I'll Gladly Take the Leftovers

Some people are offended by the very idea of settling for leftovers. In a city this large, with as many surfers (or should I say with as many people with surfboards) as we have, I can't bear being at a crowded break on a big day. Yeah, I missed the "fun" on Wednesday. I didn't get run over, run into, fallen on top of or anything else. I was safely on the bluff watching the festivities. I've been in the water before when the surf was that size and I didn't have to worry about the crowd. It was all I could do to worry about myself. And I came away from those several occasions unscathed. I didn't feel too confident about the unscathed part with this recent swell.

The break where I did most of my watching was absolutely packed on Wednesday. There were cars everywhere. When I looked at the cam before six, I could see (in the dark!!!) that cars were already lining the highway. When I checked the same cam at the same time on Thursday, I think I saw one or two cars. It was obvious the swell had made most of its appearance on the previous day, but I knew there would be something left for me. And there was. Compared to Wednesday, that break was a ghost town. The waves were no longer pumping and I had to wait awhile for the tide to go down. But once I got in, I got some tasty long rides with good shoulders. Better yet, I rode those waves alone. I've not had rides like that in a long time. Believe it or not, one can find surfing happiness the day after a big swell.

Although I didn't get in on Wednesday, I made a point of watching the surfers who were out there showing their stuff. One guy in particular (a big guy in a red hat, who Whiff said is Hawaiian) was out there killing it on a longboard. He wasn't just killing it, HE WAS KILLING IT! He took everyone to school. I think it was the first time I'd seen serious Hawaiian-style progressive longboarding. I got schooled big time! I'd only seen people surf like that on videos. But to see it in person was a treat. Whiff and I sat on the bluff watching that guy continually snag some sweet rides. Whiff, did you get any pictures of that guy? Anyway, that guy's surf style stuck with me. I saw, for the first time, another way to surf a longboard. I saw how he stood. I saw how he carved. I saw him use his entire body to make that board do what he commanded. For me, it was mind-blowing. When I got on my board on Thursday, I found myself standing in a little different spot and trying to emulate some of his moves. I failed on most of my attempts. However, on one hard turn, the board did exactly what I wanted, went where I wanted and and did it how I wanted. As I paddled back out, I knew I wanted to surf more like that. I probably learned more from watching that guy than I would have had I paddled out on Wednesday.

The only negative to Thursday's session was the fact that I couldn't ride the Bonzer. I finally waxed it. I'd been holding off since I'd told Clayfin I'd get some nice shots of it for him. I did that after my session on Tuesday. I went out on Thursday hoping for bigger waves that would accommodate the Bonzer. Now that I think of it, I should have paddled out on it. I've heard on more than one occasion that it's a myth that Bonzers require a steep wave. I've heard they can handle just about anything. Oh well, hindsight and all that.