The Surf Debate

Here are the two sides of this debate, in my mind at least, nature (waves in the ocean) versus machine generated (waves at water parks or on cruise ships). For the surf purists there probably is no real argument. Communing with the elements on, above, and below the surface of the ocean is what surfing is all about. On the ocean it is usually just you and the ocean along with a few dedicated fellow surfers. At competitions the fans are farther from the action. On machine generated waves there is no paddling out and waiting for what the surf enthusiast would call and only nature could create - the perfect wave. Instead surfing the wave park wave is consistent and constant sort of like riding a mechanical bull and unlike a live bull at a rodeo or the running in Pamplona there is a significantly smaller chance of being run down and gored with the mechanical bull. With the mechanical bull you may also have help from alcohol with its anesthetizing assistance. The crowds cheering you on (or waiting for their turns) are also closer in the wave park, cruise ship, or bar with a mechanical bull. That said there is also something to be said for the other amenities on the cruise ship, at least (I’m thinking those cute towel animals here), but even so those hardly compare with the majesty of the sea, the roar of the surf, and the feel of sand between my toes. I've never found a shark’s tooth or sea glass at park like Wild Adventures or Summer Waves and I’m really not a surfer either but if I was I’d probably compromise and try both. Surf parks may be the latest wave but the ocean endures.