Surfing Off the Easel!

Let’s take a dip into the world of those bleached blond, laidback, hardbodied and oh so cool surfers; my pastel wave has finally surfed it’s way off the easel. 

Rock Dancing,

50cm x 50cm 

The title comes from a glossary of surfing terms and rock dance is the movement surfers make when trying to enter/exit the water over rocks or coral. The reference for this was taken at Pasta Point in the Maldives and that sharp bit of reef was sure causing some interesting moves. 

Surfing has some fabulous lingo, Kook, Grom and Quimby are words for rookies, a Quimby though takes being a beginner a step further by getting in the way of his betters. While out there surfers are on the watch for ''men in grey suits'', sharks! The next phrase I love ...... ''a paddlepuss'', someone who plays around in the white water and is to afraid to venture further out. A frube is someone who ventures out but never catches a wave. 

Although I have never been surfing I have experienced ''a shubie'' at close hand, a shubie is someone who buys the gear, talks the talk but doesn’t surf. 

Where we lived in Bavaria there was a wakeboard park and occasionally we would head down there to watch the wakeboarding in summer. While watching I caught sight of a middling to older gentleman in the gear, holding his board, bleached blond locks dripping wet, giving all the younger guys the talk. Tips, tricks and turns, he had all the patter, the youngsters were impressed. My curiosity was really aroused to see him hit the waves; after watching him let the younger ones go ahead in the queue, and listened to him talking about his last two rounds he continued letting everyone go past him. An hour later his wet hair and shirt was dry, so he took his board, nipped round the corner under the outdoor shower, got all wet and popped then back to the queue and started giving everybody advice, yes indeed he was a ''shubie'', in Scotland we would say ''aaa mooth an nae troosers'' (all mouth and no trousers) lots of talk and no action! 

A surfers collection of boards is called a quiver and going out with too large or too good a board for the conditions is ''over gunning'', a bit like wearing your best stilettos in the snow. 

I must say I was a bit of a paddlepuss with this painting, I took ages plittering about in the white water, but we finally pushed the board out into the depths and got on with it. 

Gnarly, I am so stoked man! (Awesome, amazing!)