fear of paddling out help!!! xD

If you never want to surf bigger days, don't. Why do something you don't want to do? Eventually you will surf enough 1-2 ft days you'll become bored and start longboard skating downhill. Small hills. Then when that gets boring you'll move to golf. Mini golf.

 

A lot of times when I am going into a new break or large waves that seem scary to me, I like to put some goggles and fins on, swim out, and bodysurf the break for a while; when I see what the bottom looks like and what the waves look like from underneath, I end up with a lot better understanding of what the waves are doing and I am not nearly as scared anymore once I go back out with my board.

 

Call A-Rod he can help you build some muscle...take it easy you'll be fine.

 

HAHAHAHAHA! i laughed so hard at this.

 

That is the best part of what's a sick movie in Fair Bits. I'd seen it 2 or 3 times but watching that scene itself I picked up a couple lines I hadn't before that were hilarious.

Taylor Steele's flicks are great. Have you seen Stranger Than Fiction? Hilarious and good rides and music. They had the full-length film on YouTube til two months ago when it got flagged.

 

Think of the courage it took the Karate Kid to step onto the Mat and go toe to toe with Johnny. Then, to continue after Johnny swept his leg.

You think about that, and the paddle out will pale in comparison. Now paddle out, it's worth it.

 

OMG, I dislike Taylor Steele. Dude, thinks he was Francis Ford Coppola directing The Godfather with his friggin surf vids. He owes everything to his pals, "The New School." OMG, he's so important and serious.

Spicoli, you have to get all of the old ....LOST videos.....they were the best.

 

yep. all the original ...lost vids are good. all the wave warriors stuff, and if you still have a VCR then find a copy of 'the Search'. greatest surf flick of all time. i've had it since 91 or 92 and still watch it all the time. some of the original jack McCoy films are good too.

 

love this sh!t.
[video=youtube;1lstb57IdVs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lstb57IdVs[/video]

 

YES! Was watching a few from the great AI just last night. Love that dude, wish he rode goofy because it'd be that much easier to study his unique mechanics and maneuvers as I ride goofy. AI and Taylor Knox are two of my favorites to watch. Machado too and it's great that he's goofy.

You ever seen that interview with AI where he's just kicking it around sunset in the back of a boat and then they show some mess around clips? It's where he talks about surfing while buzzed and other honest statements. Not sure if it was a Lost film but it was definitely a good honest look at him behind the scenes.

 

be a surf geek and watch him in the mirror. LOL .

 

this should be your idol
[video=youtube;DrH8JYKZqzs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrH8JYKZqzs[/video]

 

stranger than fiction,is that the one with the black and white d.reynolds skit?i think it has sterling spencer too,or maybe that's a different one.fair bits is pretty good,the "good vibrations" skit is my favorite,where theyre jamming to that 1 song and riding old boards.i used to have a bunch of good surf flics recorded on fuel tv,when fuel was actually good,but my girl deleted everything off the dvr.now I watch online

 

We all have those days, where it just feels eerie paddling out. I however have no problem paddling out if theres a lineup. I was down in assateague island maryland, and paddled out alone at about 8 in the morning, crispy clean 3 occasional 4 footers, this isnt my home break so i felt uneasy, down south you got those bull sharks and **** haha. After the first wave its all good though. If its the wave height and surf condition thats stopping you, deep inside you know if you can do this or not, bend your limits but dont break them. What will go wrong? if you can't get out than just catch some white wash back in! If its the eerie feeling after watching shark week, we all get it. millions of people go surfing everyday, typically they mind their own business. If its a problem with your own swimming ability, go swim ymca do a workout bodysurf. I lifegaurd and swim competively so no matter what the surf height i know in the WORST case scenario i can stay afloat. Get a group of buds that always makes things ALOT more fun. Never fear the ocean, but respect it

 

You're lucky. I'm in awe of such good fortune.
Play Lotto or Powerball with that kind of luck.
Usually the sharks eat people at 0800, on the dot, at AI.

 

Gaff, olive branch being extended from this end. A lot of what I called you the swami is because of the depth of your knowledge over many years and the elite environment that you're exposed to every session out there in the lineup. If you'd decline the peace offering, that's your prerogative and I'll respect it. Either way, I won't be giving you a ribbing anymore unless it's welcomed and known by you that's it's of friendly nature. Not sure though that I'll be able to keep from nominating you as a speaker on the topic of how to maintain dry hair during the sesh of a lifetime at the 2nd annual Waves Not Graves event, and it will be meant entirely as a compliment because that's just amazing. A forum member I'd been quarreling with as of late PM'd me offering a truce last night and it was uncanny since I'd planned to reach out to him with the same. This petition of truce to you could've spared forum space by being conveyed in a PM, but I want others to know that I do respect you and all others on this board.

Good post. The lulls are key and I was made aware of that the first few times I ever tried to get out back. As you know, on those occasions it's a sprint paddle and you better have the endurance to make it out before the next set. I had that coming in on some to most sets, but when it soon started coming continuously with shorter and less lulls as the good spring swell built up, I had quite a few humbling sessions that took forever to get out back. Those taught me lessons and also increased my paddling endurance steadily.

Concerning going in cold upon stepping in for the first paddle out, I admittedly do it too often even for someone who's all about preparation and knows how to easily prepare the body for the vigorous physical activity that surfing is. Sometimes I do get the proper warmup by getting a blood flow and then stretching and increasing HR, but your post is a reminder that I should do it all the time. Only takes one quick movement the wrong way to keep us out of the water for a given period of time. I always, out of stoke, sprint into the water from as soon as I step on the beach and that gets some blood going but less at high tide. I'll most often also start my paddle as soon as I'm at a depth where I won't ground fins, instead of waiting til I walk my board up to chest or shoulder depth and then jumping on it.

Funny you mention as well the pondering of going back to sleep instead of hitting dawn patrol. I had that thought creep into my head this morning even though I headed out anyway and while I was not met with any decent swell despite longer than normal period here, I did get to enjoy a better sunset than most are able to see. It's natural for even the most driven or committed out there to occasionally if not routinely have thoughts that we can just bag it and not answer the bell and head out for whatever is on our plate that day. No one's stopping us from tapping out and opting not to get out and do it except possibly ourselves. You nailed it when you said gratitude, sense of privilege (not right), and general stoke is what makes us head out the door and paddle into the waves we face that day in the water or out of it.

 

If you waited for lulls on the east coast you'd never get out. Duck diving is a part of life here. Yeah, if you got an inside sand bar, on smaller days, you can hop over the white water and then paddle ten yards dry, but oh God, those days are so rare.

Channels? We don't need no stinking channels. OMG, that was play on that whole ....Badges? We don't need no stinking badges. Do youse guys get it?

Nice suck-up Spicoli. Za Gaf has the unique quality where everyone wants to impress him and get his approval, which you just discovered, Spicoli. Like, SUP fawns over Za Gaf.

I dig Za Gaf for other reasons(he seems to respect Led Zeppelin for one thing and has some South Jersey connections, which is fantastic, and he's smart which is amazing considering he lives in Southern California....ohhh I'm joking) Za Gaf's a cool guy.

But what I have enjoyed lately is seeing people try to win his favor. I find that human behavior fascinating. We've all seen it elsewhere. Some of you slower types might not understand, and that's cool, too, because ignorance is friggin bliss.

People sometimes covet being intelligent, but don't. Blissfully ignorant is the way to go through life. The less thoughts you have in your head the better you are.

Oh by the way, Kassia Meador sucks, and if any of you think she's the best looking girl surfer in the spotlight ya'll must be kind of feminine/butch. Riding on the nose of a twelve foot board when you weigh 85 pounds is no big feat(in two foot mush). Next y'all be telling me Keala Kennelly is better looking than Pam Burridge or Wendy Botha. I swear I'm gonna name every well-known, Kim Mearig, women surfer, Jodi Cooper, in the last 30 years in the, Laura Enever, the next two weeks. Frieda Zamba. Ken Bradshaw had intercourse with Layne Beachely who's not to be confused with Layne Staley.

 

Always remember that you can simply turn back. When I was younger and not as strong I was always afraid when it was bigger and dumping that I would get caught out there. One time I went out by myself and was 'in over my head' so to speak. I turned around and just let the white water push me back in while I held on to the board. Ever since then, I've been fine. It sucks when you are paddling out, get caught insde and are just getting worked, but you can choose to not continue paddling out. You can go back to the beach. Just try to remember that you have an out.

Good luck.

 

thank you! so f*ckin true. hahaha

 

kim hammorck is the greatest women surfer of all time. if you saw her surf from a distance you'd think it was a dude. she has ridden some of the biggest Waimea waves of all time, man or women. and, she slams the lip with authority, plus does full blown real airs on a longboard (or shortboard). doesn't just pose and look pretty (not possible). she used to win all the bud tour stops back in the day. she's as hardcore as surfers get.