It's Time to Move On

Can it be? Am I really ready to call it quits? No, I'm not talking about the blog. I'll probably write this thing until I'm so old I can no longer stand up on a surfboard. What I'm referring to is my beloved Chris Slick longboard. It was the first "magic" board in my quiver. It was truly love at first sight, love at first pop-up—just pure unadulterated love. For the last two years, it's been my all-around board. I've taken it everywhere (which isn't saying much since I've not surfed anywhere farther south than San O and anywhere farther north than County Line).


But now it's time for a change of pace. My surf abilities and my surf style are leading me in another direction. As much as I love my single fin, I now need two additional fins. I realized today that what's changed is that I'm surfing faster. I'm turning harder. I'm now stringing moves together on waves. I'm looking way down the line, eyeing the section and then getting frustrated because I can't get to it. Mind you, I can do that on the shorter boards. However, the conditions don't always warrant the use of a shorter board.

With that said, today's session on the Slick was fantastic. CYT and I met at the site of yesterday's session. We thought it would be giving up a little something before the high tide killed it. Alas, it was so flat that you never would have known the place was actually good yesterday afternoon. So we stood there having our typical indecisive discussion. CYT: "What do you want to do?" Surfsister: "I don't know. What do you want to do?" Finally, I decided we should try my new favorite spot, which is right in the middle of the L.A. breaks. It's no secret. It's got a cam. There's a guy who does a surf report on it every morning. Yet I still seem to catch it when there's hardly anyone in the water. Today was no different. See, I figured that the tide would be slowing the waves down by the time we got there (which was important since I only had my longboard with me). I was spot on. When we got there, guys on shortboards were leaving in droves. The tide was killing it . . . for them. It made the waves just right for us. I felt very much in tune with the waves and the board today. I remember, years ago, when I always felt like a gust of wind could blow me off a surfboard; I was that unsteady or uncomfortable or something. Today, I felt like my feet were glued to the board. Everything came together every time I popped up. The Slick is a great board. It's served me well. But now it's time for me to kick it up a notch. I plan to have my new longboard by March. Wait until you see it! Wait until you see who the shaper is!!!