The much-awaited moment. Months of planning, years of thought and I was here. In a carpark.
A 6mm wetsuit in hand, snow falling and a short walk across what was to become a familiar marsh land toward the beach. The water in April is between 5-6 degrees celsius and I really didn’t know what something like that would feel like, so without too much hesitation I wade into the next 8 months of my life, teaching surfing in Scotland.
The question I was asked most often by friends and then locals alike, and I guess fairly, was “Why?”
”Why travel from Australia to Scotland to teach surfing?”
”Why quit my job in marketing to teach Scottish people to surf?” (this one was always asked a little less directly).
My reason could take more than a few paragraphs but can also be summed up much more succinctly in what feels like a cliché, even if it’s not. “Why not?”
Well the freezing cold water, for one. Ultimately though, I was looking for adventure and this was going to deliver in spades. From the moment I stepped off the train a day earlier in Edinburgh, having never stepped foot in the city before, to hitching a ride to the Surf School when the train broke down, to staying in one of the Instructors share-houses for the first week or so, adventure was what I found. Any doubts I had about my decision to move dribbled away. I knew it was going to work out as these new friends closed the 12 feet tall wooden window-blinds for warmth and set up the fireplace for my very first night, beers in hand and an enticing short-hand with one another in their brilliant Scottish accents.
The waters of the North Sea itself took a few seconds to seep into the ankles of the wetsuit and it felt..well..okay. Bearable. I had my boots, gloves and hoodie on as well, and dove under.
Did you know the actual expression ‘take your breath away’ came from someone diving into the water in the North Sea? Neither, and it’s not true, but it well could be. Like anything, you adapt and get used to it and over the coming months I lost weight by merely standing by the ocean, eventually turning to heavy body building protein powder to stop the rapid loss from my body working so hard to stay warm. And yet, that first dive in led to epic journeys up a breath-taking coastline and out to pristine islands, empty perfect waves, stories of surfing with kitchen gloves when the technology didn’t exist and calling a group of solely Scottish people friends. Friends with whom I shared an almost single focus in our passion for something we love. No pretence and no fakes.
This dive into the water was at the precipice of so many things. Loneliness, finance challenges, international bank cards, gym memberships, tax file numbers, new friends, missing old friends, epic nights out, hostels, introspection and so many other things. Yet, at the forefront, excitement at what each day held. This moment led to all of those things.
Contrary to popular opinion, for me, time moves slower the more you do, at least in reflection. I guess the last six months in the world with Covid-19, on top of all the other obvious realisations, is how much you can do with six months of your life and perhaps alternatively, how little we most often do. The more doors you open, the more you are lead to an exponential path of doors to choose and although it’s often the hardest, you have to start by opening one.
These days, one of my most favourite books is called ‘A Chip Shop in Poznan’ by Ben Aitken. It’s basically the story of an Englishman who boards a plane, moves to a small town in rural Poland and gets a job earning a few dollars an hour in a chip shop set up for the Summer. He doesn’t speak the language, doesn’t know anyone and turns out, he was doing this the same time as I was figuring life out in the small Scottish town of Dunbar. I really didn’t question what I was doing at all over this time but now I think, knowing that I wasn’t alone would have certainly been comforting back then. With this knowledge, it came as no surprise that only 12 months later I met many others who would up and travel to far corners of the globe in search of that same feeling. That same lifestyle. One of whom, I met and locked eyes with at my next job interview that would move me to London. Someone I virtually got to know on the flight back to London, both of us about to take on a 55-day training bus trip around Europe to becoming tour guides. On day 56, having both been successful, we dove into that water, wetsuits and all, together. The door I chose.
Evan England
Surf-Instructor, International Tour Leader and long-time partner of the creator of Lex Duff & Co, Evan can be found most of the time in the surf line up at Bondi or up the coast at Nelson Bay. Prior to Covid-time, Evan has lived and worked in Scotland, Dubai, London and Ireland and is the guy to go to when you’re after a little adventure!