It's Getting Mighty Crowded

Who sang that? What do you mean you don't know that song? Think back to the 80's. British dude. Well, I think he's actually Irish. He's still around too.

Yeah, it's much too crowded out there. I got to the break at around 6 a.m. There were a few people in the water. All it took to make me suit up was one ride. Once I saw that, I was on it. I wanted to beat the crowd. I also wanted a decent ride. Those have been hard to find over the last few weeks (especially when you can only surf on the weekends). Today's session was noteworthy in that the Soul Brothers came with me. Last night, the little one told me he wanted to go with me in the morning. I tried to dissuade him of this thought, telling him I'd be leaving early, that I'd probably get up when it was still dark. He said he didn't care. He wanted to go. I told him I'd check with him in the morning before I left. Now, I didn't think he'd actually want to go once morning arrived. I'd let him stay up late last night. I do that periodically, thinking he'll sleep late the following day—a luxury he does not enjoy on weekdays. I was certain he wouldn't want to be awakened this morning. In fact, I almost left without checking with him. But then I thought about it. I'm a person who keeps my word. I want him to be the same way. Lead by example. So, at about 5:40 a.m., I went into his room to let him know I was leaving. Didn't he wake up, after only eight hours of sleep (which is a luxury for us grown ups but not enough for the little ones), and say he wanted to go? Amazing. He was the easy one. I dreaded waking up Soul Brother #1 to tell him his son did, in fact, want to go with me. And it's not like the little man wanted to go to the beach and play. He wanted to hang out in the car while I surfed. That's what they did for an hour and a half. That kid is a trooper.

Back to the point of this entry . . . there were waves. Early on, I'd realized the largest set waves were a no-no. After being launched while paddling for two of them, I figured out that they all were big closeouts. Now, if I can figure this out, why weren't other people able to do the same? I stuck to the tweeners. You could make the drop even though they, too, jacked up. You know, my sessions would be much more enjoyable if there weren't so many people in the water everywhere I go. I'm sick of crowds. It's crowded when you try to park. It's crowded when you're in the lineup. You surf through a crowd when you're on the wave. You paddle back through a crowd as you return to the lineup. Forget the rules about not paddling in the path of riders on waves. When there are 10 people on a wave and other people in the water, the rules don't apply. There's nowhere to go. If you stay inside, you'll get run over. If you paddle back out, you'll get run over. In the end, it's anarchy, every rider for herself. I try to apply the rules whenever possible. However, on those occasions when they don't work, I do what's necessary to stay safe and get out of the way.

I'll be back out there tomorrow on my biggest board. Pray for uncrowded surf.