Session 8010: Home Break, Being Cold? Some Insight.

WavLOG

Day 10

This morning, I almost did not go. I went to check out another spot, but the cold air was blowing rather strong, and it was not enticing. A bit fortunate news is that the Jetty is a bit more NW winds protected, and there were occasional fun looking waves. I also put on the HERO camera on my wrist and paddled out. The resulting pictures are below. As with any in-water surfing photography, it is difficult to hold steady, so these are the best I can do today. I want to talk a bit about the cold, so check out the photos and read on. (Also, if you click on the pics on the blogger post itself, you can see them a bit larger http://WavLog.StokeMaster.com)

Being Cold is Half The State of Yourself

There are Buddhist priests in Japan who would stand under a small water-fall in the winter to train themselves. I too was amazed by people getting into the water this time of the year. With the invention of the wetsuits, it has significantly improved the situation, but we still all tend to complain.

What I have found out though, is like anything, if you keep doing it, your body and mind will start to learn to cope with it. For me the first 5 minutes or so of surfing is the hardest, and especially the first duck dive is something I really don't look forward to, but once I'm done with all that the rest of the session is not cold. I paddle around a lot to keep myself warm, and I can actually get quite toasty inside a 4/3 suit, especially around the chest and the tummy area. Even on a windy day like this, I am perfectly fine. One blessing is that in the winter, the water temp does not go much below 50 F even when it is 32 F in the morning.

So get in the water, it is wamer there!