Surf Addict Nathan Adams

The Beaches, Breaks and Circuits of Amateur Boarding

Florida-native Nathan Adams, 33, is a self-described surf addict and the proprietor behind Optical Tranquility, which showcases his photography of surfing, waves, sunsets, panoramas, and travel.

I picked up a camera two years ago after completing my business degree in computer networking and business management. My love for surfing motivated me to pursue a career in surf photography. Surfers like Kelly Slater and Lisa Andersonremind us there's surf just about everywhere there is a coastline, but I prefer warm destinations in Central America like Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Nicaragua, or the Caribbean from the Bahamas to Barbados. In Hawaii - the surrounding ocean floor is deeper, so more of the oceanic energy reaches the shoreline without any resistance, unlike that of the sloping floor bottom of the Atlantic. Anywhere there's oceanic current, there are waves. It's a matter of being in the right place at the right time with favorable conditions.

There are different types of breaks - reef breaks, beach breaks, point breaks, which are swells wrapped into a bay or around a jetty or pier to help shape the wave. Surfers are also often skateboarders. When the waves go flat, you pick up skateboarding or wakeboarding or you travel.

More women are getting involved in surfing on the professional circuit. They don't get paid as much; it takes them longer to get stature or reputation and the NSSA, National Scholastic Surfing Association, a nationally organized circuit here in the United States, needs to do more to promote them in surf contests. The national championships are in California.

This lower level of competition prepares you to get into the junior pros and then the professional circuit of the WQS, the World Qualifying Series. There, professional surfers compete to acquire enough points to qualify for the WCT, the World Championship Tour. Kelly Slater, C.J. & Damien Hobgood and the top 44 surfers in the world compete in 15 contests around the globe in the hopes of being crowned the next "World Champion."

Sharks are always a presence in Northern California, South Africa or Australia where Great White sharks abound. Florida is one of the "shark-bite" capitals in the U.S. With every sport there are risks, but the reward truly compensates in surfing. The joke among short boarders is that long boards are just for old guys who want to go slowly and straight. Either way, the surf is up and the water is calling.