Pride Goeth Before a Fall

I discovered how true that is. I was working this left that was just about perfect. A perfect left at the home break? Yep. Somehow, in between the lulls and the closeouts, I scored a couple of long, juicy lefts that had me content for the remainder of the day. No, not the remainder of the session—the remainder of the entire day. So, this first left didn't seem to be anything special when I started paddling for it. The waves today were good enough, but they weren't epic or anything. I was simply on it today. As a result, my wave count was high. I was going for whatever I thought I could get. But, I digress . . . so I get this left and before I knew it, the shoulder got longer and longer. As I rode this wave, I could feel that all was right with the world. Everything felt right: body language, foot placement, position on the face, etc. I was having a ball and it showed. I went up and down the face. I did a soul arch. I was pretty damn sure of myself and my abilities while I was on this wave. After a lot of carving and posing, I decided I would step up to the nose. Before I could even finish the thought about making my way to the nose, the board stopped abruptly and I was sent headlong into the water. Then I got caught inside when a 500 wave set rolled through. While getting worked, I managed to swallow enough water to make my throat burn. (In fact, my throat is still sore.) By the time I paddled back out, I was humbled to say the least. Humbled but smiling from ear to ear. That wave was tasty! I learned my lesson on that one: keep your ego to yourself. Okay, well, I was keeping it to myself. All of the thoughts I had about how well I was riding the wave were in my head. Nonetheless, I think the lesson to be learned was not to even allow those thoughts to enter my head. Just shut up and surf! When I got the second wave like that, I simply surfed it and did a little happy yell once it was over. Two nice long lefts in one session. Heaven!

I surfed yesterday too. I was underwhelmed. I'd gotten up early, headed out early in order to beat the high tide, and then sat around waiting. I saw waves at the first spot I hit. However, there weren't consistent and I knew as soon as the tide came up an inch the place would shut down. The second spot I hit—the home break—was closed out. The third spot confused me. It wasn't quite closed out and it wasn't quite showing waves worth riding. I stayed there for awhile before heading back to the home break to wait for the tide to come up and slow things down. The only thing I liked about Saturday's session was surfing with Grace. The waves were mostly closed out. There wasn't much shape to them. Still, I love to surf with Grace. She cracks me up. This was the second time in a few weeks that she's brought up that dumb Chicago Bears "Superbowl Shuffle" song from the '80s. And if you don't remember it, she does a quick little rendition of it for you. I don't quite remember the song. I do remember the horrible video and a lot of horrible attempts at dancing by the Bears, including Jim McMahon.

Everything about today's session was positive. Soul Brother #1 sent me on my way, saying he was cool with me surfing as long as I could be home by 11:00. Since it was 7:45 when he told me this, I got my butt out of the house and straight to the home break, which I thought might be a little less closed out since the swell was decreasing. Parking today was free. The payment machine was out of order when I got there. I felt no need to leave a note. I figured it was simply my good luck to get free parking. Once in the water, I felt great. I felt on. Mind you, I don't usually feel dialed in. But I've found that the longer I surf, the easier it is for me to get dialed in when I really want to. Today, I wanted it. And with me it's like flipping a switch. When I know I'm feeling good, I simply decide that I'm going to go for everything and anything that's mine. I didn't cut anyone off or snake anyone. Through most of the session, I was between a woman who couldn't catch anything and a guy on a fish who was catching very little. That meant I was cleared for take-off. When I saw a wave I wanted, I caught it. When I saw them going for waves they wanted, I watched. Once I'd assessed the fact that they were having problems, I pretty much got every wave I decided I should have. It was just one of those good days in the water when the wave gods smiled on me. The two great lefts were made even better by the fact that people saw them. One of the locals whose surfing I envy told me he'd seen them. Another local told his friends he was going to sit next to me since I was catching all the waves. What's ironic is that after the second left, I turned off. I was mentally done. I'd had my fill. As is typical of surfers, I didn't get out. But I didn't go for many waves either. I sat there and took it all in. I watched everyone else. When I decided I was cold, I caught a short left and got out. And, yes, I was home by 11:00.