Sometimes, the Half Moon Bay Surfing Classic Competitions are held at the Francis State Beach, so this morning, I decided to surf there if there is any surf at all. When I arrived there were two shortboarders out. The set breaks were breaking anywhere from shoulder to about 10 ft range, and they are faster than the times I have been here in the past. On top of these bigger sets, there were bunch of small white breaks that happens closer to the shore, but we might have this type of condition at the competition, so I decided to go out and try. Should this have been a competition, I would certainly have come the last place, since I did not have any real decent rides.
So I jump into my new Xcel suit and now I have gotten used to it that it does not take much time to get inside. I am very happy about that because for the first couple of times, I was some doubt that if this suit is actually practical, and you have to be a contortionist to really use this suit.
The way the sand build up on this beach is fairly unique compared to most other beaches (except, Montara is similar); there is a pile of sand away from the shore then the sand drops down about 10-12 ft to the edge of the water. So as I was standing on the beach, I had a nice vantage point from where I could survey the whole situation. So, finding a easy channel to get out was easy.
Today, though, surfing was very difficult, as the waves are coming in bigger sizes and breaking really hard in close-out sets and even the soups were so big and messy and staying soupy all the way to the shore. Often I wait until huge sets break up then ride the reforms that happens in the inside, so riding those was also difficult. So I opted to try my best to actually ride on these bigger waves, but I was not very successful in the following regards.
Today I actually did not pearl on these bigger waves, in fact, I actually managed to take off on several of them, but on a majority of them, the board just slipped under me forward. I think I know what the problem is. I am not going to forward weighting fast enough. It is a bit difficult for me to do though because in order to take off I have to push the tail harder, so I need to work my knees out. Though it is a bit more scary, taking off on these faster and bigger waves are fun. I got to execute moves so much faster, I go really fast, and I need and I can utilize the power to make even more powerful turns.
There was so much water moving in the beach that it was difficult to get back out and in a 90 minute session I got so exhausted that I had to quit and go home. But I was glad that I did venture out, and this season, I made enough progress to the point that I can feel comfortable getting out when the waves look kind of mean.
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