Surfing is above all a participatory sport. While many enjoy football who have never played on a gridiron, and lots of us watch NASCAR who will never get behind the wheel, those of us who follow surfing do so with one prime motive: we want to ride a wave!

But most surfers, including DogMan, really can't surf two sessions a day, seven days a week, twelve months a year. Sometimes the swell is flat, sometimes work intrudes, sometimes our family comes first. It's inevitable that we spend more time out of the water than in the lineup. For those all-too-frequent spells, we enjoy surfing vicariously. As I type this, the Lane Cam is providing a running video of high-tide shoulder-high mushburgers at the lighthouse. It's overcast but glassy, with only a few surfers in the water. Not exactly prime surf conditions, but man I wish I were there!

So what are some of the ways we enjoy surfing when we are dry?

This is one of the oldest pastimes of surfers out of water. Since the early 1960's various publications have tickled our fancy with words and pictures of our favorite sport. These days the spectrum of available magazines is vast; a relatively new one called Water is my current fav. Which are your favorites?

Periodically Hollywood goes surfing. Theatrical releases featuring surfing have come and gone. When I was young a clumsy movie called "Ride the Wild Surf" got my attention. Greg Noll's surfing made it all worthwhile. Recently "Riding Giants" and other surfumentaries have played the big screen, while fanciful features like "Blue Crush" and "Point Break" also find an audience.

They are a bit like movies, but most videos never illuminate the large screen. You can buy them at your local surf shop; there's a never-ending stream of new ones available every month. We watch them at home then pass them around to friends. Much of the best-recorded surf action never makes it to a theatrical release, but can be seen on video.

Wow! Remember the Ventures? The Beach Boys? Jan and Dean? Dick Dale? How about songs like "Pipeline," "Telestar," "Surfin' USA?" OK so I'm dating myself. Still the tradition of surf music is a long one, with a modern group of addicts and bands still pursuing the genre'. What are some of your favorites?

It's not a secret that the World Wide Web has significantly changed surfing. The availability of weather information, surf forecasts, pictures, accounts, and most especially web cams has revolutionized our sport. Most anyone can now predict the waves, and for the feeble minded among us there are forecasters on line that provide all the details. No surprise that DogMan checks PacificWaveRider first. What are some of your favorite surfing web sites?

The cameras on the web are such a treat that I listed them separately from the web in general. I find web cameras to be the best indicators of waves; a (streaming) picture is worth many words. In my hometown the Lane Cam, the Mavs Cam, the Harbor Cam all have important images for surfers. Further, it's always entertaining to dial into the Pipeline Cam to check conditions in Hawaii. Though I'm not there to ride them myself, I like seeing the waves in action and real time. What are some of your favorite cams?

Like magazines, surf contests go way back. Clear the lineup, and watch from shore as four surfers in colored jerseys jockey for waves in 20-minute heats. Though most of us would rather be out there ourselves, it's still a kick to watch great wave riders compete. Santa Cruz offers contests for the rest of us too: retro longboard events, high school competitions and the like. It's not just for the pros! In fact, check back with DMC in coming weeks for info on the Kahuna Kapuna contest coming this summer to a Linda Mar near you.

Sometimes when you just can't surf, it's still a kick to watch others go off. Maybe your sess just ended, or maybe you are on injured reserve, or perhaps you forgot your board. No matter, sitting on the beach, standing on the pier, or watching from the cliff at the Lighthouse you can enjoy others shredding even when you can't join them.

Middle of summer, flat ocean, no waves; one can still dream of surfing. Close your eyes and mentally whip up a killer swell. Then paddle out in your mind's eye and catch a double O hero wave. In your imagination you can surf as good as anyone named Damian or Shane or even Kelley. Dream on!

I know you've done this one. Whether in person over a refreshing beverage, on the phone or via email you tell tales of wave riding from times past. Of course the waves are bigger in the telling, certainly the conditions become more dangerous and the surfing more radical. That's what's called poetic license. Talk on, memories are made for reliving!

What are some other ways you enjoy surfing when you are not actually in the water? I left a few of my ideas out of the mix on purpose because I want to see what DMC-PWR web surfers think about this subject. I'll write a column of the email response for all to see in an upcoming column. So email your ideas today!

CU Out There,

DogMan