No Waves Here

People that don't surf will tell you, "there are no waves here". It is a refrain I have heard all over the world. The above picture is of Wallace Air Station, on the China Sea, in the Philippines. I was told bringing a board on that tour, was a waste of time. There is a point break around the upper left corner of this picture. When I was there, it was about four feet, and very good. About ten minutes before I checked it, I was told it was always flat.

I once saw six foot plus waves rolling in for miles in a town called Sinop, in Turkey, on the Black Sea. Everyone I talked to said the waves were small, because the Black Sea is not an ocean .

In Guam, I watched in horror as unskilled Japanese surfers flailed around on a perfect deep water left, breaking in an inlet. The paddle was short, dry and easy. The payoff was a great left with a slopping take off. It got hollow for a short section inside, then it fizzled out in deep water. I tried to get the Japanese guys to lend me their boards. They always said yes, but wouldn't let go of their boards. That wave broke everyday for a week, and it was in walking distance from my hotel.

Same story in Okinawa. Waves everywhere, but not a drop for me.

What a glorious thing the internet is, you can get detailed maps and information about waves all over the world. I did not have the internet in 1991. I have tortured myself for hours looking at waves from places I have been, but never surfed.

When I arrived in Hawaii, the first Gulf War had started and the base was empty. We had ten days and no gigs. My best friend Kevin and I surfed everyday. To say the waves were epic, is an insult to the waves we rode.

I always spend more time thinking about the ones that got away, than the ones I caught. I'm funny that way.

W.B.Z.N.