aces * morning glass, peaky, sandbar, dawn patrol

Dreamy Morning by Stephen Bibb

morning glass * ace of winds

Usually, within two to three hours after sunrise are the ideal conditions, for some “good clean fun,” and first thing in the morning. Smooth and crystalline waves make for favorable conditions. It’s your reward for “early to bed, and early to rise.” The beginning of the day is your “quiet gift.” It’s a “triumph of spirit,” and a “rewarding experience.” Take your newfound clarity and “lucid” inspiration, and make a “fine line” unto the “art of surfing.” The wave is your “canvas for originality,” and inspires your “renewal of stoke.” It’s all “free and clear,” pure and virginal, nothing but a soothing pleasure. You are at peace.

Illustration Hilton Alves

There is however, the “eventual loss of purity and beautitude.” Hurry before it’s all gone. You are surferella and haven’t a “clue.” It looks like a Cinderella surf session and you need to get back out there before the surf turns into a pumpkin. You fear the onset of “morning sickness,” and are only too willing to neglect that other situation in hopes of well extending your magic morning surf session? Will you suffer a material setback? Or is there room for reappraisal here? Use it or lose it. “Renaissance man” or just another “pagan parable?”

Take risks. Don’t do things half way. Surfing is “not a part time job.” Unleash your storehouse of energy. Pull out all the stops. Be focused. Override confusion. If you’re gonna do it, do it right. Get there early. Communicate with the ocean. Further your relationship with her. Enjoy the ride. Build confidence. Be truthful. Carry the message of her “peace, love and joy” into your day.

Dawn Dolphins by Stephen Bibb

peaky * ace of waves

Stoke is what every surfer yearns for. We want the “whole enchilada.” The near sexual attraction of her “undulating walls,” is undeniable. Romancing the sun, sea and sand we come upon unexpected barrels. She is a virtual wavefield and surfeteria. Serve yourself. There is plenty of surf to go around. There’s a calming and benevolent energy about, which provides the nourishment. At the Bay of Plenty there is no waiting and waves are easy to share. With waves peeling both ways, maneuvers and good fortune shine forth. “Kindness precipitates.” Everyone’s out as the beach break easily handles the crowd. Her fertile grounds are fun and exciting. It’s a good scene and a great social opportunity. She requires lotsa paddling, which rejuvenates us, and leaves us sublime and in union. “Only a surfer knows the feeling.”

illustration Alexandre Flores Torrano

Our Mother Ocean is “healing for tired bodies and minds.” Have you been “over paddling,” and left with nothing but cold shoulders? Are you broken hearted? Waves not coming to you? You didn’t have the chance to show your true colors, or was it that you just couldn’t “get it together?” Are the shifty peaks elusive? Couldn’t find your rhythm? Was it a case of false expectations? Do you feel shortchanged? Overlooked? Do you feel all “alone and ill begotten?” Not feeling as part of the celebration or “feast?” Was it your last opportunity? Two swells have crossed up and you’re left with nothing but broken lines. Are you broken up or just broke? “No finance, no romance? No money, no honey?” With the “outpouring of emotions spilling out all over,” do you need to be more understanding?

”Understanding unfolds from harmony within.” Everything the heart desires is yours to receive. “Sustain your most heartfelt desires via an inner harmony.” Be satisfied. Abundance is spilling over. “Relationship blossoms” when you bring your love into the world. Compassion is a healing energy. Share of your feelings. “Self heal.“ Come from that place of “inner satisfaction.” You can’t deny the wonder of it all. Bliss, beauty and joy are special blessings. Share of your passion, share of compassion. Be friendly and accepting of “all your relations.” Gain a new appreciation of your “sensual and erotic freedoms.” Share of your sexual energy. Be in good humor. Get in the water. Emotional happiness comes from a sense of “thankfulness and satisfaction.” Bring your experience of “true love,” and “deep happiness” into your daily life. Pay attention. That “chance meeting” is waiting just outside for you.

Fraternal Session by Remi Bertoche

sandbar * ace of rocks

“Sand under water settles into smooth, organized form.” Our sand bottom playgrounds are usually surfable, and sometimes hollow. Shapely shoals give way to an amusement wave park, packed to the gills with apprentice wave wizards. Gromland is a popular spot. Good waves from afternoon wind swells make for agreeable learning grounds. With easy access and soft landings, the local tumblers are usually safe and fun, and the spawning grounds for the grooming of our future surfer.

Summer fun soon gives way to the relentless undulation of winter storms. Conditions are easily blown out. Variable conditions can catch you by surprise as shifty peaks are susceptible to the vagaries of wind and tide. Swells can come and go in a matter of hours. Vulnerable to changing conditions, waves may flatten out and become mushy. Your brand new, high performance board may be too racy. Some of us become overamped and unknowingly look past unseen dangers. Some ignore warning signs of seasonal fluctuation. There’s no more bar and no more kelp. Abrupt sandbar dumps, undercurrents and riptides leave the novice awash in inshore holes or caught in the current. Sometimes the random body slam is simple poetic justice, and leaves one wishing to be back behind summer sandbars. Idled by poor conditions, we know other spots are better. Reefs “make evident what has been below the surface,” while point breaks bring “underlying stipulations to a head,” and crest. Wave hogs are never welcome. Congested at the peak, deathly afraid groms are found in flux and floating in the face of foaming froth.

Accept the conditions and your limitations. Perhaps today is not for you. Don’t paddle against the current. Know the ocean. Let her work her magic with you. Weigh the risks. Find your seam through the chaos. Take the sandspit “one foot at a time.” Don’t get greedy. Find someplace more forgiving. It’s a good chance to increase your skills. Practice proficiency. Let your “inner bonfire” fuel your “sandbar stoke.” Expose your talents. Be elastic. Surf lightly and ride a good stick. Know when conditions are variable. Wind swells last for half a day, or less than twelve hours. Take the “sands of time,” day by day, and season by season. Don’t underestimate what you know must be dealt with. You can’t stop the Flow. Don’t be disruptive or unfeeling. Surf in community. Be pleasant. Coexist in beach beauty.

dawn patrol * ace of rays

A wealth of waves is on the horizon. It’s all within reach. Your speculation has paid off. Good fortune awaits. The “glory of the coming of the dawn” brings the “promise of morning gold at the end of your rainbow.” At sun up, you’re up. Our daily ritual of “early to bed, early to rise, healthy, wealthy and wise,” is good “medicine,” and leaves us feeling fresh and eager, upon commencement of yet another, nascent “morning of our ocean and earth.” It’s “stoke at first light,” as we want to milk every minute of our daylight’s glorious splendor. Feeling expansive and optimistic, it’s not so much a matter of what will come of the day, but more of how and when? The true surfer arrives for his “a.m. invocation” in cowled hooded sweatshirt and marined peacoat, and upon the “threshold of night turning into day”. He is of the “golden dawn,” and “at one” with our natural world. You wake to crisp and crackling conditions while her majestic sunrise brings things into focus. Uncrowded surf answers our morning prayers.

illustration Patrick Parker

Illustration Marcelo Vieira

Morning Sunrise by Stephen Bibb

Flaming Barrell by Stephen Bibb

“Here today and gone tomorrow,” waves are “easy come and easy go.” Becoming too dependent upon “good fortune” produces frustration and a “poverty of soul.” Conditions deteriorate, and swell can be less than expected, or not here yet; or here, but mediocre, and not how you had hoped or planned for.

You can’t decide where to surf, and wonder if it’s really worth it? You’re feeling indecisive and untrusting as you think you’ve been let down. You’re thinkin’ it’s not worth the drive nor hassle, and that it’s a useless waste of time and effort? You got off to a rough start this morning and are finding it hard to motivate. You’re feeling groggy, and can’t muster up any much “get up and go.” Lacking motivation you think you’re somewhere inbetween “a rock and a cold spot.” You’re feeling impotent and can’t get a rise out of her. Feeling guilty from neglect, you choose the homefront over the beachfront.

illustration Nathan Paul Gibbs

Illustration Alexandre Flores Torrano

Impermanence can be welcome respite. Start anew and afresh. Be in touch with nature’s subtleties. Live an “affirmational” life. Honor the aesthetic in you. “Greet each sunrise with a thought of beauty about what the day will bring. Real eyes that with each sunrise comes an opportunity to do something you may never have done before.” Greet the sunrise and pray every morning. Live a life of ocean devotion. Answer the call. Be our sunburst and Morningstar bright. Celebrate the dawning of a new day. See the waves at first light. Tend to the matters at hand. Harvest your wavefields. Cast your prayers upon her waters of life. Bless the surf. You were born into your local spot. Be grateful. Show your gratuity. Enjoy her morning glory. Savor your health and vitality. Expand upon things. Sense your potential. Get up and go. Be a decision maker. “Habits of vigilance and speculation spill over into everyday life.” Monitor the situation and take the opening provided. Be prepared. Come with long coat and heavy jacket. Look forward. Be the first one on it. Be an early riser and get there before the crowds. Have a beautiful time.

Illustration Leisa O’Brien

Illustration Mobarick Abdullah