Florida, and specifically South Florida, is generally overlooked in the overall surfing landscape. After a long hiatus, the professional tour finally returned to Sebastian Inlet in December. The Inlet did not disappoint and delivered consistent, clean, head high surf for nearly the entire event. Legendary Tom Curren took in his fair share of barrels at First Peak. Granted, Florida is no California or Hawaii, but there are waves and sometimes damn good ones.Friends disbelieve photos from West Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast taken in the past year. Double overhead and perfect in the same county as this school. Some of these photos can be viewed at surfline.com and surfxtc.com. Just proceed to the photo galleries and search the Florida albums. Just this past weekend I caught Melbourne Beach head high plus, clean and lined up. In the past month it has been real good several times just down the road.Many times, the difficulty lies not with the wave itself, but with a host of other annoying factors: forty degree water, drift that seems faster than most automobiles, man-o-wars, less than cordial locals, the confrontational law enforcement element, theft of possessions and/or car, marine life in general (i.e., this past week’s beach closings), and the occasional severe rashes in the most inconvenient regions.That said, there is no better feeling than the post-session glow and tall tales between friends. Everything disappears the moment you enter the water. No problem is large enough to find me in the ocean. It may resurface the moment I set foot on land, but for however many hours in the water, it does not exist. I suppose in that respect it is similar to a drug, but certainly a healthier way to spend one’s leisure time.One thing that always puzzles me is the occasional aggression present in the water. It just contradicts the entire premise of the sport. I guess anytime you pack thirty (predominantly male) strangers into a compressed area, tempers will flare. Some areas are worse (Lake Worth) than others, but most spots do get crowded. The primary obstacle many times is a lack of parking options. Creativity in this area can go a long way. But it is a gamble that you sometimes lose in the form of a twenty-five dollar parking ticket or the ever dreaded tow.Depending on the quality of the wave, you may embrace the fine for a solid session. There is nothing else I would give so much to, that involved such a high degree of uncertainty, other than surfing. I guess that is part of the beauty of it: the unpredictable, humbling, loss of one’s self. Once you stand up and feel that glorious feeling, you are hooked for life.