The Ocean Belongs To Everyone And No One, Which Is The Point

The surfer’s relationship to a resource no one owns offers a lesson in freedom

Reporting brought to you by Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat.

A Wave Cannot Be Owned, And In That Unownability Lies A Kind Of Pure Liberty

There is something about surfing that draws people toward a particular understanding of freedom. The surfer paddles out into an ocean that no one owns, catches a wave that exists for a moment and is gone, and rides it according to no one’s permission but their own skill and the conditions of the sea. The ocean belongs to everyone and no one, and in that unownability lies a kind of pure liberty. The surfer’s relationship to a resource no one owns offers a lesson in freedom, in the value of spaces that remain open, in the liberty that exists where ownership and control give way to access and skill.

The Unownable Wave

A wave cannot be owned. It rises from the ocean, exists for a moment, breaks, and is gone, beyond the reach of property or control. No one can own a wave, fence it off, charge for access to it, or control who rides it. The wave belongs to whoever is in position to catch it, according to their skill and the etiquette of the lineup, not according to ownership or payment. This unownability is fundamental to surfing, the source of its particular freedom. The surfer rides not by permission or purchase but by skill and position, in an encounter with a resource that no one owns and no one can control.

This unownability stands in contrast to much of modern life, in which so much is owned, controlled, fenced off, and charged for. The wave remains free, open to all who can reach it, beyond the reach of ownership. The surfer, paddling out into the unownable ocean, enters a space of freedom rare in a world of property and control, a space where access depends on skill rather than ownership, where the resource belongs to everyone and no one. This experience of unownable freedom is central to surfing’s appeal, the encounter with a space that remains genuinely open.

The Value Of Open Access

The ocean and its waves are a commons, a resource open to all rather than owned by some. This open access is valuable, providing a space of freedom, a resource available to all who can reach it, a realm beyond the enclosures of property. The value of such open-access commons is significant, for they provide spaces of freedom and resources available to all, in contrast to the enclosure and control that characterize so much else. The surfer’s appreciation of the open ocean is an appreciation of this value, the value of spaces that remain open, resources that remain available to all.

The preservation of such open access is important. The ocean and its waves remain open, but coastal access can be threatened by enclosure, by the privatization of beaches, by barriers to reaching the shore. The defense of public access to the coast, of the open access to the ocean that surfing depends upon, is a defense of this valuable commons, of the freedom it provides, of the principle that some resources should remain open to all. The surfer’s stake in open coastal access is a stake in the preservation of a valuable commons, a space of freedom that enclosure would diminish.

Freedom Through Skill

In the surfer’s encounter with the unownable wave, access depends on skill rather than ownership. The surfer who can read the ocean, position themselves, and ride the wave earns their access through skill, not through purchase or permission. This is a kind of meritocratic freedom, in which access depends on developed ability rather than on ownership or payment. The surfer earns their place in the lineup, their access to the wave, through the skill they have developed, the understanding of the ocean they have cultivated. Freedom, here, is earned through skill, available to all who develop the ability to claim it.

This freedom through skill is appealing because it is genuinely open, available to anyone willing to develop the ability. The wave does not care about wealth or status; it yields to skill and position. The surfer who develops the skill can claim the freedom of the wave, regardless of their wealth or background. This openness, this availability of freedom to all who develop the skill to claim it, is part of surfing’s egalitarian appeal, the sense that the freedom of the wave is open to all who earn it through skill, not reserved for those who can pay.

The Lesson Of The Wave

The surfer’s relationship to the unownable wave offers a lesson in freedom, in the value of open access, in the liberty that exists where ownership gives way to skill and access. The ocean belongs to everyone and no one, and that unownability is the source of its freedom, the reason it remains open to all who can reach it. The surfer, paddling out into this open space, experiences a freedom rare in a world of property and control, a freedom earned through skill, available to all, beyond the reach of ownership.

This lesson extends beyond surfing. It suggests the value of open spaces, of resources that remain available to all, of freedom that depends on skill rather than ownership. It suggests the importance of preserving the commons, of resisting the enclosure that would diminish the open spaces of freedom. The surfer’s appreciation of the unownable wave is an appreciation of a kind of freedom worth defending, the freedom of open access, of spaces that remain available to all, of liberty earned through skill in an encounter with a resource that no one owns and that, in its unownability, remains genuinely free. See the California Coastal Commission for relevant context, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for further background.

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