Trickhouse Volume 13, Sea/Land-based
Joni Sternbach | SurfLand
Rebecca Olive | Across the Water
Across the Water
Sharing surfing with someone you love is a pretty wonderful thing. It is the rare person whose surfing life is not peppered with stories of waves shared, of trips with mates, of arguments with nemeses, of negotiations with partners. Surfing is not separate from the rest of our lives, and our relationships are a central part of this equation.
Catching waves takes on a new dynamic when shared with people you trust and care about, with friends, family, lovers and partners. Photographs, essays, films and stories about surfing often feature such relationships along with wave conquests and near-misses. There is an intimacy in it: in packing up the car together, in organising to pick each other up or meeting at the break, in getting changed, in paddling out and catching waves, sharing moments of triumph and failure, sharing the vulnerability that is always a part of being immersed in the ocean. In the past, these moments have been mostly spoken about between men. Mates, friends, fathers, sons, brothers and uncles sharing time and experiences together, and building relationships. But this is changing. Increasingly I see friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, sisters, brothers, grandparents, dads and mums and daughters and sons, all travelling and surfing in various combinations. No longer are these surfing moments only shared between men, but are shared across a diverse array of relationships and connections.
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