Attn: Mickey Finn

[Gargoyle]

Mickey:

Dude, that account of Laird's post stress accounting of the wave he rode really hit me - your description of Laird sitting down and crying after he rode that wave. I know he has that irresistable compulsion of an extreme sport participant, a compulsion to push things to its limits - limits of danger and limits of sanity.

I think it's called the tower. It's the world's tallest sheer cliff face in the same mountain range as K2 in Pakistan (I think).

I watched on PBS a guy crouched looking over that edge, he slowly tipped himself forward and lept out into the void, falling, falling, falling, then opened his parachute and sailed down.

I can imagine Laird feeling the grip of death catching up to him - literally surfing out of the jaws of death, blasted out in that in that gargatuan spray.

I bet he was re-experiencing that ride and witnessing his own death, and living it out and I bet those tears were flowing.

Jackie Chan is another guy who pushes it in the stuntman arena. He continues to push the envelope.

Laird is top dog in big wave surfing, inheriting the mantle from men like Ken Bradshaw who's exploits at Waimaia, Sunset and other places are legendary. He was the only guy who would duck-dive 25' Sunset.

I fear for these guy's lives, but they'd tell you that, for them, it's not really life if you're not feeling the juice of pushing it. More like purgatory, waiting and planning and dealing until those extreme moments are attained.

Climbers of Everest and other mountains have no regrets of their exploits, even when half the group perishes from an unexpected and vicious storm. They had to do it - it's simply their nature.

I won't be surprised if Jackie Chan dies making one of his movies. I pray it doesn't happen, but that's what happens when you keep pushing it.

I'm rewatching that wave ride with my six year old daughter and am just in awe... Her first reaction was, "OH MY GOD..."

Thanks for posting the pic and link.

[Edited by Gargoyle on 10-12-2000 at 12:24 AM]

[Mickey Finn]

Glad you liked it Gargoyle.

I don’t think Laird was prepared for how heavy that wave got on him. In the one still picture I posted you can see him desperately trying to keep from pearling as that thing squares off in front of him. A few weeks previous to that a Tahitian pro had died at that spot on a wave about a third that size. He went over into the reef headfirst. He didn’t drown, he was ripped apart. Laird knew he had pushed it beyond where even he wanted to go with that wave. The man who has probably ridden bigger, meaner waves than anyone on the planet kicked out of that wave, sat in the channel and cried.

I have 3 classifications of big wave rider mentality.

The first is the most common. It is done for glory, respect, and these days, money. These are the guys who go out in monster surf, but only when the lighting is good and there are cameras in the water or on the beach. Many of the current pros are in this situation. They force themselves to ride in conditions that they would avoid if there were no witnesses. They are sponsored and their sponsors expect them to be in the thick of it. They have photo incentives, which mean with every published photo they receive a bonus.
People in this category can be world class, but its based on experience and ability. It is not done for the sheer love of it. Although this group can excel, they will never be the pinnacle of what is happening.

The second is the category that Laird fits into. They will do it with no witnesses, no publicity, no cameras, for nothing more than the sheer love of the process. I have watched Laird and I believe Buzzy K. doing tow ins at outer reefs where they are alone. The only way I saw it was through a high-powered telescope from the hill. There are no helicopters, no cameras, no glory, and still they do it. Because they WANT it. Life without it is not worth living. These are the guys that are setting the standards. As I got older I became more comfortable in larger and larger surf, but at those upper reaches it was never what I would call ‘fun.” The best part, for me, was getting out of the water in one piece with your buddies and dissecting what had occurred over a few beers. For me the charge occurred with simply surviving it. The guys at the top of it are the guys who LOVE the process of pushing over the edge of an elevator shaft.

My third category is what I would call the “no brain, no pain” group. I have a childhood friend and rival that still seems to average a cover shot and a center spread every year at pipe. His physical capabilities are incredible and he is probably one of the most naturally talented athletes I have ever encountered. He is also as dumb as a fence post. He has flat told me “I have never seen a wave that scares me.” I have heard other people make that claim, but I don’t buy it. With him, I do. You can see it. He is totally relaxed, fluid and grinning in situations where some of the best surfers in the world are in tense crouches running for their lives. He believes he is invincible, so he is.

I showed that same video to my 8-year-old son, who is a beginning surfer. His first comment was, “he’s crazy!” After he watched it a couple of more times he turned to me and said “you DON”T surf waves like that.” LOL! It wasn’t a question, it was a command….. from an eight year old.

During the El Nino winter I had kind of an epiphany in some triple overhead stuff. I took off behind the peak and committed to the thing and a guy dropped in on me on the opposite side and never hit his turn. He just went straight down. I tried to straighten out but when I looked behind me and up I could see that there was no way I was going to get out from under the lip. I bailed off the tail, got no penetration, and got beat up a bit. When I finally came up, I barely got a breath before the next one came down on my head. They guy in front of me had his board broken and he was swept out of the impact zone pretty quickly (prick!) I on the other hand was anchored right there taking wave after wave on my head. I wouldn’t say I was in danger of dying, but the possibility was crossing my mind. What hit me was how a father of two could be so selfish as to jeopardize his life for something as unimportatant as this. That was it for me. I consider that to be the moment I lost my edge in that type of surf. I made it to the rip and I did paddle back out. I simply could not leave with my tail between my legs. But that was it. I sold my 9’6” gun. I still have an 8’4” gun, but if I need anything bigger than that, I’m done. “A man has got to know his limitations.” (Cool Hand Luke?)

Suddenly it occurs to me that maybe some of these same mindsets are applicable to NHB fighters or Boxers. Some are there for the money, the glory and shot at being somebody. Others are there because they have no choice. It’s what they are inside; it’s what they have to do. They would do it for free.

At this point we can probably shift into a discussion of gameness in fighters, surfers and dogs. LOL! Where’s you brother?

[Pit Dog]

LOL

[Gargoyle]

More on surfing

I haven't surfed in a few years (sad, since I live in San Diego!) I do boogie board and body surf, but in tame waves.

The scariest stuff I went into was solid 6-8 at Black's Beach and Huntington Cliffs (north of the pier). Both waves are thick and powerful.

I was beyond my ability in them and was scared feces-less.

I have an innate fear of the ocean. It's relentless, unyielding, power I have found intimidating since I was a kid. I can still remember as a kid being with my dad in the (for him) knee deep water. I was hit by a wave, and I remember this underwater churning terror and confusion - then a strong hand grabbing me and lifting me out.

A friend of mine, Geth Noble, was probably the best surfer at UCSD. He was the man in surfing at UCSD. He surfed 10' Black's on acid. He was out there by himself after a storm, surfing over 20' Blacks. I didn't see it personally, but there were many witnesses.

Another friend of mine who grew up in San Clemente and was addicted to surfing said something to me that I will never forget. We were talking about big waves, and I told him of my fear of them and he said, "It's just water, man."

Probably neither of them were near the level of your friend in big wave riding, but I'm telling you I know the mindset you described.

A psychiatrist friend of mine was surfing in Baja in 10-15' conditions, and he said nearly the exact same thing you wrote in your post! "What the hell am I doing risking myself in these waves?" Alex wasn't (at least this is what he said) in grave fear of death, but he sensed it as a possibility.

Maverick's is the new big wave spot in California. It's where (of couse you know this, but for the others) Mark Foo, a big wave rider from Hawaii, died. The desire to get out there and push it in waves that powerful amaze me.

Maverick's is a cold water break, so the waves, by virtue of the density of the water and the fact its lip is so thick, hits friggin' hard! It can hold up in the massive swells too.

[Gargoyle]

As far as the gameness goes (yes, I'm taking the bait!), I think it's a different type of gameness. Repeating the mantra, "The will to win exceeds the will to survive", what is there to win?

There's a different mindset and a different element, but there is an overlap.

A guy like Laird may cur in a fight, but that's not where his desire lies. Archie Moore, a game boxer, might look out at head high waves and say, "are you crazy? I'm not going out there!"

It's a desire and a familiarity and a comfort level and a confidence, bred from experience, that brings out the gameness when we will ourselves into situations where the trait will emerge. Both of them in life threatening emergencies will undoubtedly display the trait, but that's when they have no choice.It's their focus in their chosen skill that will most likely evidence the trait.

"The will to survive"...if this point held supremacy, Laird would never have stepped out into the water. Something exceeded that will, a stronger will. His will to ride.

Gameness is such because, as I imagine it, the will to survive is not even present. Only winning is present. "Winning" would be aptly replace with "Riding" in the case of Laird. With that substitution, his gameness as a surfer is without question.

His will to ride exceeds his will to survive.

[Edited by Gargoyle on 10-13-2000 at 10:34 PM]

[Mickey Finn]

"As far as the gameness goes (yes, I'm taking the bait!), I think it's a different type of gameness. Repeating the mantra, "The will to win exceeds the will to survive", what is there to win?

There's a different mindset and a different element, but there is an overlap."
______________________



LOL! Of course you took the bait. I don’t think you had any choice. It must be genetic!

I agree with you entirely. There are similarities in mindset but they don’t necessarily transfer. I once had a very intense fighter come to me to teach him how to surf. This is a guy who could dominate me and abuse me at will. He was scared shitless in the water. It was great! When I had him back on the beach, laying on his back in the sand huffing and puffing, I asked him “so, how does it feel to be a white belt again?” LOL! Of course he made me pay for that later, but it was worth it.

And just for the record. I was on the SDSU surf team and we kicked UCSD’s ass every year I was there. (LOL! Sorry, I couldn’t resist) And speaking of acid, I recently went back down for a visit after not having been in town since graduation. When I drove up on the Mormon tabernacle sitting there, I thought I was finally experiencing a flashback from my misspent youth. North County was still pretty sleepy when I left. The development in a few years was amazing. It was cool to be back though. If I had to live in a major metropolitan area, that is without question #1. Now, if they could just get the Chargers to win something again……………

[Gargoyle]

Damn!!!

You were on the SDSU surf team?

You must be nothing south of awesome...

[Mickey Finn]

LOL!

Sarcasm.

Our team WAS better….. of course our education sucked, but that’s beside the point.



[Edited by Mickey Finn on 10-15-2000 at 10:50 AM]

[Gargoyle]

Actually, I was serious....