Surf: 9.2 ft at 19.0 s from WNW at 282° Low Tide. Side/offshore winds.
WHEEEEEE. 😀
After surfing the fish every day this week, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for real waves or exhausted.
From the cliff I could see big barreling waves at 38th. Not quite ready for 6-8ft mayhem, I paddled out further east looking for a nice, sensible 4-6ft mayhem.
Now, every time I do something like that, I paddle out, I’m feeling good then that 8ft set I was trying to avoid comes and finds me. Aaaaa. The first few waves I paddled like a maniac (maniac on a tiny tiny board) to get over. The third was going to break to far out so I stopped, waited, and decided to test out the duck dive ability on this board. AAaaand under. Whew. Just being able to do that gave me a huge confidence boost.
When it came to catching waves, I was struggling a bit. There was so much kelp. It was thick, it was everywhere, and with the limited glide it took a lot for me to get going. I drifted further and further from the crowd, looking for a less kelp covered spot where I could go for everything without dropping in on anyone.
A few attempts in, I finally got a wave. I got a nice long face where I could practice this whole turning stuff. It was so much fun. Bottom turn, top turn, bottom turn, cutback, drop, top turn all the way over to the next break. Yeah! I was starting to feel like I was getting the hang of this.
I got a few more as the day went on. Mostly bigger ones that closed out. All and all, worth the extra paddling. Got to watch Beamer and Darren get some nice ones too.