republished the blog
I resisted this long, but I've reconfigured this blog so that it is published on the top level. I want this to help my technorati ranking.
« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 »
December 28, 2005
December 26, 2005
Number 134-135
Fun utility session, with some small rides...finally took out the miller again. its now all patched up and water tight. i put a big 11 inch fin on it and my brother has been riding it. he says its been a smooth ride.
135 - skunked! no rides, long paddles...side shore currents, more paddling, almost make it to the outside. some waves, all of them reforming...then i get skunked
December 18, 2005
Session 133
Only a few words to describe my latest session.
Rainy,
crowded,
arggo attitudes abundant in a popular beach break
closeouts,
cold
high tide killed a lot of the shape
i got one small ride
i looked like a complete kook.
December 15, 2005
Yummy fish.
In two months, I will be holding onto a 4 fin, approx. 6 foot, with blue resin tinted and pinstriped. Umm..maybe glassed-on fins will look bitching too!
In case you think I am talking in Hebrew, here is a picture of what I am talking about.
I hear these things are for pure speed. If you are interested in one, go on over to www.mandalacustomshapes.com. He'll take care of you.
Session 132
Fun day at the bell.
Waist high peelers with a lot of shape
cold water and cold hands
sun was peaking through
got a memorable ride where i bottom turn and then top turn
bent knees makes a big difference
left hand peeler where i was at the sweet spot and was tempted to reach for the nose.
stoked to get some fun ones in
December 13, 2005
130 and 131
Will I be able to make 150 this year? Its a long shot, but who knows. Maybe a few of those double sessions down in LA will help.
So Sunday, I went with Edlyn up north to escape the dumpy closeout beach I now call home. It was a fun session, with a few nice lefts. The beach was breaking head high on the bigger sets and mostly waist + on the other ones. Since I got there in the afternoon, it wasn't as crowded, as I can see people driving the other direction with surfboards. I don't remember any particular rides, except that I really miss cranking a right bottom turn. I drifted into the main pack during the middle of the session and didn't get any rides. I am still too timid and will just hang back if I am sitting with a lot of people. That is one reason why I like surfing mornings during the week. I gave up after catching a small left hander and finished the day off hunting for italian cookies in a small little town called Larkspur.
Today I went out in what I think is one of my more consistent chest + day. I decided against the middle of the beach today. It was a gut feeling when I finally walked down to the beach. I probably would have been able to surf there, but from what I learned playing cards, your gut is most often right on. I went a little further south and paddled out when a long lull came through. I was beginning to think I won't catch any rides today. Then the sets started coming. At first I was paddling and turning left again. Halfway through, I realized I was pretty setup to go right. Man, do I miss going right! I had some fun rides and I remembered to bend my knees and that made a world of a difference in the control I gained.
I still need to work on realizing that I am at the top of a wave and need to cut back to keep going. But I think it is a start. I got two memorable shoulder high waves today. The first one, I was in position and stroked into it from the outside, made a nice right turn and just cruised for a while. The second wave, I sat deeper inside and comitted to a more closeout right hander. As I dropped to the bottom, I looked to my right and just saw the wave wall up and ready to just dump. I didn't get a bad spin cycle, but the ride ended rather quickly. It was just an exhilirating drop and I had to mention it here.
December 08, 2005
#129 for the year
Finally a decent swell rolls in
shoulder high with sneaker sets
gloomy, glassy, offshorey
fun rides, lefties, some more closeouts
sandbar is not back in effect yet
afternoon lunch session madness
what else to it?
mellow crowd, me catching a bunch of fun rides.
December 07, 2005
session 127 and 128
nothing to report on number 127. flat as a lake, and small little playful ones. i sat for an hour and only got two.
Today, the new swell began to show a little. I paddled out north and sat for a while. A set of 5 big closeouts rolled through and pounded the beach. I got caught in a few sneaker sets that came through before deciding to paddle south a little. It was way more mellow there. The closeouts did still come, but it wasn't as big as previously.
I got some lefft handers and did an ok job popping up faster on a wave i thought was going to closeout. I got a few more but they were not really special. I noticed that on a few rides, I bent my knees a little differently, and the entire ride felt different. But on any wave where I cut to the right and then try to cut left again, I will just stiffen my knees and will not be able to stay on the board. I would bail most of the time.
Things to remember are to try for a few more waves, stop looking down at my feet and bend my knees.
December 05, 2005
Small utility session 126
I am so off with six days out of the water. Even though today was a small day, I just didn't feel it. There were definately many waves to be had, but I wasn't agressive enough to turn and try for ones that others were trying for. I should do it a little more, I just have to pay attention and pull out if someone gets on it.
I got maybe three rides, sat north of the showers, and it was far from spectacular. Needless to say, it was still a good feeling to be back in the water. It is definately winter surf. The air is a lot colder than fall.
Gone are the days where the air is warm. Gone are the days where the parking lot is full in the morning. Gone are the days where sloppy onshore winds kill most of any shape that flows into LM. Things are now replaced with cold icy air, 50 degree water, booties and gloves are almost a must for any session; I'm even thinking about a hood. But, the upside is that the Alaskan storm track will be sending us many playful mornings where offshore breezes will keep these water mountains well groomed and well mannered for those of us who wants to wake up to sneaker sets closing out over your head. GOOD MORNING!
2 Mikes, 2 Daves, 2 Jens, Jason and Me
How often can you get 6 people together but only have three names? It happened this weekend when I went to Tahoe for some preseason snowboarding action. The drive up was fairly uneventful. I made it up there in 3.5 hours and I didn't have to use chains. The snow was awesome! 3-5 feet of fresh powder, most of the California and Nevada side open. There was powder everywhere.
I truely got to test out my bindings I got two years ago. I mean, last year, I used them only once and that didn't really give me a true feel for them. While strapping in for the ride up to the base, I thought I might have forgotten how to snowboard.
I got a lot of runs in, all of which progressed a little faster and faster. The bindings were really responsive and the carves I made were fast and did not require much effort. I even attempted some jumps and made a few of them, abeit they were small little hops more than jumps.
I was able to bomb down from the top of the mountain all the way to the bottom. Some of the flatter spots were so fun for just some point and go; requiring very little carving. We went down one closed trail, thinking the snow operators were keeping the good stuff to themselves. After sliding down some rocks, I realized why the trail was closed. There were a lot of fun spots on the run, but there were still uncovered areas. Umm...maybe next time..
Now I am really itching for some back-country action!