Sunrise & Shine: Safety first...seriously
Safety and life-saving skills, a couple of things I never thought I'd put much of a premium on in my younger years—things I didn't think the surf industry would value either, until now.
I'm a bit ashamed to admit that during my time in the Navy, I went through several courses to learn emergency-response skills, like CPR and injury triage, but I never paid them the attention they deserved.
I didn't see the point. Sure, I remember you're supposed to pump to the beat of "Stayin' Alive" when performing CPR, and I could maybe whip up a truncate in a pinch, but I took those priceless learning opportunities for granted.
I take them seriously now though, and so do a lot of other surfers.
Ten years ago, you would've been called a kook if you tried to impart any sort of safety into the lineup, but now things are changing.
Kids are wearing helmets at pipe, Waimea chargers are sporting self-inflating vests when they chase monster swells, and entities like the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group (BWRAG) are making CPR and emergency training cooler than riding a Harley without a helmet.
BWRAG (spoken with a silent W), was founded in 2011 by a group of big-wave surfers who wanted to address the lack of emergency risk management evident in surf lineups, especially big waves.
Folks like recent Florida Surf Stories Podcast guest and legend, Greg Long, were tired of experiencing tragedy in the water without at least having the proper skills and training to mitigate those moments.
Now they travel all around the world offering training on life-saving skills to people of all water orientations and all levels of experience.
"The term big wave is relative to anybody," says Long. "For the novice surfer, it's four feet. But it's the same principles of ocean awareness, risk management, medical interventions that are relevant regardless of size wave or where you're at. So, we've really curated the class now where we say 'two feet to twenty feet.'"
The group offers a range of training and educational material available, from weekend summits to online courses. They're just trying to get as many people spun up on how to save a life if the situation ever presented itself.
So, check out the podcast with Greg, and see what you can learn from BWRAG. I know I will be.
Mind if I join?
Leg two of the Florida Cup this Sunday 10/8 at Ponce Inlet. Should be fun waves this weekend too.
Worth a watch
Now that there's a few weeks of space between me and missing the entire hurricane Lee swell, I can watch this cam rewind from Surfline with less regret for myself and more reverence for the waves I didn't surf.
Thinking about buying some property west of NSB so I could build a house like this on it one day.
1000 words are worth a picture
From Florida favorite to champion of the world, Caroline Marks sits down with Whalebone Magazine for an interview after her WSL title win.
Talk surfy to me
On the Waterpeople podcast with Dave Rastavitcz and Lauren Hill, Chris Del Moro recounts a time where he once saved a kid's life in Indo by performing CPR he had mastered from his time as an L.A. County lifeguard. Now the village and resort where the event went down have gone from 0 to 60 in prioritizing safety.
Pre-shredded
Noah Schweizer was there for all the swells.
Live longer with a little weekly laugh
Did you see that last wave I shredded?
This section smells like rich mahogany and leather-bound books
Matt George's new book In Deep: The Collected Surf Writings can be read front to back, back to front, middle out, upside down, or on the toilet. Featuring a foreward by the G.O.A.T., this book is a collection of pieces from Matt's four decades of surf coverage.
Pray for surf
Ryan Phillipe is pretty much the only show in town, but should make for some fun waves over the weekend and early into next week.
"Ah ah ah ah stayin' alive, stayin' alive. Ah ah ah ah stayin' alliiiiiiiiiiiveeee."
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