Big, Fat Windswell Waves
That's what greeted me when I surfed the beachbreak closest to The Place Which Shall Remain Nameless. We started out at TPWSRN, but it didn't look good enough. I watched one struggling surfer spend 10 minutes trying to make it out to the lineup . . . of one. That one wasn't catching anything. Hmmmm, stay put or go elsewhere? The decision was not a difficult one.
Paddling out at the beachbreak wasn't much fun. The inside was a mess of reforms churning up whitewater everywhere you looked. That doesn't bother me like it used to. The paddle out was once my most frightening part of a session. It was the thing I hated the most when I learned to surf. I'd see a wall of water coming at me and freak. My heart would start pounding. I'd be hyperventilating and wanting to cry, certain I was going to drown because I had no idea how to get through, around or over those walls. They didn't even have to be big. When you're lying prone on a board, everything looks big. I still hate the paddle out, but I suppose I've worked through my anxieties as I've gotten more comfortable both on a board and in the water. Now I know to simply take my time. Don't fight the feeling. Instead of trying to fight my way to the lineup, I read the waves, conserve my energy and work with the water rather than against it. Anyway, I said all that to say the paddle out was a pain, but it didn't take me long to get out there.
Has spring sprung?
Those are the first purely windswell waves I've seen in awhile. And they weren't small. Neither were they easy to get into. In other words, they were deceptive and seemingly slow. But once you paddled into one, you were flying! I managed a nice cheater five on a head high left. I always crack myself up, standing there wondering if I look as cool as I think I must. Then I usually fall rather spectacularly. Today was no different. I carved the left, went up to the top, walked to the nose, stuck my right foot out for a nice little ride, started walking back, slipped and went down with dreadlocks flying in many directions. Somehow I think my dismount was better than my ride!!
(I'm still getting lemons. Surfing makes them less sour.)
posted by Surfsister @ 14:00
3 comments
3 Comments:
Great commentary. So many things that sound familiar to me too..I've often thought that egos are a waste of time out there, seems to work for some, but not for me.
The way in which one dismounts is probably the most important aspect of determining the status of the ride...therefore, if you end up falling in a display of spasmodic glory, then the ride was indeed well worth it! :-)
I am glad you posted this.. Went surfing or tried to on Friday. I hated paddling out. The waves at the first break,were way to big for me.. Not quite ready for anything over 3 feet yet.. LOL Confirmed that on Friday.. so, headed to my "comfort blanket" break.. But I still hated it, trying to get out and the waves come crashing down on me. I just want to get out of the inside!!!! So yes, paddling out is still not my favorite.. and a line from a song by Pussy cat dolls kept going through my head as I was paddling out and pushing my way through "I hate this part right here".. I hope I get over it, like you did.
I too in more than one area in my life is getting more than my share of lemons.. and keep hoping a great lemonade recipe will come my way!!!
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