The Old Man and the Sea

"Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought. Never have I had such a strong fish nor one who acted so strangely. Perhaps he is too wise to jump. He could ruin me by jumping or by a wild rush. But perhaps he has been hooked many times before and he knows that this is how he should make his fight. He cannot know that it is only one man against him, nor that it is an old man. But what a great fish he is and what he will bring in the market if the flesh is good. He took the bait like a male and his fight has no panic in it. I wonder if he has any plans or if he is just as desperate as I am?"

The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

the old man and the sea from Marcel Schindler on Vimeo.

Images from the top down:

La Panpa, Playa Pelada, Costa Rica

Garza Sport Fishing, Costa Rica

the old man and the sea from Marcel Schindler on Vimeo.

Nets, Playa Pelada, Costa Rica

Portrait of an old fisherman number 2, Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Beached Bows, Playa Pelada, Costa Rica

Pelicans, Playa Guiones, Costa Rica

A Productive Day, Playa Garza, Costa Rica

All photography copyright Mat Arney.

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Explore Your Own Backyard: Part 3

Up the coast, shot early one morning by Harry Knight.

Alex, on our regular am routine.

"How far d'ya reckon it is?" Down the coast.

Alex reaping the rewards of looking around the corner, shot by Nosara Shack.

Sunday arvo, down the coast.

For my friends at Surf Simply out on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, there really isn't much of a need to explore their back yard because their front yard is so damn good. The beach where they live and work is a long expanse of sand with numerous peaks along its length, more than enough to spread out all of the surfers there so that you can surf with just your friends. When I worked out there (Ru and Gem have employed a few of us for varying lengths of time over the years) Alex and I would get up when the howler monkeys started roaring in the dark every morning and ride down to the beach to get an early surf, then start work in wet boardshorts.

But every now and then we'd all get up a little earlier, throw down a coffee, water and banana (Ru's dawny routine of wake-up, hydrate, energy) and straddle the quad-bikes to go surf someplace where we'd not only be the first ones in the sea, but we'd be the only ones in the sea.

The best of the backyard breaks was a twenty minute quad ride away in the dry season (before the rivers became impassable due to rains). We'd unload the boards and carry them across the rope bridges then tentatively ease the bikes over the bridges, pulling back the cables to get the handlebars past. There are three rivers to cross and it's a hassle but there are heaps of crocs in the rivers. And it's worth it when you get to the beach; a remote turtle sanctuary with a board-buckling beachbreak to wake you up.

North or South, every now and then we'd climb aboard one of the quad-bikes and go looking; guaging the paddle to off-shore reefs or trying to figure the optimum swell direction for nearby coves. The crew currently out there are still doing it, exploring safe in the knowledge that their fall back option of surfing out front is still the sort of surf spot that we're all doodling in the margins of our notebooks.

Go take a look around that corner and see what you find.

The Future

I think it was Rob Machado who said that "The future of surfing will come from the most unlikely of places" as curiosity gets the better of kids who grow up by the ocean and travelling surfers leave behind boards and inspiration.

My friends Ru and Gem moved out to Costa Rica back in 2007 and opened Innocent Surf School, and they quickly flipped the accepted and outdated model of surf coaching on its head, growing into one of the most progressive and in-demand surf coaching centres in the world.
Alongside the surf school they also put aside Sundays to run free lessons for local kids and organised a board donation drive, giving them the chance to be a part of the surfing boom on their beach rather than just spectators - and now some of those kids are the local standouts and absolutely ripping.

This is so important to the world of surfing. One of these kids could turn out to be a world champion one day, but might never have had the chance to stand on a board otherwise.

Not being ones to rest on their laurels however, as of March 2010 they are opening Innocent Surf Camp to offer high end packages to every level of surfer at one of the most consistent and progression friendly surf spots on the planet. I can't see them doing anything other than their usual 10 out of 10 effort, and revolutionising the surf camp market.

Check 'em out, your surfing will thank you for it.