Story here, originally from wetsand.
The term "Waterman" is really getting thrown around a lot lately, especially in non-establishment surf mags like Water and Surfers Journal. There's a few real waterman in the surfing world, Joe Bark is real, several Hawaiians, Laird Hamilton would have to be legit in spite of his helping start the SUP craze. How many surfers do we know that wouldn't think twice about reaching into a 9'+ mako shark to help pull a guys leg out?
I'm sure most of you have watched shows like "Deadliest Catch". When I see that and stories like this, it gives me a whole new meaning of what a true waterman is. We normally think of someone who surfs, tows, and paddles. What about the men and women who's lives are 100% in tune with the ocean, both physically, emotionally, and economically? Laird might reach into a sharks mouth to save someone else, but would he jump in a big boat and go haul in crab pots in sub-zero temperatures and 40ft swells?
The term "Waterman" is really getting thrown around a lot lately, especially in non-establishment surf mags like Water and Surfers Journal. There's a few real waterman in the surfing world, Joe Bark is real, several Hawaiians, Laird Hamilton would have to be legit in spite of his helping start the SUP craze. How many surfers do we know that wouldn't think twice about reaching into a 9'+ mako shark to help pull a guys leg out?
I'm sure most of you have watched shows like "Deadliest Catch". When I see that and stories like this, it gives me a whole new meaning of what a true waterman is. We normally think of someone who surfs, tows, and paddles. What about the men and women who's lives are 100% in tune with the ocean, both physically, emotionally, and economically? Laird might reach into a sharks mouth to save someone else, but would he jump in a big boat and go haul in crab pots in sub-zero temperatures and 40ft swells?
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1 comment:
I think you're onto it here, Dan. The commercial fishers up here go out for Dungeness Crab off the Washington Coast, have to cross a wicked bar on the way out to sea, and do it like you or I pulling out of our driveway in the morning. No posing at all. Your point about Laird and this ridiculous SUP fad is well taken. Somehow people got it in their minds that their claim to waterman "status" would be enhanced by adding a frivolous variation on existing forms of waterborne recreation. Oh well.
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