Session 7171

WavLOG

Day 171
Other Side of the Track

Another Day in Paradise...

As I promised on my last WavLOG, this morning, I did drive south, walked half a mile and go under the wooden railroad trestle, and surfed good two hours.

Probably the condition was nothing to write home about by the people who frequent here, but the it was sunny, no winds, and "A"s were popping here and there with up to my shoulder level.

I took out my Takayama Egg 7'2 today (though F4 would have worked just as well), and caught many waves, almost all of which were the kind that you can see the wave walling up next to you, and take off was not too hard either. What really great, especially compared to yesterday, was the quality of the break. Waves just broke more ideally. The swells came in slowly and clearly and also grew slowly and very consistently at nearly the same spot. All I had to do was to go there and just wait for the wave to come, and everything came and shaped as predicted at the pace I could handle. This is usually not the case with, say, surfing at Montara where everything happens so much faster and stronger and ends fast too, so there I would be much more in haste and also exhausting to ride.

On Sunday, Luke asked me whether I feel any differences between the F4 board and others, and I was thinking about it since then, so I will try to answer this in the way that I am experiencing it.

One thing that is going with this board is the F4 board is one of more stable short boards I have. Ever since I got it, I have been noticing that this board was noticeably easy to get up than other short boards. This is likely that the I am more used to this board.

Once up on the wave, the speed feel is good and I can challenge myself with turning more aggressively. I am definitely under-skilled for the board's potential, but anything I tried so far, the board responded as I would expect, and the response was very positive and quick. One of the boards I owned before caused the tail to become very unstable under some speed, drifting left and right. This board has never done that. The board also rarely slip out of my feet when I get up on it.

Comparing the F4 to the Egg that I used today, I am presently surfing the Egg with a single-fin configuration with a big center fin only (as Luke puts it "A Soul Surfing Board") This board is a breeze to take-off with and speed is good. Even it is 7'2 I can and have to walk towards the nose when needed and overall it really rides like a long board; really smooth rides and really likes to be turned on a large radius on bigger waves. But it definitely is harder to turn compared to the F4. For example, let's say that I just did a bottom turn and now I am going up on the wave and when the wave unexpectedly decides to close. If I was on the F4, turning on the top against the wave and cutting back is a bit easier task. I think this is largely the skill issue with myself as I have seen many long boarders can do some amazingly fast turns.

Please share your experiences with different boards!

Session 7168 Long Long Boarding

WavLOG

Day 7168
San Mateo to
Long Long Boarding

This week, I am surfing in Southern California on vacation. We can really tell surfing really is a lifestyle. As such we try to do it before work, after work, and on vacation, and even some literature suggest that surfing is only a few of the sports that do not require other types of conditioning. Even professionals train only through surfing and a bit of stretching exercise.

From Northern California, we almost always drive here, so I (can) take a large chunk of my quivers. On this trip I took Walden Magic 9'0, Takayama Egg 7'2 and my "work horse" shortboard Stretch F4 which is 6'5.

Yesterday I took out the Walden 9'0 and I went to the San Onofre's Old Man's and while waves were small overall there were some fun shoulder level waves. People are super mellow and multiple take-offs are OK here to a good extent, and when I'd catch a wave, the ride just lasts a long long time. The wait for the sets was long, but once they came it would last for 3-4 waves so just let the first one go by and there are plenty to catch.

The water was surprisingly colder than I thought; of course it was much warmer in any of the Nor Cal spots this time of the year. After getting out a lot of people were shivering though I had just a very comfortable session. I think that they probably wear 3-2 s and I am using 4-3s. People were wearing anywhere from spring suits to just a trunk!

Today I am going to meet an old Stokemaster buddy of mine in Manhattan so I think I am going to go for either ones of the shorter boards.

(I need to continue to apologize for my crappy English. I need to crank those out very very fast and before I know it I am out of time to read it over. Rather than to sit on it, I just push those out hoping that I can accomplish most of the communications of the stoke.)

Session 7100, Did Not Get Caught Inside!

This is the 100th session of 2007. No it does not mean I had surfed 7100 times in my life!

We are in the height of the summer condition where there is not much local winds, but further north in Mendocino county are usually a lot of NW winds, causing some summer fun waves locally.

Weekends usually has been the time to go out with our neighborhood friends to a beach near-by. We cover anywhere from Gray Whale to Waddell Creek on these sessions, but mostly confined to the area of Montara to within the city limits of Half Moon Bay, and occasionally we extend our visit to Pacifica. But that has become less and less especially in the summer.

After a brief surf check from atop the cliff (that's usually the NorCAL surf check), we decided (actually I've convinced my buddy to) get in the water at the location in the picture. It looked easy enough but it turns out to be the same old pattern, very hard paddle getting out. Looking back even just a year ago, I think that I have given up on that. I was even on a Takayama DT4 this time, which is a 9 ft long board. But I was able to get out without too much fuss, at least the first time. I had to time the lull and dash out. Now the dash out number works. Previous season, even dashing out was not working. I can tell this because there were couple of more local surfers that I went out a lot last year, and they could but I could not. So that's one thing that I have really starting to be able to do. I am definitely much faster than short boarders who were there, and that was not even the case last season. I'd be on a long board, and I paddled slower then!

Back to the session, my buddy finally given up after catching a few rides, so I got out too and asked him if he'd try again, and as we talked the ocean started to become calm. But he joked that as soon as one of us would step in the waves start to crank up and he went back to the car. That is usually so true!

I walked up much further into the north end of the beach and got in. As soon as I stepped into the liquid, sure enough, the waves starts to crank. It was shallow enough I could walk for a bit deeper, but more inside wither water kept crushing on me. I just hanged onto the board and let the side current take me to wherever it wants to go. But after a while, I was successfully swept into a rapid rip, and that was all I needed to get out. Initially it was a mess with water colliding from every which directions, but the further and further I paddled, it got calmer and calmer, and finally I made back to the outside. There it was just nice and calm with occasional sets coming in.

When I was starting out, I look at these people in amazement that they get out to way way outside through these kind of mess. I am vividly remembering that. First I could not even understand how they could do that, and what kind of a confidence required to get so far out. "What if they cannot come back?" "Can they swim back?" I thought that they must be awfully confident about themselves. And when I tried, I was so scared of it and I often wondered if I could continue with the sport much longer. Even a more blow to my confidence, and so to my own personal existence, was there were young kids, man and women of all ages that did with smile in their faces, all seemingly relaxed.

This season, I think that I can bear more smiles on my face as I get out in more conditions, and to me personally, I do feel that I have overcame a lot of fear, built more confidence paddling out as well as riding back. For me that's truly a sense of personal accomplishment. And this is coming from a person who was a "D" student in high-school physical education classes.

Session 7099 DP

The day is sure getting shorter. How do I notice that? Well, it is called setting the alarm clock at 5:30 AM in the morning. Now at 5:30 it started to be dark.

How do I know if it is getting darker?

That's because our cat patiently awaits in the morning, and as soon as I step out of the bed, she will show her way to the food tray, and it is so dark that I need to turn the lights on to get there. Even a month ago, it was not like that.

Of course it is even darker when it is foggy out.

It continues to amaze me that us surfers tend to be so much more tuned to the natural cycle of the planet, sun rise/set and moon, tide, winds... And that makes it really appreciate the changes.

Summer DP surfing continues at local beaches as more options are starting to opening up this past week. It has been a lot of fun actually because there are plenty of challenging wave shapes and situations that are really fun for short boarding. If not for you, for me, at least.

I am continuing to work on getting up on the board faster, in control when the waves are faster. This morning, there were couple of better surfers catching a lot more waves than I was, but I am starting to catch these waves too. It has taken me over 4 years of 150+ days a year of surfing. But I am starting to realize that I am just about at the end of the first phase of being a beginner surfer and becoming a totally new beginner of the second phase.

Tomorrow on the 100th session of this year, and I am going to start to think a bit differently on how to develop my surfing in upcoming sessions.

Session 7095: Sorry I Was The One Catching More Waves...

If you saw a while long boarder guy today and catching a lot of waves, that could have been me at the famous beginner break in the county.

Actually I was thinking about this for a bit while I was in the water.

In 2004 or even 05, I would go out and I was extremely frustrated that why other people catch so many more waves and when it was a wave I could catch, there was already someone on it. It was really frustrating, and it is still frustrating because there will be other occasions and places that the same thing happens still.

But here are some things that I am starting to discover;

• If you are catching a lot of waves, then you tend to catch more. Somehow, other people tend to, perhaps, submit to you a bit?
• I am much more aware of what is happening around me. I know who's better than me, and I know who are not catching, messing up all the time, or showing up with totally inappropriate board for the condition, where they are relative to me etc... A set comes, and if that better guy goes first, along with the people who paddle for every damn wave, all of which usually happens, then I let him and them go, because I will be on the next wave where everything is all clear.
• I catch second or third one in the set that can be a bit smaller, and less desirable, but by now I have built a little more confidence that I can muscle through some take offs on smaller ones in the set.
  
• I usually manage to find sub peaks so I avoid competing with the best surfers out.
  
• I show up with a longer board.
• I paddle a bit further from the outside, so people know I am going to get the wave.
• If someone is font of me to catch the same wave I will be, I will shout, "I am Up!", "Going Right!" etc.

I never have to have an aggressive attitude, and I always give waves (especially the ones that blows up ). "Go ahead! It's yours!", but as soon as the surfer start to paddle in I would also shout "Hey Don't waste it!" (Oh, what a pressure, I am excreting!)

Session 7093: The Only Game in Town

Every once in a while "the only game in town" situation occurs. It is like a high-school reunion. Everyone... people like me who is not very good but surf a lot, and then there are super champions at local competitions, and peopole whom I never see on this side of the slide all in one mix, all bunched up in one spot, and all at the same time!

This past week I often surfed alone, or with one or two more people in places and these people never show up, so it must be that they must really surf totally different places than I do and they know what's better.

As for the session goes, it was still walling up and not easy fun wave, but the best of the breeds were making some good moves on the wave. Definitely I am planning on getting there.

Also, this morning, I had a late late start of 9:00 as I had to work on a customer issue right when I got up and took for a while. So it is also the case that some of the better surfers just spend all morning finding a good spot. Not for me, I have to get what comes for about an hour and have to get to work!

Seesion 7092 Two Seals - Better Get Out Of There

Normally I won't be spooked, but when two seals showed up and I was all by myself out there, well, I'd rather not want to be on tomorrow's newspaper. I am not so scared of getting eaten up. Today is just as good of day for me to die than tomorrow. But I really am more spooked of the idea that the the papers, web sites and TVs can sell more ads because of my death. I consider myself much more expensive and precious for that!

Session 7091 Why Is It So Hard To Get Out?

Finally things are becoming usual and typical of the area... It definitely looked doable from the shore, there were some sand-bars, and I go to the outside in one shot the first time, but after that getting back to the outside got so difficult. Every time I end up in the impact zone and cannot paddle away from it.

Finally I gave up, paddled back to the shore, got out and looked at the situation.

I walked down the beach for good 2-3 minutes and got in. The first part was still difficult, then suddenly it got quiet. Looked back I was both carried down further south and also to the outside.

Session 7090

This morning, thinking like it would still be a repeat of Sunday, I went back to the same spot. As I was pulling in, another local guy we know just pulled out, and there were no other cars, so I have guessed that the condition was not going to be that great.

These days, I know enough faces and their cars that the moment I pull in to the spot, I know it is going to be good or bad.

I would have paddled out even if it was all by myself, but sure enough the waves were just a mess and a lot of backwash waves were already causing the area bouncy in the inside. Sometimes these backwashes can be horrible as the bouncing reflected waves collide with incoming waves and make a huge splash.

I gave up on the spot and I drove up a further north. By then I only had 50 minutes to go, so I went ahead and went in. Paddled out no problem but could not catch a wave. They were either too closed out or backing off.

But water was exceptionally warm, and I was hot in my 4/3. Good paddling exercise as the current was, as usual, very strong there and if I stop paddling, I would be washed way outside and way to the south. It still scares me a bit when that happens, especially when I was all by myself.

Session 7087 Small, A Bit Messy, But Beautiful Morning

I was able to get up extra early this morning, and get out to a local break.

A few weeks ago, my alarm clock crapped out due to continuous dropping from my side table (not by me, by someone else!) So I decided to get an alarm clock with a CD player. As much of a computer and gadget geek as I am, I actually have not done something like getting up to a music, but I plugged in a Brian Eno CD to it, and it is great because the music comes up really from low volume and the gradually builds up in kind of an organic mood. I listen to a lot of Jazz but waking up to Art Blakey's drumming is not quite my idea of waking up. This is ideal, and I have been kind of stoked about this because getting up early and smoothly is a requirement for my surfing lifestyle, and getting a good relaxed session sets up for the rest of the day.

It was a beautiful morning with not much local winds, sunny skies, warm 56F water, and just a gorgeous beach, and crystal clear water to get into. I had basically the beach to myself. There was only another surfer out, but this surfer was all the way to the other end of the beach, so might as well not count one.

Waves were small, and a bit disorganized, so I was tempted to head further north, but then I thought, why screw around, lose time, aggravated with crowds when I can surf here basically by myself, and hopefully a few of my friends will show up in a bit, and that would be fun too.

I took my 9'0 Walden Magic. As usual, the inside was already blocking my way out with white water after another. But I am tuned into the channel and I get on a conveyor belt if I pick the entry right. Later on my Japanese buddy showed up and we surfed the second half. We decided to walk back to the channel and retry as the strong side current will continue to push us towards the direction of Pacifica where I did not want to go. Re-entry idea turned out to be a great idea. I started to catch some fun hollow waves.

My buddy pointed out to me in Japanese that I really go for the edge of late take-off ("Kiwadoi"). That was a fun ride, it was more like how I'd go for with a short board. I was actually thinking about that for a while, and I came to the conclusion that I am basically a lazy surfer.

I am lazy to the extent that I don't want to consume a lot of energy, because I don't want to show up at work all exhausted, and I am not that strong of a surfer either. So over the years, I tended to opt for late take offs to let the wave help me take off rather than paddling really far and hard. Same way with paddling back after finishing a ride. I use the channel or if there is a lot of white water coming through, I just either get off the board and wait, or sit up or if I am on a short board, I would just keep ducking in the same spot then when the time is right I start to dash forward.

I still admire a lot of local experts who finish a ride and paddle right back. I am starting to do that, but it will be a bit more time in the water.

While the condition in the water was not so optimum, anything above was. As the sun started to go up higher in the sky, the color of the whole place changes and it was just gorgeous and we should be thankful that we have these marine sanctuaries for all of us to enjoy, free. Having lived near the ocean now, I have realized that we cannot take these things for granted, but we should fight for them, and there always are threats.

Sessions 7085-6, More Summer Surfing

One of the things that I am starting to realize is this.

Local wind swells, especially mixed in with background level swells, make it very difficult to forecast what is going to happen.

In Northern California, many of us are familiar with micro-climates, but they also apply to local swells too. Also, it really proves me the point that wind swells are really ridable. Of course, if you ask people who venture out in the middle of winter in the Great Lakes all know about it.

The waves come from all directions, and also not consistently but it is kind of a situation where if you wait long enough there can be some fun waves.

Session 7082: Accident!

Damn! I had a somewhat of a setback.

I took off on a closeout wave, the board wabbled, and the board knocked my finger #4 (#3 if you are a C++ or C# programmer), and sprained it. I surfed the rest of the session, but afterwards the middle knuckle was swollen and I bandaged it to to immobilize it.

I know it will take 6 weeks to heal. Between my acclaimed collection of motorcyles and surfing accidents, I know and I even don't finish all of the prescribed Vicodine just in case this sort of things happen.

I will be surfing on my Morrey Boogie for next several sessions. Perhaps, I will try to re-develop the "palm on the deck" flick up after that. A while ago when I posted about that technique some people disagreed that that won't be a good way to flick up. But they will see.

Oh well, what did I tell you in my disclaimers all over, "Surfing is a dangerous sport..."

You all be careful. You never know. Smaller waves seems to be more dangerous!

ST PM Totally Blown

While the tide came down, unfortunately, the wind picked up again this PM, making surfing not so much fun. The swell is definitely coming, and tide was up, so the wind is substracting element this afternoon. Hope for better tomorrow.