Sunday, June 11, 2006

Back in Nor Cal

Today was the second day at my home break at the Jetty, after nearly a week in the Waikiki break. First thing, I hear so many people complaining about our water being so cold and won't surf. As for me, I actually see not much difference in terms of the comfort. I put on the XCEL 4/3 with a 2 mm hood and a pair of XCEL booties. The first dip in the water is, admittedly, a wake-up call, but after that I paddle out hard and I am just as being comfortable as in Waikiki waters, and I also admit that after surfing without wet suits, it really felt strange, like wearing one of these medieval armor and go to a battle with the waves. But once I was in the water, it became a business as usual, and with my arms spring loaded with rubber, I felt like I was getting more arm exercise.

In terms of the waves, it also was a welcome change from these Waikiki waves. Today, waves were on a "mellower" side, but yet, there were some hollow sections that I could enjoy (not saying that Waikiki won't have it, and of course O'ahu is the place for really great waves, but then I am just a regular surfer.)

Paddle out here means less than two minutes, and ride also means just 5-10 seconds today, but I just get the same stoked excitement about catching waves, and I can be back on a short board, and when I catch some of the breaks successfully, there just more speed to and power to the ride that I missed -- (at least trying to) cranking the bottom and snapping off the top is something that is really exciting and that's something I want work a lot more on!

Perhaps, next time I would be back in O'ahu, I would get enough courage to try out these North Shore waves, but somehow, I think that is still a long long way.

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