Session 5005: Messing with Currents in Montara + Focusing

Lately, I am starting to find that I should really put more focus on each of the thing I do on surfing. Things are starting to become so automatic that I am not really analyzing whether I am starting to nurture old bad habits, or ignoring the possibility to discover more ways of improving surfing.

Surfing by myself is one area that is not very helpful in this department, but I would sometimes be forced or force myself to do it.

I had to make a judgment call this DP, whether to surf alone or drive over further North to Linda Mar beach and contend with additional people. The waves from the cliff looked surfable, but my experience with this location also tells me that it will be quite a bit of work outs to get to the outside and possibly avoiding some close out sets. So I have chosen the lone surfer set up this morning.

The sets were something like overhead level, but it was rather messy, especially when I am writing these accounts after the facts. A local buddy of mine did show up, called another buddy of ours after seeing me walking to back to the channel, and told him that too gnarly to get out. So I had the entire beach to myself. It is still gratifying to me that I did own the entire state beach to myself!

I did have one satisfactory ride, but that was about it. I was paddling and paddling out, but I was being pushed backwards, and so it was a losing battle. Not only I was being pushed back, I was being pushed side ways, and in no time, I was pushed several hundred yards south where the waves were even gnarlier. I was paddling very hard to overcome the currents, it was starting to become like a 500 meter dash, and my body was requiring me to breath harder, and no matter how far I thought I got out, there were more waves breaking in front. Looking back though I was not making any progress at all, that's why the waves were breaking always in front of me!

As I attempted to get out and tried to ride walking back to where I thought was a channel a few more times, the sun has finally came up above the mountains and the waves started cast some nice slivery colored foams, I decided to give up, got up on the beach and did some additional Yoga moves that I have been learning.

I was no longer scared of the situation like I was when I started to surf, but a day like this always put me in a fresh new perspective in my surfing life.