I am over due for an update. Oh, what a winter this has been. There has been a lot of things going in my life this winter, not to mention about how difficult it was to find "surfable" surfs and the weather. Then to top this off, the Devil's Slide decides to "slide" at the end of the winter. Things did not stop there, we've also heard about some guy in Oahu who got infected by the "flesh eating disease" because of too much rain and the contaminated water.
Let's see where I left off.
I definitely have been surfing whenever I could. That has not stopped. However, I must say that I have not been getting really satisfactory sessions. Why these sessions were not satisfactory? The main reason is that I feel now need to really become a significantly stronger surfer than ever before. This issue is tangled with dealing with a lot of my own fears about the surfs. Somehow, I have developed this fear of currents this season. The fear is rooted to the fact that I kind of know that I still am not a strong enough surfer to be able to paddle around in situations where I should really want to be; a bit bigger, steeper and faster conditions than I have been accustomed to.
Here is one of the reasons why this fear is not unjustified. I do surf occasionally with people I know are much better than I am. I also try to paddle out in the situations that's a bit beyond I feel is comfortable. For example, when it was like 10 ft at 20 seconds swell hitting the bay. What I have found out in these situation is this.
When I'd paddle out I'd be in one of two situations. Either it is really hard to get out, or I would be swept fast out into the outside. As far as being swept to the outside, I know it is a bonus for most. For me though, if I cannot catch the waves once I am out and want to come back, I know it would be a lot of effort to get back in, and I am not entirely sure yet, if I can come back in. I wish that I knew the answer. So far, there has never been a situation where I could not come back in, because I can always catch some wither water and ride back in. But what happens if the board breaks in half or the leash snaps. I am having a hard time paddling with a board under me, can I really swim back?
The other side of the coin, however, is that I am becoming a bit bored with catching short and small waves on smaller days with easy paddle out. Because I know also that on these occasions when I do get further out on a bit bigger days or places where things tend to be bigger, and when and if I catch some of the waves, the quality of these rides are significantly great. The quality to me means that I can really do a lot on the waves making more types of turns.
So if I really need to cross this "confidence" level threshold so that I know that I can handle more powerful situations. This is a gradual thing, I know, because I also know that I came a long way. I am definitely riding more waves in more powerful situations, and I am out there when most other people are not out there. But I also know that I still have not attained the level to be a true contender in local surf competitions.
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Coming up on my next few logs, I would like to touch on some angers I had early on.
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