Waiting: an essential surfing skill

As surfers what do we want? An endless supply of groomed offshore perfection – size relative to riders personal preferences of what they determine ‘perfect’. Probably warm water and air temps; maybe a few swaying palm trees in the mix and possibly a warm welcome upon arrival back at the family abode. How often do we get this? Possibly not often, bar maybe the warm welcome back home… For most surfers who ride ‘real world’ conditions sliding swell – proper swell – is as much to do with the waiting game as anything else. Waiting… Waiting for waves to actually arrive. Waiting for the best state of tide. Waiting on daylight (especially in winter). Waiting to finish work so you can nip off. Waiting to be given the green light by family. Waiting for the person in front of you queuing to park his/her vehicle. Waiting for that gap in sets when it’s good to paddle out. Waiting for your set. Waiting your turn in the line up. Waiting for the inevitable having witnessed an appalling drop in. Waiting for the hordes to exit stage left and leave a quieter wave. Waiting at the bar for a post-surf sud. Waiting at traffic lights as you return home. Waiting for the next swell. Waiting for your wetty to dry. Waiting for a new board to arrive at your local surfing emporium. Waiting for offshore winds. Waiting for the storm to blow through. Waiting for autumn. Waiting for spring. Waiting to get better at surfing. Waiting to head off on your surfing holibobs. Waiting to get your board fixed after dinging. Waiting for your kids to learn how to surf. Waiting for your surfboard after loaning it to one of your offspring. Waiting for your kids to finish getting changed so you can head for dinner. Waiting for the massive surf to drop slightly before paddling out. Waiting for your mates to stop over exaggerating. Waiting to discover a new spot in your own backyard. Waiting to surf the spot when it’s perfect. Waiting on the inevitable blabber mouth letting the cat out of the bag. Waiting for your other half to join you for a few sunset waves. Waiting for he/she to get changed! Waiting for a well-earned after surf feed. Waiting on good memories to come flooding back. Waiting… 2020 edit – Waiting for COVID-19 to deck off and let us have our fun! The above are just a few things we as surfers wait for – there are loads more. What would you add?