 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
Sure, San Diego has its fair share of waves to offer surfers of all levels. But beyond Southern California's coast is an entire world with places to paddle out, and with each surf destination comes a uniquely rich culture ready to be explored.
In his book, "Return by Water," surf journalist and San Diego State graduate student Kimball Taylor has compiled nearly nine years of his surf adventures that have taken him from Indonesia and South Africa to Ecuador, Hawaii and beyond. Whether visiting a leprosy colony in Molokai, navigating the wild roads of South Africa or watching the events of 9/11 unfold while half a world away in Bali, Taylor brings life to each journey he's embarked upon.
With nine nonfiction accounts and one fiction story, Taylor paints a picture of diverse coastal lands. In Tahiti, he gives a glimpse into the light-hearted approach to surfing found on the shores, where waves are happily shared. Yet, with about a 20 minute paddle farther out he describes, with the help of the natives' voice, a whole new ambiance of surfing. Out there, it's not just a game, it's competition, it's the desire to conquer breaking waves such as Teahupoo, for out there it's a way that a surfer could either make a living or die trying to.
Picturesque waves and epic surf sessions are found in "Return by Water," but it provides more; it speaks of the character and emotion of a traveling surfer who's motivated to see what the world has to offer. Unaccompanied on many trips, Taylor said traveling solo can be lonely at times, but it's also a liberating experience.
"Traveling and experiencing the cultures means more (than just surfing)," Taylor said. "You can go on these surf trips where you never talk to anyone in that country ... fly home and experience nothing.
"But I was never really attracted to that sort of thing."
In his book, Taylor, who holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from SDSU, captures the various cultures and personalities he's encountered throughout the world. Most stories were originally written as articles for one of the many surf publications Taylor works for, such as the magazines Surfer and Surfer's Journal, but Taylor realized that when together, they were something more.
"It just dawned on me what I had," Taylor said. "I wondered if it would say something different if they were all together instead of just one at a time in magazines - if it said something about me."
The combination of stories shows a person who has experienced Ecuadorian terrain while nursing the excruciating pain of a swollen arm caused by more than 50 mosquito bites, one who's traveled the East Coast learning of the surf and discussing it over beers in a New England pub, a man who's raced homemade wire cars up and down Africa's coast with the local boys, and a guy who's befriended territorial surfers and manipulated his way out of jail in Brazil.
Taylor, who's 32 and has lived in Ocean Beach for about 15 years, said the locations he likes to return to are the wild ones, such as Indonesia, where, he said, you really never know what's going to happen. For the quality of the overall experience depends on the environment, and although the traveling can be miserable at times, he said, there's always more to be discovered.
Now that he's published his first book, he's ready to do it again. Besides working toward a Master of Fine Arts in SDSU's creative writing program, Taylor said he wants to write and publish another travel book. He said he chose to publish his first book himself as part of surf tradition because before surfing was in the mainstream, any publication - book, video, etc. - had to be done by the surfers, a custom he wants to keep alive.
When he can, Taylor said he likes to spend the day writing, surfing, reading and hanging out with friends, although his full schedule keeps him constantly on the run. As soon as he gets a ticket, he's out the door and on a plane into the vast unknown to record the next episode of life's great adventures - just another day at work for Taylor.
As part of SDSU's Bookfest, Taylor will be reading from "Return by Water" at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9 in Aztec Shops Bookstore.
-"Return by Water" is available at Aztec Shops Bookstore, local bookstores or online. Visit www.kimballtaylor.com for more information.
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