Going in when nobody else is going in is something I tend to do a lot, and I really cannot remember any times that I have truly regretted doing it. Yesterday, I got in the water all by myself. It was small so I did not feel unsafe. Besides at this spot, if you paddle out where the breaks are, you can still stand on the sand bar. It is kind of interesting that way. During this session, I've seen a few people watching from the cliff, presumably trying to decide they'd go in or not. For me though I don't have that kind of a luxury. Either I go before I hit the desk or I don't surf for that day.
Nevertheless, while I have had a fair share of zero-catch sessions, they are rare. I'd usually catch waves or two before I get out and head to the office. There usually is a wave or two in an hour to 90-min session even when it looks really flat out there.
So this morning, I did manage to catch a few waves, and a few of them were quite punchy enough for me that they were challenging -- as you know I am trying to work up to be able to catch more waves like really good people can do. Also I did not touch this subject in my recent log, but I now try to catch the wave as if a life depends on it. That means that I will continue to paddle until I am very certain that I did not have a wave, and a few of the take-offs really worked in my favor. I think that it would be a worthwhile effort to keep on paddling into the wave a bit longer before giving up that you did not have the wave.
Another change that I am experiencing is that I almost did not realize how hard of a pressure that I can actually experience in making a turn; especially after at the very bottom of (at least it seems like it) a big straight drop, and that a board can actually hold up to this. As I executed my first bottom turn the pressure on the bottom my feet feel like as if I jumped out from the second floor of a building, and the board is actually making a turn and I am still on the board and it is going so fast that I still feel I am a bit out of control as to what I can do next. On the land, and right now, I know what I could have done. I could really have utilized that speed and power to go back up the wave and do the next one almost just as powerful as the first. Right now, for me though, it is still "easier said than that" stage. But I have a feeling that now that I am tasting a lot more of that today, I think I will get to the point to harness that power.
The spray being thrown at the back of my board on turns at the competition picture is good, but they are nothing like the professional-size spray. My next goal is to get to the point that on the turns these sprays are much more pronounced, perhaps doubling in size.
I feel like I have already starting to unlatch the next door with a bit of a glimpse into what happens next.
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