DEEP March/April 2014 Green Issue | Page 20

Naturally
Supernatural

PHOTOS: JEAN-PAUL MOLYNEUX

NORTHERN EXPOSURE 

It's hard to beat the feeling of biking up to check the surf.

BY DAN HAMLIN

I

remember sitting in the back of the cave with my
head throbbing as the cave filled up with water.
The tidal surge had caught me with my head
down as I walked along the edge of the cliff-lined
shore. By the time I realized what was happening it
was too late. The wall of water had thrust me to the
back of a cave that formed in the cliff’s side. The only thing I could think of to do before
the impending impact was call out to God for help. And that’s exactly what I did,
“God, help me!” I exclaimed.
The next thing I remember after slamming my head against the back of the cave was looking

w w w. f c d s u r f b o a r d s . c o m

surf shop & surfboards :: 43 S. Olive Street :: Ventura
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20

DEEP SURF MAGAZINE April 2014

A full moon sets as the morning light reveals a peeling A-frame with no one in sight.

out through a 12-inch gap of air between the ceiling and the water’s surface. As panic started
to grip me, I felt myself being rushed toward the opening of the cave as the tidal surge
retreated. Acting purely on instinct I swam as fast as I could with the current, and just as fast
as I had been swept into the cave I was swept out of the cave.
They say there is no such thing as an atheist in the impact zone. I’m not here to argue
theology with anyone, but I think it’s safe to say that as surfers we’ve all experienced a power
greater than ourselves. Whether it’s getting slammed into a cave or getting pounded on a day
we shouldn’t have paddled out on, we’ve probably all felt at the mercy of the ocean and it’s
maker at some point in our surfing lives.
Waves, winds, tides, all that is nature. But the force that sets it all in motion, that shows us
how mortal we are, now that is supernatural. I think it’s astounding that we get to experience
as much as we do as surfers that most of society doesn’t get to experience. I’m definitely not
one to sit here and make a case for how religious or spiritual surfing is; I’m not really in that
camp. I surf because it’s fun. You get to experience the beauty of nature, and quite simply, I
love it. But I will say that as a result of constantly being immersed in nature, I feel like I’ve had
some supernatural experiences. Or maybe I should say I’ve had certain experiences in nature
that have felt like they were a glimpse into the supernatural. Sort of like looking at something
through binoculars; the object that seems so far off suddenly becomes much more visible.
I guess it’s easy to find the supernatural in an experience like the one I had in the cave,
when life in the natural is so close to being over. But what takes true grace is to be able to see
the supernatural in something like a sunset, or a moonrise, or a dolphin surfing, or a grom
stoked. These are things that we as surfers get to experience all the time; things that
deserve preserving.
So do the supernatural and surfing go together? I don’t know, but it seems to me if we
look just a little closer we can see glimpses of the supernatural all around us right here in
nature. I’m sure a lot of people will say I’m crazy; that’s all right with me, I won’t argue that.
But I will end with this quote from Amelia Barr, one of the 19th Century’s most prolific female
authors, “Whatever the scientists may say, if we take the supernatural out of life, we leave
only the unnatural.”