Ok so I spat the dummy yesterday and couldn’t be bothered writing anything more after I deleted my post!
What I was writing about was my take on the surfing movie Step into Liquid which I went to see with my brother on Tuesday. It was grrrreat!
If you’re not a surfer then it might not grab you, but I loved it. I have often said to people that surf movies are like pornos – you don’t go for the story line and after 10 mins it all get a bit same same!
Not this one… Some highlights were:
* the guy who had surfed every single day of his life for the last 25 years – never missed a beat!
* the quadraplegic surfer whose mates got him back in the water after his accident
* surfing the wake of oil tankers – 2-3 mile rides!
* surfing Cortez bank – 100 miles out to sea
But my favourite was the clip of the Malloy brothers, 4 boys of Irish stock who now live in the US going back to Donegal to find some waves. Apart from seeing some great surf in my homeland of Ireland, I was inspired to see these guys using surfing as a way to help foster healthy relationships between Protestants and Catholics.
They ran a surf camp and invited young people from both sides of the divide to attend. They discovered that when you put them in the water and get them surfing, religious (or political) orientation soon doesn’t matter and we all become ‘just people’. I loved seeing the power of surfing to heal what politicians can’t – and probably never will.
The classic quote from the movie was by Gerry Lopez – long time Pipeline master who said “surfing is for life – the first 20 years are just to see if you are really interested!”
Its been 30 years for me now so I guess I qualify…
I do remember my first experience of surf though – the addictive adrenalin rush that I haven’t been able to shake – better than a 200 m drive on the 18th hole!
Above is a pic of me at one of my favourite breaks, a place called Rocky Point – that was a niiice day!
But as the Billabong add says ‘only a surfer knows the feeling’
Any other surfers agree?download batman gotham knight divx