2014 February

February 2014 - Blog Archives

February 14th, 2014

Reflections from Bali: Waves, the Great Equalizer

Dustin Turin // Bali, Indonesia — All surfers embrace exploration: ‘the search,’ as it has been called, is ingrained in every wave rider’s DNA. It means ‘the search’ for better waves, ‘the search’ for empty lineups, ‘the search’ for places untouched and unknown and waiting to be explored. ‘The search’ is a point of pilgrimage with no final location, always moving one bend at a time up the coast.

Bali is most definitely a point along the well-trodden path of surf pilgrimage, a mecca surrounded in an accompanying myth and mysticism. It is certainly not unknown, or — unfortunately — untouched, but for every surfer who has never been, it is still waiting to be explored. The waves here feel unreal to the experience of surfers raised in the cold Northeast. Long period groundswell is nearly constant, the coast is ringed with reefs that produce perfect waves in practically all conditions, and the wind amazes with its ability to disappear for days on end.

Keramas

Surfing in a place like Bali, in the crowded and competitive lineups of Uluwatu, Keramas, or Bingin, can be a humbling, inspiring, and frustrating experience, or more likely, all three simultaneously. But being in the water here is also a reminder of one of surfing’s best qualities: that is, waves are the ultimate equalizer.

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