surf-matic

I am a child of windsurfing. The sport is practically imprinted in my DNA– I grew up with Aloha Classics and windsurfing magazines all around me. My father, David Ezzy, was of the first generation of Hookipa windsurfers, and he is the only one still there, giving him the record of windsurfing Hookipa for longer than anyone else. Funnily though, I didn’t actually step onto a windsurfer until I was about 9 years old. I spent the winter when I was 9 learning to water start at Kanaha and by the time the summer replaced the wavy winter season, I began to windsurf Hookipa.

Hookipa in the summer is easy– the wind is steady and the swells are playfully small. It was the perfect time for me to acquaint myself with the currents and the rocks. Oh, and to learn how to jibe– a skill that at that time still eluded me.

When the big waves from Japan rolled in during the autumn following that summer, I was ready for the real beast of Hookipa– winter. The wind gets light and the waves get powerful (on the plus side, the shore break is less menacing and the thorns in the grass go away). My first winter at Hookipa, I couldn’t jibe (nope, still didn’t learn even after that entire summer!). This meant that I got worked a lot.

If I was going out and a big set wave was about to break right in front of me, I could not mimic everyone else and “chicken” jibe back to the safety of the inside. Rather, I would tighten my grip and get ready to hold on like hell. Sometimes I would even hook in (despite the warnings of my father) so that I would stand a better chance of staying with my gear. After all, the main secret to not going on the rocks at Hookipa is: Don’t let go…ever.

Getting pounded isn’t so bad. Especially if you know how to get worked. And believe me, after that first winter, I know. So even today, so many years later, I enjoy taking a good beating on a good day. There is almost something calming about going over the falls on a mast+ size wave and getting thrown around in the clutches of the sea.

I’m not going to say it is romantic or motherly and make a reference to either sex or a return to the womb– although there are parallels there (how Freudian!). But I will say that it is akin to a kind of meditation. The breath is stopped and time seems to stop too. When getting tossed in the white water, there is no up, there is no down, and you have no control of anything. Panic is your only enemy. The only way to get worked is to just calm the mind and take what comes, moving with the forces of water as they push and pull your body this way and that.

I like it. I guess I could say that I windsurf because I like to surrender myself to the waves, to meditate in the chaos of the sea, and to leave all sense of grounded control.

And that long winded thought brings me to the topic of this post. Why do you windsurf?

I love windsurfing and I’m fascinated by people who windsurf and why they love it. Windsurfing is more than a sport, it is a lifestyle. Windsurfing is so hard to learn, and yet we have all gone through it– we windsurfers are part of this exclusive club where everyone has the tenacity, courage, and mental strength to push through the sport. We have all conquered physical pain and mental fear. Pretty cool.

Anyway, I want to know more about why people windsurf and I want people to share their reasons with everyone else. Of course, no one has just one reason, there are many reasons. But anyway, here are some of the comments I’ve received through Facebook (note: these are the comments I could see, there might be– and probably are– other comments that I can’t see because they are shared on someone else’s page/wall).

I want to compile these comments into something, but I’m not sure what. For now I’ll post them here, and please! reply to this post with your own “i windsurf because” statement.

The responses (all from Facebook or twitter):

Peter H T Dobinson
I windsurf because the sea sets me free

Arrigo Bellone
I windsurf because I’d feel totally empty if I wouldn’t

Reef Navigator
I windsurf because I didn’t know I could, and then I learnt how.

Michel Claasens
I windsurf because it gives me a limitless amount of different experiences that make me happy.

Glenn Woodell
I windsurf because I can. There’s a story behind my reasoning.

Andrew Dack
I wish I could…

Jerry Evans
I windsurf because it is like re-booting my brain!!!

Lucas Kunneman
I windsurf because wild water and strong winds calm the turmoil inside, ripples fade and I feel quiet, just content. Absence of distracting associations and stories, as all attention must go to (keep) sailing. I become a happy antenna of physical sensations.

Simone Fa
I windsurf because it’s my soul and Mother Nature fusion to explode adrenaline!

Adrien Grelon
I windsurf because…hmm, never really thought about it. However, I can’t imagine my life without windsurfing so I know the reason must be good! I’ve yet to figure it out, but I’ll let you know when I do 😉

Panagiotis Arnokouros
I windsurf because I want to put in a test and to check in every new session my body and my mind’s strength against the nature’s elements: sea, waves, and wind!!!

Uros Wsurf
I windsurf because I am different

Spiros Douros
I windsurf because I can express my feelings

Benny Vervoort
I windsurf because I love the sea and the wind. I feel free when windsurfing

Human Torch
I windsurf because… I like to feel Free

Alvaro J Betancourt
Nobody bothers me while I am breathing!!

Anthony Burros
Skipping along, fingers in the water

Ken Gothman
I windsurf because….it’s absolutely exhilarating to fly across the water powered only by the wind as your body and mind come alive conducting a powerful, yet delicate, dance between you, the board, the sail, and the sea!

Mike Magee
I windsurf because of the thrill I get from controlling and converting aerodynamic and hydrodynamic life forces into acceleration and velocity.

Di Pagoni Originale
I windsurf because I like to fly across the sea and become one with two of the elements of nature! It’s freedom!!!

Rob van Dijk
I windsurf because….I still can.

Panagiotis Arnokouros
I windsurf because I always feel free and younger!!!

Chris Muzza Murray
I’m with this guy… “I windsurf because of the thrill I get from controlling and converting aerodynamic and hydrodynamic lift forces into acceleration and velocity” epic

Geoff Hautman
… keeps me sane

Max Power
Because I know it’s the most amazing sport i can imagine. Life is too short to take a pass on…

Roy Thompson
Freedom, the wind, the sea

Julio Pereira F
‘cos it make me free!!!!

Jimo Simo
cos 67% of surfers are idiots ..

Ezio Papalia
I Love Windsurfing Because:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD4wNsEd6rU

Aaron Anderson
Because its pure play where much of life is great mundanity, the adrenaline produces a smile that lasts a lifetime.

Caro Weber
because, there is peace and silence..no trouble…and a nice session frees your mind perfectly…

Kostas Argyrakis
‎…cause what you see is what you get !!!!

Kostas Argyrakis
‎…eternal love !!!!!

Fernando Portella
I windsurf because my body needs, my mind deserves. And my soul is grateful.

Kai Lenny
it is Super Duper Fun

Peter Brooks
I love the freedom, the challenge, the feeling, the people in this sport and its just awesome fun!!

Carl Wilson
Because no other sport gives anywhere near the same buzz, with awesome feeling of freedom as you cruise out to sea catching air

Brian M. Watson
I windsurf because their truly isn’t anything better to do.

Ken Kuramoto
I windsurf because I feel sync with mother nature.

Aaron Anderson
I windsurf because it is pure play, pure joy whereas the rest of life is heaping helpings of mundanity. Because, the adrenaline + fun + joy combo produces great wide smiles all over the beach