with a girlfriend’s parents (more than likely the contributing factor to the failure of that relationship). I could not pull myself from the rare combination of minimally crowded and fun waves. While these sessions are deific, unfortunately, they only come so often. This leads to the question I am forced to ask myself before most sessions: Is it better to surf a crowded break and get a few, very quality waves? Or is it better to surf a mediocre break and get my choice of lackluster waves?
I have friends who refuse to surf crowded spots. I also have friends who will not forfeit good waves for an empty lineup—they would rather deal with the crowd. Can either group be blamed? Surfing crowded breaks feels like a recipe for self-induced frustration, but so does surfing second-rate waves. Am I just forced to pick the lesser of two evils?
The goal of most surfers is to get better, in whatever context that means for each of us individually. To some, it may be landing an air or a blow-tail. For beginners, it may be just catching a wave. For me, it’s drawing more creative lines and working on my tube-riding. This goal is undoubtedly more easily achieved through surfing a large quantity of waves at every session. I understand that getting the perfect wave at, say, Lowers or J-Bay offers the opportunity to perfect turns, cutbacks, blow-tails, and even barrel riding all in one, smooth process. But waiting 30 minutes or more to get this opportunity can definitely become counter-productive.
Photo: Mike Coots
Professional surfers get the best of both worlds. WSL events literally empty a break for multiple days so pros can have their choice of (usually) world-class waves. Free surfing pros get to go on trips to remote places in the search, and usual discovery uncrowded, dreamy waves. Unfortunately, I am not a professional surfer and Southern California (where I do most of my surfing) is far from off the grid. So I often resign to try my luck at spots where the waves are not characteristically notable.
I once scored clean, small Rincon with only a handful of people out. I have gotten peeling Lowers with just my friends, albeit only for a short window of time. These sessions burn in my mind when I check my usual spots before I decide to paddle out. But I haven’t had one of these sessions in a while. And because of this, I tend to immortalize these sessions more as dreams than memories. The reality is that I will always favor the less crowded break. Surf crowded lineups its too passive aggressive and vibey for me. Nevertheless, I religiously check the better spots. The thrill that I might get lucky is always enough to get me out of bed early and into a wet wetsuit, even on the most frigid of mornings. When I do decide to surf the less quality spots, I am almost always happy to have gotten in the water and feel like a better person for having done it.
Yes, it is a bummer that most accessible, great waves are overcrowded. And you’ll probably become a better, less frustrated surfer by surfing the less crowded breaks. But every once and a while, you will score the good spots and that memory will be enough to make even crappy waves fun because at least you get your pick of the crap!
