Longboard Surfing Constant Pressure Surfaces

Aloha Tribe,

I was thinking, last night, about Constant Pressure Surfaces. It kept me up for hours as my thoughts danced with board designs, sensory awareness skills,  and mathematics as they all related to these waves beneath waves.

You see, inside of waves, or, beneath them, if you want to think of it that way, are miniature duplicates of the waves we all love to ride. Now, for the most part, I'd imagine, surfing has to to focus on these waves within waves, yet, there are those who surf, who truly master them, namely, dolphins.

A surfboard floats on top of or partially between the edge of the water and the air. And, the level to which it floats is called bouyancy. The surfboard, as we all know, floats upon the wave. Well, beneath waves are other zones of waves with similar "edges," and these are the Constant Pressure Surfaces. So, what an animal like a dolphin does is it has the ability to sense these Constant Pressure Surfaces, and, since dolphins are neutrally bouyant, they can surf beneath what we would think of as the top of the water, on the top of the  Constant Pressure Surfaces. So, while the dolphin is completely under the water, as we'd think of it, the dolphin is on top of the Constant Pressure Surface beneath the surface of the wave. And, just as waves have peaks and faces and troughs, so do Constant Pressure Surfaces.

Hmm, perhaps some of you might be thinking, you stayed up until the wee hours of the morning thinking of that!!! Goodness, Lily, what for!!!

Such is my quest for the perfect feeling, I guess. Surfing, to me, is about feelings. That is to say, physical sensations. And, they are felt both with the muscles of the body, as we all perceive them, but also, for those who know how, they can be felt deep within the body too, in, what the Chinese call, Meridians. These Meridians are parthways, not unlike rivers actually, that run all over the inside of our bodies. And, the stuff that flows around them (though most used to think within them), is an energy Chinese call Chi. The core of the art of Chi Gung or Qigong, which, is basically the study of this energy.

By feeling the energy or chi of a wavee within your body, beyond simply in the muscles, you can connect with the wave in truly unique and beautiful ways. So, how does that all relate to Constant Pressure Surfaces?

Well, not only can the chi sensations be felt within our bodies, but also, outside of or beyond our bodies as well. An example, is sound or smell. An external stimuli comes from beyond us, to us and we then sense it. Well, physical sensations are the same way, Heat and cold can be felt. As can pressure. And, speed. As well as direction, to name but a few.

So, imagine yourself at your favorite break, surfing, as always, with an awareness of the surface of the wave, specifically, the correlation between the gravity force and the bouyancy force. So, according th Waves and Beaches by Willard Bascom, there are two forces that come into play, specifically Slope Drag vs. Hydrodynamic Drag. In other words, how well does your surfboard glide down the surface of the wave.  Dolphins, it seems, have a unique skin which enables them to sense the Contant Pressure Surfaces beneath the waves, and more specifically, to therefore glide down the slopes of these Constant Pressure Surfaces, thus, surfing underwater, so to speak.

And that got me to thinking. Can such Constant Pressure Surfaces be sensed? And, how would one do it?  And, why?

The answer is, they can indeed be sensed by a surfer who has trained themselves to interpret the chi of their environment. And how does it register? As a thickness or density. Sort of like standing on cotton candy, in a way. And as for the why, goodness, as they say with Harley's if  you have to ask that...

Actually, the why is the cool part. that by sensing such  Constant Pressure Surfaces, while you are surfing, this does a number of things for you. One, it brings you to the level of extreme sensory awareness, thereby making you hypersensitive to all physical experiences, thus, giving you, in a way, the stoke beyond all stokes. It is, but merely a way to play with a wave, to have fun, more fun, if you want to think of it that way, because, it offers greater sensations much more intensely.

As for board designs, now this is where it gets really wildly fun. Unless, the thought of shaping bores you to tears and you just want to ride. But, for those who dream of shaping, like I do, such thoughts dance in the imagination of how to create a new concept of board to handle such deeply intense physical sensations. Golly, I'd give anything to be trained by a Master Shaper, you know, for to be able to express such thoughts and dreams as the physical reality of a new board line, oh my gosh, it's enough to make a girl squeal in excitement. And, it's not just board designs which come into play but fin design too. Oh the artistry of it all!!!

Such thoughts come forth in the dark of night, contemplating the next days surf. So, if my longboard can be used to detect such Constant Pressure Surfaces, what about, an Elephant Gun!!! Which, of course, makes me wonder about rockers. But, that's for tonights sleepless night to reflect upon. God how I want to go Night Surfing. The New Moon was Valentines. Oh poo. And the Full Moon isn't until the 28th. Then again, I'll be surfing my favorite break again on the 28th, after all, that's the last day of the month of Lupercalia. For, what could be more within the surfer's soul than the spirit of the dolphin and the soul of the wave, just as, within each waves dances the heart of Constant Pressure Surfaces, just teasing to express themselves.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley