Miki Dora once said - "Life is a waste of time and surfing is as good a way to waste it as any"



For the New New Scotty there is a graphic at the start of the thread.

From our friends at Swellnet

Surfers: The 2%ers

http://www.swellnet.com/news/surfpolitik/2014/11/24/surfers-2ers







Last week I was shown an infographic of an average surf session. In it, each aspect of surfing - paddling for waves, sitting and waiting, standing on the board - was divvied up into a percentage of the whole session. Standing on a surfboard, the infographic said, comprised just 2% of the whole surf session experience.I didn't think much of it at the time, it was Friday afternoon, my mind was moving on to other matters. Yet that statistic took hold over the weekend slowly burning its way out of my subconscious. The process was slow but by Sunday night it had consumed my thoughts. I couldn't think of anything else: Just 2% of surfing involves actual surfing!But not only that, we spend 24 times more time paddling (47%) and 25 times more time just sitting doing nothing (53%).If you were to invite an economic rationalist into your life - or perhaps you already subscribe to the theory - this infographic would be their first port of call.

"It makes no sense," our imaginary economist would say while making a sweeping motion with his arm. "You spend all this money, waste all this time, invest all this energy, and yet this is all you get back? A mere 2%?"And yeah, when you think about the number it's a bit of a shock, so you slowly nod in agreement with your imaginary economist, suddenly affronted by your wasteful ways. You think about the thousands of dollars spent on surfboards over the last twenty years, the thousands spent on petrol while chasing waves, and *gulp* the thousands spent on travel seeking better waves.Cursory mathematics puts the sum somewhere near $50,000, but probably higher. $100,000. And for what? A sum total of three hours actually riding a wave, little of which can actually be recalled such is the fleeting nature of the experience."Madness," you say aloud, and the imaginary economist solemnly nods his head. Maybe, you think to yourself, it's time to slash and burn this surfing gig.

Take up a sport like football where the siren sounds and it's game on. Never mind what Wayne Lynch reckons, that's the real involvement dream.Or maybe wait for Greg Webber's wavepool to become reality. In an interview with Swellnet three years ago he argued the merits of his pool. "No waiting and no competing for waves" Webber said. Each wave would go for 30 seconds "and in one hour you'll get 12 of them." Six minutes of foot time every hour! That's 500% more than we're currently getting. I smile inwardly to myself, the imaginary economist smiles back. That's the kind of robust return he likes.I start wondering if it's possible to do the same in a natural setting, spend more time actually surfing and less time doing other things. I'll have to take a hit on quality, no more waiting for the best sets, and there'll be the odd drop in or two, but the foot time percentages will certainly increase. I smile at the thought.And there's always room for improvement.

On dry land I can invest less of myself into surfing and so improve the dividends. I can streamline my life and take reign over my thoughts. No more daydreaming about surfing. No more time wasted. The imaginary economist gives me hope and a mantra to repeat. "It's all about the numbers," he says.Confident that I'm on the right track my economist leaves me to my own devices.Alone again, I click online to see what's happening. First stop Swellnet to see what the waves will be like later this week, then check for airline specials to Samoa, I've heard about a wave on the north side that pumps, and I'll probably need some new boards from Pato. Might call in to the factory and talk some ****. Pull a half inch of width out of the nose of my next board and jam a quarter inch of tail lift in too."It's all about the numbers..."

wow and you don't really think much about those sorts of stats hey cheers Tedley

Geez Ted..thanks for that info ..I always knew it but when you see it in Black n White...Fark....I think I'll just put all my surf stuff on Ebay and play golf..






BTW..How come I'm allowed to print Fark...but not S**te ?..BB auto cue..

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surfbroker said..
Geez Ted..thanks for that info ..I always knew it but when you see it in Black n White...Fark....I think I'll just put all my surf stuff on Ebay and play golf..
BTW..How come I'm allowed to print Fark...but not S**te ?..BB auto cue..

Fun Police my friend .... reckon those stats would be even worse over the holiday periods too geez hurry up Greg & build that wavepool and get rid of our blowin factor

hmmm, just take away the all round fun and be done with it.



I would recommend not getting one.


I was dw ing with gps.



there you are having a good time then when you finish the times lousy .all of a sudden it wasn't as much fun.



do we really need to delving into a surf session like this.

is it going to help you surf-no.


just a surf brand that has figured out how to get surfers to buy gizmos that are all ready out there


geez you would do better working on your surfing technique

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laceys lane said..
hmmm, just take away the all round fun and be done with it.
I would recommend not getting one.I was dw ing with gps.
there you are having a good time then when you finish the times lousy .all of a sudden it wasn't as much fun.
do we really need to delving into a surf session like this.
is it going to help you surf-no.
just a surf brand that has figured out how to get surfers to buy gizmos that are all ready out there
geez you would do better working on your surfing technique

and build some arto pools for the Technohipsters ...................................................... Technohipsters geez I just made myself piss larfing hahaha

I picked up the new Ripcord gps watch in Hawaii not for the gps but the font is huge and I can read the time
oh it was cheaper than you would buy here

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laceys lane said..

just a surf brand that has figured out how to get surfers to buy gizmos that are all ready out there

This is exactly what my first thoughts were when I saw the watches for the first time. Could not believe they were charging $500 for the privilege as well. Then I see one of the hot young blokes around these parts had one on last week - entertaining session - he normally gets a few more waves than me in a session and he clocked up 22 waves in the 80 mins and paddled 6.8km etc then we had a massive lull for 20 mins and his numbers went south. Funny the first time - but not for me.

As an economist myself I found the article amusing if not a bit off base. Stu should have come to me first and I could have thrown some big words in there for him Economics has been undergoing a bit of change of late. Macro-economics used to be where all the glory was with their global models of how the world worked - Investment banks and hedge funds happy to pay the big salaries. But after the macro guys got it wrong for 10 yrs straight the micro fellas have been making a steady comeback. Instead of trying to model how everything works - the micro-economists are using big data sets to produce forecasts of human behaviour - big news in the tech world these days. Lots of start-ups in Silicon Valley these days have a micro-economist or 2 on board - as they are great at predicting what customers to employees are likely to do next. Eg: time taken in clicks can help determine if the user is a likely buyer or a time waster - and hence what the screen should look like for them. There is lots of cool stuff going on.

I am a big fan of the shared economy - think Airbnb, uberx, drivemycar etc - and this is really all about micro-economics. Wait until google street car gets finalised - we may not need to increase road sizes to handle more traffic as we will be vastly more efficient at using the number of cars on the road. Taxi's might become a thing of the past - well at least as we know them.

Couple of staff at work have those step tracking arm bands about 109 bucks,one said to me about 3 hours into his shift hey I've walked 984 steps already this morning.
My reply was, great what else have you achieved

I regularly get up around 8% of my session actually wave riding, that's four times what it's claimed that 'we all get'.

It's one of the reasons why I class so many surfers as mere floaters.

Hey Roy - have you seen Laird Hamilton's Surrator board prototype as yet brother ???? similar to your BLEF fin in regard to the serrated edge design




Apols Devilman for hijack here big time

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thePup said..

Apols Devilman for hijack here big time

Yes that is one of your best
Good question though - I am keen to find the answer as well.

Maybe our sport should be called "Paddling" instead

I like the idea of the tide set up and not having to actually program the thing.. Just turn it on and let the GPS update its location. But i still can't justify the $500..

Surf stitch recently advertised the White one for $299 and they sold out in minutes. I was too slow..

the exact reason i kitesurf.. with my normal surfboard
a 2 hour session involves not only catching probably 3-4 times the waves i do in a surf but also
standing on the board for the entire time
admittedly the wave quality is down and there is some restriction of movement from the harness
but your ability to control the board in adverse situations ie foam climbing ,face chop & bumps increases exponentially
there is also the chance to improve your " air game "
(although i think that is for people who don't mind knee, leg and ankle braces and visits to the physio as a regular event )
not by being lifted by the kite but simply by the number of times you have to correct after going over small swells ...not to mention that i have labored to learn but can now ride switch foot,like a gumby.
The other benefit is you can sort out whether a board is a dog or it is just the fins pretty quickly

the best paddler i ever saw was Camel when he was the surf guide at Gland in the mid 90's ..that man hardly ever sat still and never stopped paddling

I don't mind my time sitting out the back waiting for a wave ,Ive witnessed some spectacular sights such as a huge tuna jumping from the water sillouhetted by a rising sun,turtles appearing for some air,dolphins surfing swells and even a 6ft hammerhead cruise straight under me feeding along the bottom,its all part of the experience of what surfing is about and what makes it so awesome.Those watches are the last thing I need for my surfing,couldn't care less how far Ive paddled ,how many waves Ive caught or how long i sat out the back for,if i get one or two waves in a sesh that gets my stoke meter up its a good surf, even if its just ripping a decent turn or scoring a quick barrel Im stoked.techno free thats me
Also agree with prawn head ,its also why I kite surf when the winds up and the surfs marginal.

i hear you kiters loud and clear - I was just surprised that it took Sean so long to get involved Like Ricardo I love the sights as well - but do tend to get annoyed when long lulls are frequent. If you have ever been on a surf trip to the Pacific Islands you will know the feeling of waiting

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Ted the Kiwi said..

thePup said..

Apols Devilman for hijack here big time

Yes that is one of your best
Good question though - I am keen to find the answer as well.

these have no relation to humobacked whale fin bumps, they are supposed to be on the leading edge

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RoyStuart said..

Ted the Kiwi said..

thePup said..

Apols Devilman for hijack here big time

Yes that is one of your best
Good question though - I am keen to find the answer as well.

these have no relation to humobacked whale fin bumps, they are supposed to be on the leading edge

Evening Roy - got any goss or plans to integrate it into a board in the future my friend ??? or is it a fad sort of caper

Those boards will never become mainstream sorry to be so brutally honest to the believers
Forum police say start a new thread.

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Macaha said...
Those boards will never become mainstream sorry to be so brutally honest to the believers
Forum police say start a new thread.

Glassers everywhere will go on strike..

I like to get out the back and sit around out the back with mac and vander, give them all the good waves and generally chill out.



a couple of waves does me. I just like seeing all my mates get the best ones

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laceys lane said..
I like to get out the back and sit around out the back with mac and vander, give them all the good waves and generally chill out.



a couple of waves does me. I just like seeing all my mates get the best ones

Oh thats it,I thought you couldn't catch them

All jokes aside your wave count is double mine

Garth hats now fark'n gps watches

pffffffft and i worry about the hipsters invasion.

this is better than the 666room.

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Cobra said..
Garth hats now fark'n gps watches

pffffffft and i worry about the hipsters invasion.

this is better than the 666room.

your on the money this time 'the cobra'



more stinger this year

the latest garth helmet..

for the older surfer not wanting to look like a dick.

Geez mate that looks like that farken schitzo Darth , WA71 , Genuine Crap , Doggie , Barbs troll

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thePup said..
Geez mate that looks like that farken schitzo Darth , WA71 , Genuine Crap , Doggie , Barbs troll

Quick use your other 3 logins to get some reds on schitzoid

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thePup said..

thePup said..
Geez mate that looks like that farken schitzo Darth , WA71 , Genuine Crap , Doggie , Barbs troll

Quick use your other 3 logins to get some reds on schitzoid

Pup I just gave you a red as well


I miss doggie

100% of my time surfing is spent, well surfing.

Its not just about that 2%. In fact some of my most memorable surfing memories haven't been about the 2% on the wave, but the remaining 98% of time in the water and the other 100% getting to that point in time.

Case point: I remember one trip driving down a once remote bush tracks before dawn and arriving at the break to fine I had the ocean to myself. The water was dark, murky and had a smell to it, just letting you know that today it was alive with all forms of sea creatures. The Autumn fog was so thick I could just see end of the waves peeling off as they finally broke on the rocky shoreline, beyond that there was nothing to see but a wall of grey mist.

I remember stewing for a good bit about the benefits of going out by myself into something I couldn't see, on a remote and rocky coastline (no phone reception back then), and I remember how I knew i would regret it if I didn't paddle out.

I remember pushing past the shore line and finally seeing this perfect wave peeling left and right, and still not being able to see beyond it.

I remember floating alone out in an ocean that I could not see in any direction, a shore line that I could no longer see, peering down into water that was almost black and having to guess the take off point (no visual reference available.... and no GPS).

Sure I remember the waves I caught alone for 2 hours until I heard another car rock up, epic But the feeling of riding those waves only takes up a moment of the whole memory of that early morning session.

I didn't start, or get back into surfing just for the thrill of the 2%

Im not going to dwell on the efficiency of my surfing ...... and Im sure as hell not going to purchase a GPS watch to help me re-live the moments.