Learning to Visually Understand Ocean Movement from Shore

Spending a huge amount of time on the internet strains your eyes as well as makes them tired. If you want to do an excercise that will strengthen your sense of sight, give surfing a try!! Although surfing is a relaxing and exhilarating sport to do, it demands a lot of mental and physical strength from all parts of the body. Today I will be talking about eyesight and the importance of training your eyes to become familiar with the ocean from shore. Understanding the movements of the ocean is even more important than actually learning to ride a wave itself. Without visually understanding the ocean especially for a complete amateur, surfing can be perilous because remember that the ocean doesn't show mercy to anyone. It tests everybody in the same way! It is not a complex thing to learn to visualize the movement of the ocean but it does take practice especially if he or she does not live close by the ocean. Therefore, of course, people who live directly on the ocean have an immediate advantage.

One setting that the amateur surfer needs to put him or herself in that is crucial in order to visually learn about ocean movement is being at a distance on shore. It is obligatory to know this. As mentioned earlier, understanding the environment in which you perform in an activity can be just as important as performing the activity in that environment, depending on the sport which might require more or less emphasis on understanding the environment.

When a surfer first looks at the ocean, there a couple of things that need to come to mind. First know what time of day it is and if it seems sunny or cloudy. Sunny conditions are favorable because the surfer can more easily visualize ocean movement whereas in grey conditions, viewing ocean movements might be obscured. Second feel the ocean conditions like wind conditions. If the wind conditions are right, most likely the surf will be a lot rougher than if there was no wind. Therefore currents and riptides are certainly possible. As a surfer it is important to be able to have the ability to know where the currents, riptides, undertows and other possibly obstructions like rocks are. Another thing to visualize is whether the conditions are low or high tide. Usually low tide means that currents aren't as strong and the waves break further out. Therefore a surfer will have to have strong arms and legs in order to paddle out into the surf without getting caught in the impact zone. High tide usually means that waves will break closer to shore which are not favorable conditions as a surfer could wreck his or her board if he or she comes into close contact to shore. Injuries can occur as well.

In order to visualize currents and riptides, the surfer must look carefully at a breaking wave from shore and watch which sections of the wave break and which ones do not. The sections that do break are mostly likely shallow regions that are called sand bars. This is where a surfer would want to be when trying to catch a wave. The section of the wave that does not break means that a rip current is most likely present because it is deeper water. It is usually located between two sand bars. Riptides are something to avoid as it can be dangerous depending on the direction it pulls a surfer towards. Therefore knowing ocean movements before getting into the water is very important.

Warning #1: When looking from shore, waves may seem smaller than they appear.

Warning #2:  When looking from shore, conditions make look placid.

 Do not be deceived and never assume that surfing conditions are calm. It is always important to be alert and study the ocean rigorously!