Never Too Late To Join A Great Party

I’ve got a bit of a confession to make. Without realising it till quite recently, I’d been allowing the ‘shortboard mentality’* to creep in. You know, that box you voluntarily put yourself in when you’ve in fact got the whole world to explore.

- Dom Moore

The ‘shortboard mentality’ is most noticeably manifested in shortboarders sitting up to their shoulders in the water, static, not paddling for waves, mood worsening as they close their minds even further to the possibility that there might just be a better way of approaching (i.e. a sup or longboard) what’s in front of them. For me as a stand-up paddler my boxing in was in denial of the evidence that the foil is a great bringer of joy. ‘Too crowded around here, no channels to get out, I’ve got enough kit / not enough time, things to do on land etc…’ I had a list of reasons to explain my resistance to trying a foil, but the real reason was that I couldn’t stand to admit to myself that something else was clearly more fun than what I was already doing. ‘Can’t you see how invested I am in paddling my 14’ out and in through these howling northerlies?’