Swedish Surfing: The good – the bad – the magic…

I’ve spent the past 10 years leaving home in mid Decemeber and returning to the north again in April… My time has been spent training for both contests and for heavier surf. Nothing gigantic but my favourite part of surfing and of life is getting tubed… Spending a second or five or more in the only place where I feel like time stands still. I’ve often wondered what would happen if all the world leaders would experience a few magical moments in the tube… Our world might be very different… The list of priorities would definitely be.

This year i’ve decided not to go anywhere. It’s all become somewhat clear; that all these years of travelling/ competing have been a build up to one thing. To achieve a level of surfing but also enough ocean knowledge to seek out waves of world class in our little but violent sea known as The Baltic… In October 2014 I returned home from Portugal to pursue this dream i’ve had since I began surfing. Alongside two good friends, I embarked on my first recon mission to an area i’ve had my eyes on for a while. With the right planning and luck, we struck gold… The gold we named Valhalla.

This piece isn’t about Valhalla, it’s about Swedish surfing. However the word “magic” appears in the title and thats exactly what Valhalla is…

I’ve now spent over a month in Stockholm, which is my favourite city in the world. Honestly, the waiting game one has to play up here is slowly but surely making me question my decision. I made a trip home to Åhus (southern Sweden) a few weeks ago and caught a few waves at one of the spots I grew up surfing; but it didn’t fill any voids to say the least.

So what is the good – the bad – the magic you ask?

The good:

Surfing alone or with a friend or two in locations most people will never get to experience.

The bad:

The frustration of the waiting game one goes through at this geographic location… Being used to surfing on a daily basis to surfing once in an entire month. The absence of the ocean when the ocean is what makes you happiest.

The magic:

Against all odds experiencing the Baltic at its most beautiful. For those who live amongst the larger oceans of our planet, this is my description of that magic;

When all you have are onshore, torn up pieces of water to ride – the magic of experiencing that rare moment when all elements align and groundswell is created in a very short distance welcomed with a soft and declining offshore breeze allowing one to witness the bathymetry of your coast in its finest hour.

Freddie

• 27-03-15
• COLDWATER
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