The surfer's lament

"YOU should have been here yesterday."

Every surfer knows the disappointment of hearing that phrase, which entered the beachgoers' lingo from Bruce Brown's classic 1966 surf movie Endless Summer.

It's always been a running joke in our family whenever Briso friends have come up to the Sunshine Coast for the weekend to find the surf is flat.

But the joke was on us today.

We'd arrived at Supertubos three days ago on our way up the west coast from Lisbon to our accommodation in Nazare before heading on to Porto

Our son was jumping out of his skin at the thought of riding a barrel at Supertubos - the famed beach on professional surfing's ASP World Tour in Portugal.

But of all the beaches we've visited in search of waves through Spain and Portugal, Supertubos had possibly the smallest of any of the 20 or so we'd seen.

Sacres, Peniche, Baleal, Arrifana, Bodeira, Nazare, Oedeceixe, Figueira da Foz - surfers the world over know them as some of the finest surf spots of Portugal, and we had high hopes for each of these.

On their day, they are simply magic.

But when we arrived on our tight schedule, this was not their day.

Portugese lifeguards we spoke to said the best time of year for surf in Peniche and surrounds was September 1 to October 31. Three weeks ago had offered a rare 1m swell.   

An informative surf school owner in nearby Baleal said consistent waves could be found there from September to the end of December.

We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And our son had the biggest letdown of the trip.

More hope was offered for our return to Lisbon from Porto three days later.

Yes, you guessed it. Missed the swell by a day. And, worse still, more swell was predicted for the next day ... after we flew out to London.

The best we could manage was 30-60cm (1-2 foot) at Baleal on a mini mal rental board.

Only surfers truly understand the burning desire to get out on the water and try to conquer whatever Mother Nature throws their way in rideable waves.

It is indeed an endless search and an insatiable desire, whether you're Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson or John and Mary Citizen.

As a non-surfer, all I see are beautiful beaches going to waste as we get out of the car, take a good look around, assess the situation and move on to the next possibility.

So it may seem that on a surfing holiday to Portugal I am a fish out of water.

But I have had to deal with the endless summer search for surf all my life and am quite used to it.

I do enjoy watching how the slightest inkling of something forming out the back gives the males of my family that first tiny adrenalin rush, how they paddle, paddle, paddle in its direction - hoping like hell it will stand up for them - and then each one's familiar style in launching themselves on to it, and milking the wave for all it's worth.

The ritual is good for their soul and mine.

The fresh air, shallow waters for my own little dip and multitude of photo opportunities are simply bonuses. That will always be the case today and tomorrow, as it was yesterday.