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GPA said..
Seeing as how the contributors to this post may be sympathetic... how do you blokes who wear glasses for distance go? I am finding that I am now having trouble focusing on waves in the distance... and I often have to kinda tune them in by looking at my board - then focus on a spot 2m away, 15m away and then hopefully they will somewhat focus on the sets 30m away... Gives me the sh!ts. Happens more when it's a grey overcast day, or when I am tired.

I am told my eyeballs have scarring from sun damage etc and dry eyes generally - so have been told that I am unlikely to be suitable for contacts - plus the thought of them washing to the back of my eyeball in a wipeout freaks me out a bit...

Any tips from the Seabreeze brains trust on this issue

Yes B&B I have the same problem, especially staring into the sun..no cure just try to focus..

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unclethirsty said..
I absolutely hear ya Mac. IIRC there is an article over on Realsurf by Nick Carrol about ageing & loosing the stoke for going for a surf, try & find it was good read. I've had hip replaced both ears done for surfers ear other stuff & got back into surfin, Now at 69 in Oct & last 2 yrs been **** health wise I find myself recovering from a knee replacement & an eye operation, of which a cataract will grow. During & post all this sh-- i only ever thought of getting back on my board. Actually achieved it until last 2 yrs. The song is the same as many have mentioned here the popup is gone so has fitness & it aint coming back any time soon. After many a wasted trip, due to too windy, **** surf crowd yadda yadda, from my place to Palmie (syd) 90k round trip, I decided that I f I drive to beach I go in unless its too big, so I did & it worked..but now I can just feel it all sliding away. Can't even go to the beach due to covid !!! Will I get back out, **** yeah, will I be able to popup remains to be see, but get wet I fu887ng well will & I'll sit on my board like an old fat buddah & sing " Gotta catch that one last wave" to myself & pray that it happens. I've got a big hole in my guts after 59yrs of surfing & looking like I just cannot do it anymore. FMD I miss it. !!

Oh well always lid surfing & body whomping I guess. I need a beer ,sniff, after that. Thirsty Uncle out (in holding pattern)

Get a sup ! Best thing i did after plenty of lower back pain resulting in not surfing im near 62 and have a new lease on the surf life

Stick with it Mac . I had about 2 years off with my back injury in 2012 and fought hard to get back . Then back in late may I had two months out with a shoulder injury . The thing I found I lost was timing and the wobbles but just keep going . Don't dwell too long looking at it . Just paddle out

Another thing you can do other things to get your fitness up and with that fitness comes confidence . Do some hikes or walk some hills . I head up the mountain a few times a year in the cooler months and hike and fish and you really notice that extra leg strength . Paddle a sup in flat water . Keep moving .

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smh said..
Another thing you can do other things to get your fitness up and with that fitness comes confidence . Do some hikes or walk some hills . I head up the mountain a few times a year in the cooler months and hike and fish and you really notice that extra leg strength . Paddle a sup in flat water . Keep moving .

Agreed. I also mountain bike - not too much jumping etc, but plenty of hill rides up and down - which is good for the legs, heart and lungs. Swimming laps definitely helps with the shoulders. I just got back into the Gym after about 8yrs out and although I only do 2x 35min lunchtime sessions a week, doing weights has definitely helped maintain and improve arm strength so although I have not been surfing too much lately, when I do my paddling is OK.

Keep going you old blokes! There's a lot of truth in the old saying "use it or lose it!" I also like the one I use for myself "something you do is better than nothing you do"... as smh said - you gotta keep moving.

Leg went sideways from the knee skateboarding when I was 22. I'd wait a few weeks, get out there frothing, do a floater, blow my knee & be back to square one. Got really depressed, especially as I was in a lot of pain also. Got really sick of hearing how good the surf was that day. I lived about 50m from where I surfed, literally passed the surf spot to get my groceries...had to get away.

I moved to Kattaning, middle of nowhere in the SW. Worked at an abatoir, all parts of the chain, got into playing guitar more which was my only joy in life apart from beer & cigs. It got me off the surfboard & skateboard & allowed my knee to heel almost to where it is now. I can't step down to it from a height higher than a step or it will give out. Aftter all these years (27) I've learnt to always step down from heights onto my left leg & not to do free fall floaters.

But yeah anyway, out of the water for a year & a bit. Moved from Kattaning to Margs for 5 years & then Apollo Bay for about 18 months. Got right back into surfing & havn't looked back since. Theres no way I'm back to before I farked my knee, but I'm out there regularly & loving it. Just these days I don't have one or 2 boards, I have about 12 ranging from longboards to a 5'4 softop which can get me out in pretty much anything. Bought a 5'5 Firewire Seaside yesterday that I'm frothing to get wet when todays gail winds settle down.

Sometimes you just need a change. Maybe try & think outside the box a bit Mac, surf a different time or spot. I've only been to the goldy once in 2009, but it seemed like there was a ton of empty banks North of Sanpper up & around Surfers P.

Covid lock down caused me to take a 2 month break as I couldn't get to the beach without crossing a neighboring LGA. Just wasn't worth the fine if caught.
Keep on surfing Macaha.

About 10 years for me after moving back to Adelaide from the GC and then a very nasty lower leg injury at work which unfortunately resulted in an ankle fusion. Pretty much gave up the idea of surfing again, no ankle joint no balance (right ankle, natural stance). I really did miss it but got into other things. I remember I used to talk about it and my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) used to say "you really loved it didn't you?"

Any way after we got married in the Whitsundays we spent some time on the GC then went down to Scott's Head where my brothers in-laws have a place. We were at the beach one day with my brothers friends and one of the chicks there surfed. She had a mini simmons and a 7' mini mal thing. At one point my brother pushes the mini mal towards me as I'm laying on the beach and says "here you go, see if you've still got it". Now I think about that moment a lot. I just dismissed it and thought yeah right but after about a minute I said "f**k it, I'll go for a paddle". As soon as I hit the water that feeling of familiarity came flooding back. Even though I wasn't paddle fit I was fit so negotiating the line up and duck diving etc. felt easy enough. I think I blew my first attempt but second wave was a nice 2ft runner, paddled in, got to my feet and trimmed all the way into the shorey. That was it. Next morning was our last day in NSW/Qld. I was up at 5 and out there, drove back to the GC and I was out that arvo. Flew back to Adelaide that evening and I had a new board within the week and the rest is history.

On a side note with the ankle fusion I adjusted to being more of a "front footed surfer" out of necessity and learned what equipment works best for me. Most people can't even tell and freak out when I tell them.
I could have just as easily just layed there and not paddled out that day but I'm so bloody glad I did, happy days.

Check out the latest barreled surf podcast done out of margs. Interviewed Kevin merrifield who is in his 80s and still surfs margs main on a shorty albeit laying down. Pretty classic he still got the Stoke