3 at 9, no wind. One would think clean, fun, waist-to-chest high waves.
Stopped at Power Poles in my quest for a morning surf. No one out and too much fog to see what was going on.
Continued down the spit, hoping to find someone to surf with. At Bay Street, I found R, B’s brother. This is a guy who surfs Slater-style, who grew up surfing, who has a style and ability that exist in a separate world than the one in which I reside, and one I am totally fine admitting I won’t ever be part of. Fortunately, he’s a nice guy, so we discussed paddling out. No one else was on the – get this – overhead left R pointed out. Overhead? But it’s 3 at 9! I remembered, this happened last time I tried to surf Bay Street on what should’ve been a small day.
Despite wishing I’d brought a different board more suited to these conditions, I did OK. Nothing stellar, but I made it out and found a right that was fun. I didn’t get the big left I was hoping for, but the takeoffs were steep, fast and intimidating enough that I couldn’t quite place myself in the right spot. R, of course, made these physics-defying drops in the curl of the wave. The less steep, fast, intimidating ones didn’t have enough juice to catch, but I did somehow pull off a couple small lefts before running out of time. Mental practice was the key focus of the morning: getting out through slamming sets, dialing in on where to be when, normalizing the experience of more threatening surf. Overall, a worthwhile experience. I’d do it again.
The more I read these, the more I want to sell my mountain bike and buy a surf board!
-boy
Ha! Remind me to post about the time I broke my leash in double overhead surf. And about a great white attacking my friend 30 feet away from me. And the cold. And how many times I check the surf to no avail (I should keep a “Skunked” tally!). And being hit by my board so hard I blacked out for a moment. And being caught in currents so strong at the Jetty that the only way out was to clamber up the rocks. And being rag-dolled underwater for so long, drowning seemed a distinct possibility.
But, yeah, other than that, it’s hella fun.
heehee
Ha! I keep a bike crash tally on my blog! I hope you get skunked more than I crash, but my luck can turn on any given day.
-boy