The physics of surfing

Today I went out with the hooded liner under my 5/3 and was fine, not cold even though there was more wind than yesterday. Go figure. The waves were one foot. But even though I wasn’t cold I couldn’t get up and stay up.

It was sunny and relatively warm and still fun, but frustrating. Looking at the waves I thought, these are the type of waves I can do well on; but I didn’t, and I don’t know why.I can’t blame the waves today.

Later on, I went to dinner with K.’s friend E., who is a total nonsurfer. Using swizzle sticks and cocktail napkins, he tried to figure out this whole surfing thing logically, using the rules of physics and anatomy, such as “You can’t bend your thighs backwards.” It was hilarious and took about two hours. The conclusion we came to? It is physically impossible to pop up using only your arms. You must use, if not your feet (as I have been told is verboten) at least your thigh muscles, somehow, and you really cannot avoid involving your knees. They must contact the board even if you don’t use them to push up, but it is pretty hard to avoid using them.

So he says, and he’s totally convinced me. Anyone want to argue?