Article from the Galveston Daily News

Surfer cannot get enough of the waves

By Princess McDowell
The Daily News

Published August 5, 2007

GALVESTON — Brian Jarvis didn’t want to go to Hawaii. He wanted to stay in Maine, snowboard and become what he calls a “Maine-i-ac.” He pouted all the way to the island’s sandy beaches and palm trees.

A few years later, Jarvis couldn’t be dragged from the water. When he graduated from high school, his decision was easy.

“My parents wanted me to go to college. I went to Hawaii instead,” he said.

His business, C-Sick Surfin’, offers personalized lessons on Galveston Island after he learned to surf in 1962. He teaches ocean safety, parts of the board, paddling skills and how to identify waves.

But, along with the lessons, Jarvis tells little stories. He talks about surfing in the Carolinas when the area was underdeveloped and there were no places to park on the beach. He reminisces about surfing in water as blue as his own eyes. He’ll offer his philosophy on women and waves.

“If you have to choose between women and the waves, choose the waves because there might not be any good waves tomorrow and the woman will probably be there tomorrow,” he said.

He chose waves a long time ago.

As soon as he witnessed someone surf, he knew he was hooked. He still remembers the first board he bought, for $57.

Jarvis rode his first wave at 15, a 15-foot-wave that he said he wouldn’t have tried if he had the chance again.

“My friends were there and, you know, you have to do it if your buddies are around,” he said.

“If I was alone, I wouldn’t have done it; no way.”

He taught himself how to surf through a trial-and-error process and soon started showing a few friends the ropes.

He got into teaching after someone asked him how he did a few of his moves.

“As soon as I figured out you could make money off it, I saw dollar signs, like chi-ching,” he said.

Outside of surfing, Jarvis worked as a merchant seaman and would earn $5,000 a month working on the ships, then take a few months off to surf and spend the money. Once he ran out, he would find another boat to work on.

He traveled to places such as South Africa and Singapore, sometimes sending back trinkets for his friends.

“I found them little figurines from a vendor,” he said. “I thought I was getting them for cheap, you know. I sent them back to a few friends. When I got back my friends were all mad at me. Apparently, bugs were in them. I guess that vendor got the best of me.”

He finally decided to slow down his life after one long day, Christmas Eve, 1995. For him, it was literally a long day — more than 37 hours.

On a trip home from Singapore, he traveled across several time zones, including the international dateline.

“That was the wake-up call for me,” he said. “It was like God was trying to tell me something. Like, look at this, this is ridiculous.”

Jarvis started inquiring about buying a house. He had searched all along the east and west coasts, but all the houses were $100,000 or more. When he came to Galveston, he found a nice house for just $40,000. He also found his future wife, Karen.

He said it isn’t bad to stay on the island, as long as you have everything you need here and don’t have to leave to go to work.

He said surfing is for those who are truly dedicated and he is the prime example.

“I’ve lost jobs, I’ve had women break up with me, I’ve had family leave me, all because they couldn’t get me out of the water,” he said.