Other things are rarely equal. All things never are.
What the ocean does: swell direction and height, wave interval, secondary swell, wind strength, tide (high or low, spring or neap), dawn or dusk, rain or shine, bake or freeze.
The contours of the seabed and the beach: where the reef begins, where the sand’s shifted, where a boulder causes the wave to jack up, where things mellow out and go mushy, your awareness of how shallow and sharp it is down there and where it looks dangerous but isn’t. Birds nesting in the cliffs. Leaping fish. Sea urchins.
Who’s in the lineup: Whether it’s tourist season or a local public holiday (and whether the holiday is religious and for who), the courtesy (or not) of local and visitor alike and how good they all are. Whether people recognise you, and if they do, whether they say good morning. The state of the roads and whether you brought a friend.
Everything to do with your equipment: the size, shape, and volume of your board and the affection you have for it, your fins, your leash, the stickiness of your surf wax and suncream, the bagginess (or not) of your rash-shirt, your stupid hat, whether you’ve got anything on your feet.
How you feel: whether this is day 1 or 10, how hard you paddled yesterday and for how long, how much you have left in the tank after getting out back just now (what did you have for breakfast?), whether your last session left you feeling like a king or a fool, the state of your rotator cuff, the cut on your finger, the aspect of technique you’re working on. Whether the conditions scare you, and how much experience you’ve got to draw on. The friend that’s on your mind. How long you have left.
And, of course, how good you are.
In your craft, your relationship, your neighbourhood, your next meal, your next battle – in all the things that matter (the things that don’t come easy) – ceteris paribus, local conditions are nine-tenths of the law.
See also:
Move to get a better view
Making your own waves
Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (1) – In the Water
Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (2) – Whose Fool?
Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (3) – Dings and Scars
Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (4) – Tao, Timing, Vectors
As You See (Lessons from Surfing #5)
Siddhartha at the beach (Lessons from surfing #6)
Conditions (Surf Lessons #7)
Rip Curl Reefer Split Toe Surf Booties Size help
Surfing: Why does it help to arch your back when paddling? (it isn’t for leverage) – Surf Lessons #8