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How to get skunked.
sit in the wrong place,
fight rouge waves,
paddle for duds,
sit too far inside only to get caught,
big sneaker sets,
high tide,
onshore winds,
sore arms from the last session,
not in the right frame of mind
shifty peaks
in need of a bitch slap
wrong position
I did all that today, and didn't score a wave.
6 consecutive session!! Most of these were on glassy waist high waves. Really mellow longboarding. There were two waves that really stuck to me. They were both sneakers.
The first one happened when I went for a glass-off session. It was super crowded because the weather was really nice and everyone was at the beach. I had to park way down at the last lot possible. I'd already surfed in the morning, but I thought it would be cool to make a night session. Quickly suited up and paddled out to a semi-crowded peak. The pack was thick and there were tons of people flopping around. Nothing wrong with that. I used to do that. But some of the more experienced surfers would not give a shit and start to paddle in front of me, even though they see I was right behind. I had to back off and not got a bit ticked at one dude. I was even contemplating dropping in on him just because. But I didn't. Anyhoo, a shoulder high set comes through. One mellow guy had already taken the first one of the set. I wasn't in position, but the guy sitting deeper than me hesitated. I quickly whipped it around, and stroked into my wave of the afternoon. It was about chest high, and mushy. I was able to crank a turn or two out of it before falling off. Needless to say, I was stoked to catch that. On the way back out, the guy who took the first one said that was a really nice wave. I grinned, and thanked him knowing that I got that one!
The next morning, I went out again. The tide was coming in, and the pack was thick again. But this time, it was only crowded at certain places. I was able to find a spot that only had one guy on it. I've surfed with him before and he's a really good surfer. He would take off really late on a long board. Except, he would paddle parallel to the beach and just wait for the tail to catch. It was awesome to see that. Anyway, I paddled out and sat to the right of him. He's a goofy, so I figured to surf the right. Not long after getting out, a set comes through and I let him take the first one. The second one stood up a little bit more than I expected. It looked like it would close out. I said fuck it and turned and stroked into it. The wave was very makeable and I made it pretty far inside before falling off. Why? I always fall off some of my better rides.
I paddle back out, big grin on my face. The other guy asks if I made it. I said yes, to which he responds, "That is a nice first wave!" . That pretty much set the tone of the session. I grabbed wave after wave, all the while, the peaks north of me were packed with black specks. I must of hit a wave count of 10 or so, and that was only after being out for 30 minutes. I took my last one in as the tide was starting to wash things out. And that was one of my more stoked sessions all week!
I did surf once last week, and once this weekend. Both sessions were pretty fun.
Surfing is the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm still kooking out most of the time. On Sat, I took a buddy out for his third session. I remember the times when I was in his shoes; standing there in the shorebreak, not knowing when to time the paddle out. Then when I did decide to start going for the outside, a set will come in and wipe all that progress away. No matter how much I tried, even a small 3 foot set would wipe out all the progress. Then I feel de-motivated and start to just stand and wait out the shore pound. But can that really happen at a beach break where the tide is outgoing and every little wave looks like a 5 foot closeout? By the time that lull comes, I've realized that I've been swept 50 yards down the beach and I still haven't made it to the outside.
Well, I guess I've progressed a little bit since then, but there are plenty of trying times when I just get humbled and be made to think that I can't surf worth shit. It happens to all of us. Even when you have had a good 5 day string of sessions, there will be that one day, where I feel like I can't surf and flail and just kook out on all waves.
I guess that is what makes surfing so hard. It is easy to get dejected and just turn around and come in. There's nothing wrong with it. I've done that plenty of times, especially when there's a big 6 foot closeout coming down on me. I'll turn around and go in, with my tail between my legs. But that is ok. At least I've tried.