who here has been surfing this week?

Got out about 8 am. Was fun, clean stomach high or so with less crowd than usual. High tide and it got mushy but still some fun waves. Gonna get my grill on and chill today. Life is Goode.

 

Surfed yesterday. Fun little waves. Suicide watch cancelled!

 

Caught some waves this am after the wind ruined it. Still got some fun ones as it was better than it looked from the beach. Waist to chest and getting my feet back. Feels good.

 

Surfed for about 7 hours today, non consecutively. My home break flattened out after about an hour and was mostly just longbort-able. So I took a ride up the road to Belmar and had quite a few hours up there, my best friend and I. Another friend was supposed to meet us up there, but he no-showed. The last couple of hours, we were the only two there. I was surprised by that. It was some knee-thigh high stuff. I'm not one to use a longbort for that many hours. I only even own one to surf the really small days, like ankle and knee high stuff in the Summer.

Was fun nonetheless, since I don't get that much time to surf these days. Looking forward to lots of surfing in a few weeks when I'm done with work until the Fall. If there's hopefully lots to be had!

Was a pretty mild day too. Lots of people up walking around on the boardwalk up there. Surfed till last light, was definitely fun for what it was.

 

went out yesterday evening for what i was anticipating as thi hi. a buddy was pushing so i couldn't not accept. it turned out to be a lot better. before i got out there, ran into a buddy saying it was closing out- not the case. Had waist to chest hi, pretty clean lines in a semi chop fashion. turned out plenty of sections tho, and enuff undertow to ride it in at an incoming hi tide. took the LB out there, and managed several solid rides before i gave in - managed surfing 6/7 days in the past week, so my nrg was about crapd out. still had plenty of fun and waves, and we were the only ones on my side of the pier. perhaps that'll encourage me to look out later this evening for some

 

Had a really fun session at the mini-slab by house, onshore waist to chest and hitting the reef just right, got 40 minutes in at last light - a few turns, just laying into the rail really really makes for a satisfying end of the day.

 

Went out yesterday evening around 6 and was out until the sun set. Glassy waist high swells, nice off shore wind, and the water wasn't as cold as it has been so that was a plus. Good night to practice my foot work. Also met an older guy from South Africa who lives in the area; Drank a beer and talked for a while

 

While we don't get much great surf down here in the Bahamian shadow, there's usually enough during the non-summer months to keep me somewhat satisfied. But this winter has been pretty terrible surf-wise mainly because the strong cold fronts have been few. We had one solid swell in early January and a few knee to chest swells since. Everything else has been blown out wind choppe and not even very much of that. So I've been forced to head upcoast a lot this winter to get anything, usually going to the secret inlet. I don't mind that but two hours drive each way makes it not feasible to go as often as I'd like.

We got some small clean swell here aboot two weeks ago. Was fun and got to surf with a friend who hadn't been out in some time. He had his new $400(!) Venezuelan made 9'2" out for its maiden voyage. Last week I hit Singer Island on Wednesday morning. Caught the fading ground swell. Shoulda gone the day before. This past weekend brought some chopped up choppy wind choppe. Did I mention that it was choppy? Surfed with my buddy who hadn't been out in almost two months.

But I really needed some better waves so I decided to hit the secret inlet on Wednesday even though Tuesday was forecast to be bigger. Glad I picked that day as everybody I spoke to said Wednesday was better and much less crowded. I met up with my Venezuelan friend againe.

Waves were clean waist to chest liners with sets around head high. Wind was mostly non-existent. Some were closing out but most were nice peaks offering long rides. Things kept working right through high tide. I wore a springsuite cuz most everybody I saw was in neoprene but I coulda easily trunked it. By the end of my sesh I was getting hot and had to undo the zipper to let my suite flush. Probably the last wetsuite day for many months.

I rode my 9'2" Robert August, a board I've really come to love. Got some really amazing rides and felt that I was surfing great though I'm sure I was just mediocre to anybody watching. Many waves with several turns each plus a few changing direction to catch the reform. What a difference surfing on good quality waves makes. There were plenty of people out but most everybody was playing nice. My friend got in a collision with some other guy and both borts got dinged a bit. Rather than taking it to the sand and tossing each other's sh!t in the water, they talked it out. Turned out they're both from Venezuela and next thing you know they're helping each other out with emergency Suncure repairs. A new friendship instead of aggro sh!t talking. Suite.

Had to leave around noon. It was so hard to go cuz it was still pumping and it was a gorgeous day. Just as well though as I was out of energy and my surfing was getting sloppy. So many good rides to replay in my head on the ride home.

Life is goode.
I feel sorry for people that don't surf.

 

Agreed

 

Fun string of belly hi days in Delmarva. Some blown out peaky mess, and some sick glass offs, surf em all!!! Sandbars are good enough that you don't have to go to the "spots". always learn something and always some cool thing happens that leaves me with da stoke333. theres a board for everything.......

 

That sounds pretty sweet! My friend lives in Delray Beach and will go on hour long rants about the dry spells. Sometimes even two or three hour rants! He has to go to Jupiter regularly, which I'm sure you know is like an hour drive one way.

 

DR last week was pretty pretty good even in playa Macau

 

Yeah, Delray is still within the shadow though not nearly as deep as we are here in south Broward. Jupiter finally begins to clear the effects of the shark infested islands though still gets blocked on east and south east swells. It's frustrating for sure but we do have some really good days. And when we do I'm often surfing by myself or just a few others. I wasn't surfing when I moved to Florida thirty some years ago. Had I been, I would have settled down somewhere around Ft Pierce or further north. Still, there's worse places I could be living.

 

Got some long overdue rides this morning. Nothing big but big enough to be fun and clean at sunrise and stayed that way until about 10. Now I'm in the right mental state to deal with touristas

 

Today was a very fun morning! There is nothing as pleasurable as surfing during the week when all of the morons are at work. We got there in time to watch the sunrise and were treated to clean medium interval waist to shoulder high waves. The lighting was gorgeous. It was also just very special to welcome the day and greet the locals on the beach.

There was not much of a crowd since it was a Friday. The paddle out was pretty easy and there was a very friendly vibe in the lineup. Lately, it has been necessary to just surf a few waves before leaving. I was thrilled to have magically selected a waist to shoulder high beautiful wave. I did not realize how much punch was in that wave....It was all I could do but stay on the board. It was a fast left and really was very thrilling and more than I could've hoped for this morning.

Not long after that, I managed a spectacular wiped out. You know the kind. Popping up and Sensing the nose starting to bury itself because the wave was too steep for me, and I was too slow at turning the board and shifting weight....Sliding in slow-motion off the front of the board tumbling around like a washing machine and covering my head hoping that I didn't get hit. Surfacing and trying to figure out where the heck the board was and noticing that there is an oncoming wave about to break right near me, and the board is between me and the wave, Deckside down. There is a happy ending to that wipeout. Somehow I took it enough ocean to feel like puking. But it was all good and funny and fun in a certain sick kind of way.

My buddy was sitting in a line up with one of the old locals when a huge spinner shark leapt up out of the water about 20 feet away. Even though you know these animals are there all the time, it takes your breath away when they leave out of the water right by you.

I can't believe it took me 60 years to discover surfing. I also can't believe I even discovered it. Surfing has brought more joy and fun in my life than anything other than raising my children.

As Valhalla would say, I feel sorry for people who don't serve.

Speaking of Valhalla, it is very cool that you got out mid week. I think a bunch of my crew might've been out that day. They said it was a spectacular day.

 

Betty I admire the hell out of you for picking up wave riding as an adult. It's very difficult to say the least. We had good surf from Thursday last week through Wednesday, and some lazy leftovers yesterday. My stoke tank is on full. It was overhead from Thursday through Sunday with good form. Tuesday and Wednesday morning this week were all time. I haven't ridden waves that good since Hawaii back in October 2016. Stoke tank full, life is good!

 

Sounds wonderful, Betty. I was kinda concerned since you hadn't posted in like ten days. Good to see that you got out.

Even though I was there mid-week there was still plenty of people out. Not weekend, good swell crowded but more than I expected. But everybody was pretty mellow.

I totally agree with you aboot surfing and the pleasure it brings. I wish I hadn't waited until I was 53 to take it up. I've had many hobbies and interests over the years but nothing that is so much raw fun as surfing is. Nothing really compares for me.

I didn't see any of the ladies there on Wednesday and I was there from 7:30 till noon. I did see Big Mike, Billy D, Shaper Chuck, Lifeguard Sam and a few other regulars I don't know by name. Also another old fart I know who also drove up from my neck of the woods.

Speaking of Sam, I confirmed with her what you told me. She has indeed only been surfing for two years. Wow! I know she is much younger than both of us but still she really rips! I watched her take the longest left the other day. Just flying! And such a nice person too.

Betty, it's always so good to read your write ups. You're one of those people that really gets it. SwellInfo's own Prognosticator of Tropical Incests and Queen of Stoke!

 

Haha! And lo and behold, a photo just showed up in my email. He snapped me on that wave today. Sweeeeet!
Re Sam, there is an awesome photo of her on like a ten foot wave. My crew has adopted her

I think my crew was there in the afternoon that day.

Kahuna Kai: thanks! Not only took it up as an adult, but at age 60! Now that is crazy! Like your phrase, "stoke tank is full"

 

Wow....you know all the people that I know....have we ever met?

 

Went out Wednesday afternoon, down at 2nd. peak, amazingly I was out by myself for 2 hours straight with just one other person that really looked as if he just started, he paddled away after a while, anyway... stomach to chest to an occ. shoulder high bowl lining up perfect, had an absolute blast, any wave I wanted, just tore it up. I don't see them days too often anymore, home break has turned into a zoo as of lately.