National (Lost) Coast Day * secret spot

If you’ve ever heard of Needle Rock you’ve got a leg up on most coastal enthusiasts. If you ever even thought about actually going there, you’re prolly in the one percentile at the very least, and if you’ve ever actually made the jaunt out, well you’re in a class most all of your own.

And of course there is the hike into Big/Spanish Flats, replete with bear and cougar, and prolly some pretty big fish in the water. And ‘tis not the only one as there’s a Big Sur lefthander where at least one early to rise surfer has had the good fortune of a mountain lion trail crossing enroute to the rocks below (btw there are more mtn lions/square mile there than anywhere in North America, as the usual quotient is one mountain lion for about every 400 square miles, and wherein Big Sur there is reportedly one for every ten square miles). They also enjoy ol’ Whitey in the water there, not to mention the usual local code of ethics in not sharing of the spot’s locale. Case in point my “good” friend never showed me the trail, and as it wasn’t ‘til a year and a half later that I happened upon it myself and had it for a surf, albeit our friend “Turtle,” happened to be in town and was escorted down that very same day. Go figure and to each their own, eh. And to be fair my best friend in high school never surfed our local spot with me, which was due in part to the rules of the road/lay of the land, albeit his bright green Plymouth Barracuda didn’t help much/might have had something to do with it.

Our southside neighbors had a similar code of ethics as there wasn’t much intermingling between the north and south of us and as we generally stay out of each other’s way/waves. However once upon a time in my rookie year of surfing I ventured to a (not so well known) spot called TCs, replete with a new Rick surfboard, well adorned in a cascading blue airbrush, and fresh off my first best off the lip, which was apparently all I needed to gain the attention of the local knobhead/heavy and warrant his most likely standard and complementary fuku welcome. Needless to say I went and surfed inside for the duration, prolly fortunate not to be forced out of the water, as have since heard of some more notorious incidents there or nearby, as one of our better local surfers had ventured thereabouts as well and after being chased out of the water ended up picking up a 2x4 or the like to defend himself, and might have even needed to use the end with an old nail sticking out, to give him enough time to jump/leap into the moving car driven by his fellow “invader.” The wave doesn’t suck and for that there is apparently a price to be paid. You’re a dead giveaway if you don’t know the trail, let alone if you wear your wetsuit down the trail, or if you’re not riding a local shaper’s board, any of which could be reason enough for your car to be vandalized. Further north I’ve seen a surfer paddle out with a diving knife strapped to his ankle, and that was at a spot where it was reported/rumored that some/one of the locals used to fiberglass razor blades into the nose of his board. Some of the local heavies where I grew up, all accomplished surfers and rarely if ever intimidated, rolled into said parking lot there and were promptly greeted by an array of screwdrivers and the like being jammed/gouged into their ever so fragile fiberglass boards sitting naked atop their roof racks, and for which they promptly threw the car into reverse and got the hell out of there.

SS Dominator

Sometimes the local secret spot doesn’t need any help from the natives as oft it is found too shallow, too fast and/or with too many sections. There is a NorCal jetty that plenty of peoples favor to visit come summer, albeit when the seasons changeover ‘tis a game changer and the wave becomes very heavy, and for some reason a hellah lot less crowded. Growing up we had a little known big wave spot where incoming swells made a very eery mooing sound when passing over a ship wreck, and if someone were skilled enough to navigate the drop and early on section, they were then greeted by an over the years accumulation of near shore shrapnel. Other considerations include urchins, South Pacific sea snakes, Costa Rican saltwater crocodiles, scorpions in Mexico, and shoreline tigers in Sumatra. There are onshore considerations/visitors such as Kodiak bears, and have heard of one surfer who was chased out of the water by a bull elephant sea lion at a Central Coast SP surf spot. One visitor to paradise in Nias told of a story where he was asked to freeze as there was a viper hanging in attack mode from the restaurant ceiling, and leaving him hoping that his local host was quicker with his knife than the snake was with its bite. In Salvador there are stories of surfers having to dive under their hotel beds as civil war bombs landed nearby, and ‘tis common knowledge that it is not at all unlikely that you might have to race the local banditos to the shorebreak (prolly a good idea not to wear a watch or the like there).

Sumatran Tiger Resort

Sometimes it doesn’t take much. Once upon a time was surfing alone in the fog at our local break and a seal broke water. I was spooked and went in. Ditto for surfing (the rare) Black’s (in the fog as well) all alone and just had the sense that there was something under my feet, up from down below for a look see. The waves were very large and there was no one to be seen for miles. It was everything I could do to stay out alone.

Some spots are secret or just not that well known for a reason. We had a spot that I guess you could call marineland, which was fairly inaccessible, shifty and temperamental at best, not to mention seasonal and with the requisite rockdance, and which was prolly, truth be told, not really a wave at all, albeit we did surf it a time or two. While living at esalen there was a wave below the tubs that I deemed pointease as with a decent swell it looked so very makeable, save for that one (so very irksome) rock/section. Other spots need kona winds before they turn on, or they are like Ka’ena Point which is virtually unrideable for all practical purposes, unless you were Alec “Ace Cool” Cooke (or perhaps Flippy Hoffman and friends ?).

Cortes Banks

Whatever the barrier to entry, the game was the same. There is the wish to have a wave most all to yourself. And as to whether that is what surfing is all about, is to each their own, and most always met with the per usual, “mum’s the word.”

secret spot * nine of rocks

Hoodoo Horizon by Patrick Parker

“What you don’t know won’t help you.” Not wanting an invasion of “disrespectful, surf rat finks,” locals take an unspoken vow of “unquestioned devotion” and “absolute allegiance” to their “mysto,” secret spot society, or “surf cult.” Under oath to our fellow locals, ours is a clandestine and “unexplained ode,” unto which we follow an “obvious local code.” Ours is a legacy that has been passed down and worked for in earnest. “Often overlooked by others as not worthy,” we see our surf sanctuary as “endangered vestige,” and “consecrated gift.” We hold as sacred the lands in common, and pledge our love to the protection and preservation of our surf shrine and temple. We have “heard the word, and kept it,” to ourselves. Not all are privy to our trust, nor granted access to a most “intimate surf experience.” Our local homegrown arena is “showcase theatre,” wherein we share “mystical moments” and the “inner riches of our inner circle.” The “known unknown” hides behind our silence, and requires knowledge buried, and “entrenched within the local lore.” We find “respite for rest and relaxation” within our surf solidarity.

New Break by Shannon McIntyre

Keeping a secret can be stressful. Always worried about overexposure, there is the fear of being found out. It can distract from the genuine enjoyment of real surfing, and living a real life. If the secret gets out, we are fearful that we could lose our secret spot, and that the familiar, and “expected yields, would no longer be found within our newly crowded wavefield.” It’s the question of the day and a paraffin paradox. If you wander, you lose your standing. We cull out those who fail to honor the vow, and indoctrinate others so that they are careful and more cautious upon their exodus. The wave itself can be mediocre and is not always of a consistent quality. The spot is rather inaccessible and oft times fickle, and can seem “lonely.” With its “trumped up” reputation, one feels vulnerable and “uneasy” upon approach. Nonetheless, people want in on the secret. Indiscretion will cost you. Once the secret is out, everybody knows and it’s no longer a secret. You weren’t paying attention. You were careless and it slipped out. Now you may lose your home and even your woman, and worse yet, your waves. Cut off from others, your belief in separation and fear, has left you on the wrong end of our “unshared resource.” Not much is secret anymore. Scandal came from idle gossip, involving innocent surfers and peoples. It was way after the fact, just harmless “territorial barbs.” But the truth was uncovered. There was a rift within the inner circle. A division in the ranks led to animosity and a case of “distancing behavior.” It was a poor decision on everybody’s part. We were wasting energy on trivial matters. But in truth, it was just a cover for our lack of participation at the better and more challenging spots.

Secret Spot by Remi Bertoche

Stay above petty scandal.  Do nothing.  Retribution is the wrong thing to do.  Know that.  It just adds to your agony.  Misery will reign.  Recognize “conditions” as signals or indicators for your secret spot, and then ask yourself at what price is it no longer worth it, and is this necessary?  The “dolphin symbolizes spirituality” and a “good heart,” and “prefers solitude to incompatibility.”  Get away from it all.  Live life without rancor.  Honor the higher road.  Replenish your inner resources.  Karma yoga is asana for life.  Know that you are supported by, and can depend on others.  Fly your local colors.  Enjoy what you have.  You have earned your find.  Nurture your environment.  Take on the feeling of the land.  Everything is sacred.  Water the trees.  Take care of your spot and yourself.  Know that you are what you surf.  Keep it clean.  Ask not what you can do for yourself, ask what your contribution is to your international tribe.  Show your reverence and a deep love for life and nature.  Cultivate your wave garden with love.  Embrace the concept of “sacred.”  Treat everyone and everything as such, especially yourself.

original painting by David Artavia

original painting by Remi Bertoche