YeeeeHaaaa!!!

Back in the water again after a protracted absence, it was good to have decent surf and only Travis to share it with. I caught a couple of mushy waves before I noticed some of the outside stuff arriving. It was shifty and sporatic, but I figured it was worth a shot, so I paddled out some more and a bit north. I saw one come to the south of me, where I had just been, and another, almost at the same time, to the north, where I was not yet. I have learned not to overreact to that kind of thing at Huntington, because like I said, it was sporatic, so I sat up and waited. Finally a 6-7 ft wave was coming just north of me and was going to break outside of where I was, but I figured I could catch the shoulder as it came past me. I waited until the last possible moment, then turned and paddled as hard as I could. I felt sure I was too late, that the lip was going to crash over and take me with it. I popped quickly to my feet and stayed crouched, waiting for the fall. Instead, I felt a quick accleration as the back of my board came out of the wave behind it and I rushed down the face of the wave on a perfect line, screaming like a little kid.

Spotty Coverage

Getting back into the surf routine is proving more difficult than anticipated. One major reason is the location of my work. In January my work moved from HB (15 minutes each way) to Tustin (20 minutes to 1 hour each way, depending on traffic). Another reason is my son. If he is awake in the morning when I leave, I'll stay and play with him (he is one year old) for a while, thereby missing my window of opportunity for surfing (you have to have your priorities straight). Between the two, I missed Tuesday and Wednesday. I hit the water again today (Thurs) this time with the longboard. What a piece of cake to ride after struggling on the shortboard for the past few sessions. Surf was small, but I caught my three or four waves and had some fun. That is the biggest thing about the longboard, you will have fun and your wavecount will be high. Shorter boards may provide bigger thrills when you actually catch a big wave, but big surf is rare, especially in the summer. The longboard is simply fun.

More winter surfing

Surfed Monday and Tuesday this week (1/31/05 and 2/1/05). I went out on the shortboard both days. I actually made quota on the shortboard Monday. Not so much luck Tuesday. I got one good right, then got caught inside and as it was getting late, I went in. I forgot my towel and had to change inconspicuously in my car.

Back again

Finally Tuesday (1/18) I hit the water again. Surf was small, tide was high, it was dark. There was only one other guy out there. It was really sharky. I caught my three waves and got out. Yesterday I met up with Travis at the Cliffs. I had the shortboard because the surf report was for a big swell to hit. It was bigger than Tuesday, maybe shoulder high, head high on the big sets, but shifty and unpredictable. Riding the short board is like going back to the beginning of summer and learning to surf all over again. I almost went back to the long board today, but decided to gut it out. I did better and hopefully there will be a pivotal point where I improve rapidly and can ride the short board as well as I have learned to ride the long board.

Rain Rain Go Away

Rain, travel and the holidays have conspired to make December the least surfed month so far. I went to Dallas from 12/6 to 12/10. I didn't surf a couple days before I left. Rain kept me out of the water until 12/13. I don't remember exactly which days I surfed that week, but was out of the water for Jacob's birthday. I surfed a couple days before Christmas. Missed some good swell days, made some small ones. Rain has kept me out of the water since Christmas.