31 Days/31 Ways

By Rachel Bardin and Lauren Hill

“31 days/31 ways is a journey in hometown adventure. We will surf each day in October and will try out a different wave-riding device with some of our favorite friends, sources of inspiration, and perhaps a few strangers. We’ll document our experiences through video, photos and words. Each day will be about sharing the wondrous experience of riding waves, the beauty of being in the ocean, and the importance of doing what you love.” - Lauren

See them all at merseabeaucoup.blogspot.com and surf-station.com

31 days and ways later, we have done just that. Every. Single. Day. Wake up, surf, do interviews, and then edit for hours upon hours. All on dinky, consumer grade cameras and usually in less than perfect waves. But that’s the point: enjoying the ocean and telling stories no matter what.

Why would anyone take on such a task on their own volition? Because when a person does something they are passionate about it doesn’t feel like work. This month has been supersaturated with incredible experiences. We have been so fortunate to share waves and stories with great and talented people from the local surfing community.

There have been absolutely magical days and completely silly ones. We’ve been up at sunrise, watched friends get amazing rides, spent time in the garden, surfed in dresses, ridden a tandem body board on a pretty rough day at Vilano and made absolute fools of ourselves on Alaias
and Stand up Paddle Boards. We were unconditionally committed to experiencing each day as it came and documenting the simple joys that can be achieved in our own backyard.

October 1st - “It’s not the wave, it’s the surfer”
October 2nd - “Sweeping the Sea”
October 3rd - “A Strange Day 3”
October 4th - “Foundry Stoke”
October 5th - “Luna(sea)”
October 6th - “Making Things and Building Things”
October 7th - “History and Blindfolds”
October 8th - “Birthday Nostalgia”
Octobe 9th - “Morning of the Mo”
October 10th - “Silly Selfish and Fun”
October 11th - “Grace is Wonderful”
October 12th – “The Stop Motion Experience”
October 13th - “I Just Love it”
October 14th - “All Dressed Up”
October 15th - “Farrelly Liberating”
October 16th - “Cultivation”
October 17th - “We Tried”
October 18th - “Things Fall Apart” A.K.A., “Bloody Hill”
(Our only day without a full video. We surfed, filmed, and had nothing usable so Lauren put up a post about all the injuries we’d acquired during the course of the month.)
October 19th - “An Excellent Device”
October 20th - “His Surfing Speaks”
October 21st - “Rich with Love”
October 22nd - “Just Plane Fun”
October 23rd - “Humbled by Alaia”
October 24th - “The Girl Next Door Surf Classic”
October 25th - “A Couple of Surfers”
October 26th - “We’re Gonna Have Fun Anyway”
October 27th - “Foote Loose”
October 28th - “Log Heaven”
October 29th - “Creative Opportunities”
October 30th - “Going on 31 Years”
October 31st - “Spooky Surf”