Month: May 2008

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First Time Solo

Conditions: Wow, good waves for good surfers, too big for me.*
Gear: Soft Top rental board from NorCal Surf Shop

Wow, crazy day to try my first Solo surf. The weather was beautiful. Waves, however, were a little scary. Conditions were definitely above my skill set. I panicked on the first wave I caught and immediately pearled. Somehow I managed to get stuck under my board and spent some agonizing seconds wondering why on earth I’d insisted I could surf by myself after only 3 days in the waves.

I took my board, headed back to the beach and laid in the sun till some friends came. Kneeled on a wave or two after that, but mostly hung out in the whitewater boogie-board style.

*I’m gonna guess this was 4-7 ft, mostly on the higher end. Sets were far enough apart that I could still paddle out in the lulls, but once I caught a wave I really didn’t know what to do with it other than fall. Oh well, I guess it pays to practice falling too…

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Back in the water!

Conditions: Medium/small waves, pretty consistent sets with a little wind*
Gear: Soft Top rental board from NorCal Surf Shop plus some Xcel 3mm Split Toe Infiniti Booties

Time to test the skills I learned in class out on my own. Lauren and I rented some boards and wetsuits from Nor Cal. For anyone interested, Nor Cal is close to the beach. Walk in, pay $28 for a board and a suit, and you’re good to go. It’s worth buying the booties. Rocks are sharp.

It was over all a nice day. Surfing without the instructors isn’t as easy as I’d hoped. I’m still kneeling to standing instead of popping up. Paddling out is still hard, but I’m getting a lot of practice in.

Yes, my nail polish and board match. No, that was not intentional. Serendipity and surfing go hand in hand.

*Probably on the smaller side of 3-5ft and breezy.