Mojo…

It’s an important thing in surfing. It can come and go. It seems  mysterious but I don’t think it is. I used to… but not anymore.

I remember a day ten years ago where I believed I lost it for a while. Well I lost it for ten years!!!

It was day fraught with problems. Let me list them for you!!

• It was cold, very cold. It was snowing as I put my board in the car. ( I live in Tasmania)
• It was a river mouth break with two things not quite working, the tide was going out ( if you know river mouths you know this can kill the swell) and there was a lot of fresh water  moving out after heavy rains and snow.  (Buoyancy issues!!)
• I was fat! I had put on a lot of weight and was essentially carrying 15 extra kilos that i didn’t take into account.
• I hadn’t been surfing regularly.
• my board was wrong for the conditions.
• I went by by myself ( no one to reiterate all the other problems)

And so I went surfing.

It was a disaster and I came away from that session losing a hell of lot of confidence that set me back years. I couldn’t catch the waves and when I did get on a couple of just toppled over to one side ( extra Baggage!) . I was a good surfer, even competed when I was younger with some results so I got more and more frustrated that day and I believed I had just lost my mojo and it took me years to work out why. I surfed less and less, almost becoming shy of the ocean I once loved.

I didn’t want to go any more.

Thats the trouble with the ol’mojo. It is essentially a confidence thing and  when you have lost it well, it just ain’t what you thought it was.

However, when you are fit, ( at least surf fit) you are surfing good waves, you have the right board under your feet, you surf with friends and a whole heap of other things that makes surfing fun, then you have fun and you surf well or at least you think you do.

But YOU HAVE FUN and that’s what it’s all about!

Which brings me to the day I felt my mojo return, well just a little, but plenty to build on!

I caught so many waves this day I lost count and believe me, lately I have been counting!!! I left the water truly satisfied and had so much fun!!!

and I thought about it and why i felt so much better and it was no mystery…let me list the things that were going right…

• It was a warm summers day, glassy and small with a little sand bar.
• I had exactly the right board for the conditions.
• I was with a friend and we had the bank to ourselves .
• I was fit ( well fitter!)
• I had been surfing regularly, well may more than the last 15 years.

and so I had fun and I now feel more confident than I have in years!

I got some mojo back and when you look at it, it’s not all that mysterious.

I also learn’t a little lesson in humility too. Just as I was feelin’it, feeling good about myself and thinking well i have it kinda licked right now ( granted it was barley 2 foot !!)  the largest wave of the day , twice the size of anything that had come through in the last two and half hours reared up out of nowwhere and smashed me, breaking on my head and sending me topsy turvy over the shallow sand bank. it was quite a beating actually , way out of context for the day.

Point taken Huey! I have a long way to go but I am going to enjoy the journey now!