Do you guys....

yes bro, it happens more and more as you get older too, some session just dont stack up, when you surf a lot some sessions cant be as good as others, its impossible, think bell curve. crowd management is a whole nother ball game. Competence and aggression are often rewarded with set waves

 

Of course...........................................................what are you after?

 

every session different - like mine ystdy; mackin pm sets on the WRONG TIDE...after i watched swell die
in the am on the RIGHT TIDE (huh??)...that doesn't happen much. as far as deferring to the other guys; well,
not all the time cause there ARE rules and most of us play by them and most us us are not interedted in
stuffing the other guy if they don't ask for it.

 

I have slumps that can last months. I haven't had a memorable session since early February. Had pneumonia the last few weeks so that didn't help (actually surfed 2 days while sick). If this slump is like all the others I've had, one day it will all come together and I'll be back to normal.

 

Surfing tends to be pretty inconsistent for me. For the past 15 years its always been the same, and as I'm getting older I care less. I remember the good days, enjoy the bad days, and hope for better days. Really cant go wrong being able to get in the water every day regardless of conditions.

I went over the falls 4 times yesterday, it was chest high.... welcome back to being human

 

I had a really terrible day yesterday. On my drive home I contemplated quitting surfing, it was that bad. Probably one of the better swells we've had in months, and before I could paddle for one wave my board got trashed.

 

Pretty sure it happens to EVERYONE. At my age (50) every time I have a bad session I think to myself, "Is that it? Am I done?" ...not that I'm thinking about quitting; just that I think I'll never have THAT session again, where I feel like I'm going out there and killing it... at least for me. My surfing stopped progressing a long time ago... probably into my late 30s. Now I'm just trying to maintain. So it's a little scary not having a good session.

 

It's the 25 footers that hang me up, mang. The 23' pier shotts...? Never an issue.

 

i saw the only other surfer out w/me ystdy do exactly that and was going to offer simple advice but
couldn't decide if i was being friendly or arrogant by doing so..... so didn't say anything...

 

I always give the advice if it is obvious that he is making the same mistake over and over. I was always grateful for help when I first started.

 

Last night! I was watching the sets roll in from my balcony after work. Better than i thought it was supposed to be. Went out for 45 minutes, It was very deceiving, super mushy and not fun. Maybe tomorrow...?

 

I have terrible days as well. Some days it can be the waves or your equipment, but more often than not, its you. We get in our heads, lose focus. Stick to your basics and it will help. Having a bad day or consecutive bad days can be damaging to your surf psyche, but you need to push through. That next wave or next session could be your break out. I have had a few bad sessions recently, but last night really smoothed that out for me. It makes it even worse when your having a bad sesh and other are destroying it. Like WTF, why is he ripping and I'm not?
It will be your turn soon...

 

Yes, I've had a few sessions where I almost wished I hadn't paddled out. I don't let it get to me, though. Oh well, better luck next time. Maybe take a few days off until you're jonesing again, then hit it.

For me, the beginning of a long-anticipated session, like if I haven't paddled out in a couple of days, is always the best. I seem to catch 3 or 4 sick rides right off the bat. Later in the session I get choosy and start noticing my hair drying out and start thinking "man, what am I doing floating out here, what happened to all those great waves?"

Sometimes you ought to just wait/hunt for good conditions. I've been surfing at lunch all winter long, but the break next to my workplace is very much a summer wave. Rather than 3-4 drifty, closed-out, semi-poor sessions a week, sometimes I think I should have just bit the bullet, taken a long lunch or got in late, and hit a good winter spot, instead. On the plus side, I did so much paddling against the stinking longshores that I'm like Phelps now that summer's around the corner.

 

its MOSTLY mental. maybe your stressed or mind is in places other than being stoked on that 3-4' windswell chop, but you dont want to miss out and have it be flat for the rest of the month..... So Get your thoughts together wait for that set wave, visualize yourself bombing down the line with godspeed, and don't let it go to that novice up the line, thats going to stand up and fall back down, get your wave that makes the whole session worthwhile. Sometimes you just gotta go and bail if the other guy makes the wave.

 

timing is everything when it comes to surfing.the rookies tend to think u can show up at the beach anytime and score a good swell.iv been skunked on epic swells more than I can count.when u have to work and time isn't an option u make the most of it.i remember a swell last yr,I think or the year before it,it was a month after doomsday,like jan 28th?anyway the swell was rolling,i was at the beach before work from 10 to 12.when I got there it was foggy and victory at sea conditions.by the time I left at 12 the fog was going away and it started to clean up.when I got out of work,i seen all the pics and thought wtf,I was just there.again,timing is everything.winds,tides,etc.the waves here are rarely perfect.when the conditions are right,u surf good,but when u try to make the most of it u can have a long bad session

 

That's the attitude to have.
Having a lousy session can be frustrating, but at least you got out there.
I have to remind myself of that at times. It's the journey: good days and bad.