I Had A Lot Of Fun

I paddled out at Pappy's takeoff spot today. Way down near the lifeguard tower. By the time the waves wrapped that far into the bay, you could go left or right. My best wave was a left, in fact. I saw one guy unload on someone who shoulder hopped him and I laughed at both of them. If you only go to the beach when there's swell, what the hell do you expect will happen?

I'm going to stay dry tomorrow so that I can rest up for a quick strike mission down to North County on Saturday. I haven't surfed in Carlsbad or Encinitas in over 10 years. I grew up there, but have hardly visited. I'm worried that I'll fall in love all over again and curse myself for ever leaving.

Better Than Yesterday

It was pretty fun until the tide dropped and took the jugo with it. I talked with a couple of friendly guys, caught a dozen or so waves and was very glad I paddled out. It's weird how you can have such a good session despite not being into it at first.

I was expecting it to be awful, but I guess there's a wee swell. I never know what's coming or going. I never pay attention to surf reports. I just consult my little tide book, look at the trees to figure out what's up with the wind and off I go.

Why?

I knew it was going be an awful session when I had to step over a big pile of human feces on the rocks. Yuck. After the poo hurdle, I paddled out and just sat and sat and sat. I eventually did the paddle of shame and didn't catch a single wave. Not one.

BCB owes me. All the times I sat out there in windy, awful conditions. All the times I surfed there when I could have gone somewhere else. What about all the beach cleanups? BCB owed me just one decent wave and I couldn't even get that.

She's a harsh mistress.

More Fun That It Should Have Been

It was a windy mess, but I had a lot of fun. The sloppy, warbly waves were fun to take off on. I got bored after a while though, so I took off my leash and tried to do some fins-first take offs. Then I tried to go switch stance. I just screwed around and didn't have a care in the world.

Surfing magazine's new cover asks, "What are you on? - Surfboards that matter today." As far as I'm concerned, the board that mattered today was that busted-ass funboard I keep behind my couch.

Such A Nice Afternoon

It was so pretty this afternoon. There was very little wind and the stormy clouds were gorgeous. There wasn't much in the way of surf, but I wasn't complaining. My short board is dinged and I'm sick of longboarding, so all I had left was my couch board. My couch board is the funboard that sits behind the couch in the guest bedroom. It is in terrible shape and I've seen people yelled at for paddling them into the line-up at the Crime Scene, but it was all I had.

Like I said before, I love that goofy thing. It may be hideous, but it's mine and it's watertight. And I didn't get beat up by the dudes on the stairs. Bonus.

Forget Land

My favorite beach break did not disappoint. Tiny but fun.

The drive home through traffic here in LA is a daily insult. It's so easy to lose your stoke by the time you walk through the door. Oh well.

As I was mired in traffic I heard a great old school jam and it really mellowed me out. Enjoy.

Real Surfers Ding Their Boards

I was talking to Ripper on the way home, admitting how I kooked out and dinged the hell out of my rail. I wish I had some great story to go along with the ding. Sadly, I punctured the rail by knocking it over and watching it slam into my desk in our home office.

Ripper made me feel better, though. His theory - and I think it's a good one - is that most surfers pick up more dings on land than in the water. Boards get dropped in the parking lot, smashed on stairs, clipped when putting them into the car, etc. Also, the more you surf, the more dings you'll have because your board gets more exposure.

It makes sense to me. All those pressure dings, mangled fins, cracks and rough patches speak to a board that has been well-loved. A dinged board is a good board.