Before surfing above one today, I was informed that because Kavieng’s reefs lie at low latitude, they are hidden from the seasonal cyclone belt and, consequentially, the upper reef slope and reef crest are rarely impacted by extreme high seas. Largely untouched by human activities—result of the country’s low population and absence of material development—Papua New Guinea offers one of the world’s few remaining opportunities for conservation of stellar coral reef zones.
A scuba mecca, the number of fish species recorded on single dives here is usually among the highest recorded during rapid ecological South Pacific surveys. Constantly swept with oceanic and tidal currents, Kavieng has a reputation for being the pelagic species capital of Papua New Guinea.
Sweating and scanning for sharks between sets, I sit on my surfboard and marvel at these facts. Several colorful species—staghorn corals, table corals, tree corals, brain corals—coat the ocean bottom, mere inches from my feet. Basslets, parrotfish, wrasses, groupers swarm. A coral eden, they say, leading the globe in pure coral glory, but falling far short in native surfing population.
In fact, surfing islanders are scarce. Of Oceania’s first surf-generation, teenaged boat driver Stanley drops anchor and enters the mood. Rare is the small black figure on a thrashed surfboard atop turquoise translucence. This is not the modern Action Sports Retailer surf image. In Papua New Guinea, reality supplants time.
Stanley’s people, likely migrants from the Indonesian archipelago, arrived here some 50,000 years ago. They flocked in several waves, and the islands sired a unique effect on cultural texture. Since the bulk of Papua New Guinea’s terrain is quite mountainous and rugged, the islanders evolved in virtual isolation, developing their own languages and tribal cultures, lending Papua New Guinea one of the planet’s most diverse and intriguing island demographics. Most still reside in small villages, adhering to traditional tribal customs.
Before the arrival of aircraft, islanders were as isolated from the rest of Papua New Guinea as people living on other continents. Though English is lingua franca in government and schools, the islands feature 800 different pidgin-based dialects.
First contact between white men and the islanders occurred in the early 16th century, when Portuguese explorer Jorge de Meneses sighted the place, naming it Ilhas dos Papuas (“Land of the Fuzzy-Haired People”). However, it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that traders and missionaries began settling. Throughout the following decades, Papua New Guinea was claimed by England, Germany, and Holland, finally succumbing to Australia after World War I.
The inland Highland area, thought to be too inhospitable for human habitation, wasn’t explored until the 1930s. European gold-seekers instead found a million people living in fertile mountain valleys—cultures steadfast since the Stone Age. By the 1960s, a significant independence movement emerged, and, in 1975, after a brief period of internal autonomy, Papua New Guinea declared full independence.
Grommet Stanley realizes none of this. He does, however, realize his reef’s charm and ideal symmetry. A regularfoot, lefts are not a problem, evident by his confidence and savvy positioning. Without a DVD or VHS player for miles in either direction, surf videos are alien things; Stanley draws inspiration and technique from within and from sojourning surfers, mostly Australian. His is a realization of imported stoke, a life path forever altered by the gift of a surfboard.
Skimming fast above the reef, one eye on the horrific coral heads, my own realization of Fletcher’s epoxy shaping genius unfolds. Later, wide-eyed Stanley is bequeathed the 6’0” Patagonia fish following his premier interview:
What did you do before you started surfing?
“Before I went out surfing I talk with God first. Then I go out surfing.”
What do you like most about surfing?
“I like surfing with people happy. We sing and make fun when the waves coming.”
Does singing bring the waves?
“Yeah. Singing to make a waves getting bigger. We call it ‘tolak.’”
Will you surf forever?
“Yeah. On and on.”

How to Surf Well: A Primer

First in a series

By David Pu’u

The height and breadth of the concept of learning to surf well is broad. In this primer we're going to look at a few basics.
First of all, the question:

What is good surfing? Surfing being sort of a subjective activity, what makes one technique or surfer stand out from another? Opinions vary on this, but in great surfers from the past and to date, we see certain common traits. Let’s look at a few.

1.Every great athlete knows his game and playing field inside and out. What this means to a surfer is that one must understand the nature of something pretty vast. Water, the ocean, storms which make waves, weather which affects waves, the wave itself, and the variety of different breaks and approaches to riding them are all part of our basic field of play which one must master.
2.Approach. There are many great approaches to riding a wave. But logically, since surfing historically has been viewed as being a relatively creative free form means of expression, what constitutes a “good” approach?
3.Technique. The application of an athlete’s ability to a task. How one performs that task most efficiently. In this primer we're going to start with the very basics of surfing. You would be surprised at the number of really good surfers that skipped this because no one ever explained it, and had to relearn later in their careers in order to move forward and on to a higher level of performance.

If you want to be a good surfer, get to know and understand water. Originally surfing was part of the culture of an ocean centric people. The Pacific Islanders were a water based culture. It was their home. Land was where they went to rest. When I was four, my Hawaiian father tossed me in the deep end of a pool. I swam. Get to know water and develop your ability in it. Every great surfer is as comfortable out at sea as a non surfer in front of the TV. It starts with your ability to be comfortable in water and get around in it. Learn to swim well. It provides a feeling of security and self confidence and as your surfing ability expands to larger more challenging surf your confidence will grow. It's the essence and starting point of being a waterman which lies at the core of the sport.

Understand what a wave is and it’s physical dynamics. It's a rolling energy pulse formed by a storm. Pulses vary in frequency and duration, which are measured in height and interval. For example a 4 foot swell at a 20 second interval is traveling faster and carries more energy than a six foot swell traveling at a 10 second interval.
When that 4 at 20 swell feels the drag/pressure of a shallowing bottom it will pitch forward or “break” and make a much larger wave than the shorter interval swell would. This is the basic physics illustration behind riding a wave.

“Forward” is the operative word here. Surfing is all about riding an energy wave and putting your board and body in a position to maximize that ocean embodied storm energy. In a breaking wave the point of energy release is in the top half of the wave, nearest the lip. This is because the lip is moving faster than the trough. The top half of a wave is where the speed and power lie. All great surfers generally surf “from the top of the energy wave” because great surfing is a function of speed, and most easily obtained by learning to utilize the top half of the wave.

Now let’s look at approach. What constitutes a good approach? A good approach is one that allows you to make the wave you want to ride. But a great surfer's approach is embodied in the concept of imagination. A great surfer does whatever he sees in his mind’s eye. It's this approach that made George Freeth, Duke Kahanamoku and Tom Blake great. It's that same concept that has caused Kelly Slater to recently redefine what's possible in ultimate expression of imagination.

How does one develop approach? One must start with the basics. You will read that a lot from me and many others. Basics. A good athlete is sort of like a good house. He has to have a complete foundation, or at some point his house teeters and collapses. In surfing the amount of foundational knowledge required to be good is vast.

Assuming one has a basic understanding of when and how to paddle for a wave lets look at a facet of surfing that hampers many people. It's so simple that it's often overlooked.
It's the basic action of standing up. The physical act of standing up on a board, going from prone paddling to one’s feet is actually a maneuver. Great surfers do it so well that you don't notice it. It appears to happen quickly and easily. But it's actually is one of the most difficult things to learn to do well.

Here's a pretty standard technique many elite athletes use. It works especially well in surfing. It's called “visualization”. Visualization is when you sit quietly and think about what you want to accomplish. You “see” the act in your minds eye. It's a dress rehearsal for the action to be accomplished. It pre programs you to accomplish an action that must take place in an instinctual manner.

Let’s apply it to standing up. Lie down on the floor of your room or on the beach, close your eyes and imagine a cat getting to its feet. It happens quickly and effortlessly. You hardly notice the effort. Then imagine yourself at the starting line for a race. The starter fires his gun. In that instant you spring to your feet. The act of standing on a board should take place in one swift powerful movement. It should leave you with your feet centered over the drive points of your surfboard and weight loaded. In the next instant you un weight yourself and the board will respond yet again. The act of standing up is surfing’s first maneuver, and when mastered makes surfing much easier and is the first step in developing one’s individual approach. To get better at it simply apply the visualization technique and do repeats. Cross training exercises are abdominal exercises, and push ups.
When you go surfing after applying this technique over a relatively short period of time you will experience rapid improvement.