The clips are pouring through!

Oh, commenters — you both break my heart and give me reason to live!

With you, I’m often made to feel ignorant, arrogant, and unwanted. Without you, well, I wouldn’t be in a position to feel anything at all.

It’s a strange thing, to write for a demographic so much older, more knowledgable, and oftentimes better writers than yourself. Every day I push the rock up the mountain, only to get kicked in the nuts by Nick C. or Longtom or even our beloved moderator, Negatron, at the midway point. I hope they never stop.

Because the pain is good. It forces me to strive for something greater than clickbait mediocrity.

But sometimes the comments find a soft spot. I’m left gutted on the floor, soaking in a mess of what were once my internal fluids. It’s painful beyond belief.

Seas Nail got me yesterday with dagger: I know no one in Panama unfortunately, but I did hear guys were calling skeleton ‘best ever’ on this last swell. Have you wept yet or are you saving it for a mental breakdown episode in your late thirties?

So yeah, not a writing or character critique, but goddamn if he didn’t find a weak point. Skeleton Bay has been my primary goal for the last three years, and I had every ability to chase this swell. Just didn’t love the forecast nor did I want to deal with a disgruntled missus. There’ll be another chance, I (and she) told myself.

And there might be. But this was the swell, apparently.

But then, a moment of positivity. Another commenter, Head Dip, posted a link to the video from the Skeleton swell, along with an intriguing prompt. He said:

Do a post on what it would’ve taken to get there.

Latest “Spit” podcast david lee scales and scott bass break down how much time it took for him to get 3 barrels in 4 foot Southern Mexico pointbreak. How much prep/travel time would it have taken and how many waves would you need for it to be worth it to travel halfway around the world?

Let’s watch the video first, for reference.

My intial impression is that, while the waves were clearly remarkable, I can’t say this is the best Skeleton I’ve seen. The caves are large and bulbous, true, but they don’t seem to run the same way I’ve seen in years past. Maybe it’s the swell, maybe it’s the bank, or maybe it’s the downfall of the wave as a whole — as predicted by multiple surf sites and locals of the region — but it doesn’t quite look like the world’s best wave in this clip.

So I can’t say I’m that depressed by my exclusion. From the looks of things, guys were lucky to get a 3-5 second tube, which is fucking amazing any day of the year, but not for Skeleton. You go there in search of something from another dimension, which I didn’t see much of in this clip.

In response to Head Dip: For me, it would have been worth it to go on this swell, almost regardless of how I performed.

I look at it like this — the 80-hour (round trip) travel and $3k spent would be forgotten in short time. The memory of surfing the world’s best wave on a massive swell would stay with me forever. If I got the wave of my life, unreal, but to expect such a thing — especially with no knowledge of the lineup and such a short window of opportunity — would be foolish.

My recently discovered goal in surfing is that, when aged forty or fifty, I’ll be able to look at any surf film or magazine (I’m calling for a resurgence around 2038) and say, Oh yeah, I’ve been there, with a smile and wink.

It’s about dedicating myself to something that’s important to me. And this is more important to me than… just about anything.

I’m sure that’ll change when I start popping out keikis, so as far as I see it, the time is now. Which is tricky, because the savings are quickly depleting and I still have responsibilities at home. Becoming an adult is learning to wear several different hats, but almost none of them match your favorite boardshorts.

So yeah, Head Dip, I’ll spend all my time and every last penny for a shot at perfection, or at least another pin on the map. This is my thing!