TS Dorian

My 6'8" egg is my go to now, but I would love a 9'+ log for the knee high days.

 

Seeing some highly skilled LB riders live at populated breaks lately as well as in videos, it makes me realize that those on LBs at my local break who just catch frequent waves with their log only to bottom turn once then ride it out down the line with no other movement really aren't doing much. Also getting a recent understanding and respect for the vast difference in LB style of the highly skilled group from that of SBs, I'd ask what you guys intend for in picking up a log the occasional days you do. Is it to just catch more waves and ride them out or is it to execute cross-stepping and changing the center of your gravity on the board throughout the ride like I see these exclusive LB guys do? I ask because it appears to be a whole different ball game than SB riding and shredding.

 

You should always have a log in your deck, even if it's just for flat spells. Try not to limit the log - practice makes perfect and you're not going to accomplish anything riding your log in small surf. I used to ride a short board for the first half of my session and then I would break out the log for the second half. Now, I just ride longboards. I'm addicted to the glide.

[video=youtube;-Ne8P31qHO0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ne8P31qHO0[/video]

Granted that's an Alex Knock clip, but what pro doesn't make surfing look easy? Longboarding is an entirely different animal and it takes a lot of hard work to shred like that. Don't take my word for it - just ask one of those loggers why he/she doesn't move around like Mr. Knost.

Please don't do that.

 

That's good stuff. He's got mad skills in the video. Filthy skills. I agree it takes a redonkulous amount of time and work to perform like that. I've been involved in fitness for almost two decades now both academically and a profession and the proprioception (coordination/balance) displayed by Alex in that clip is astounding.

What I'm asking is for the guys on here who ride SBs and occasionally break out the LB, are you looking to ride anything like that with cross-stepping involved and leveraging the board from all different points or are you just taking off with ease due to board volume, popping up and riding straight down the line in a cruising manner? I completely respect the skill involved in that style of surfing (yes, a WHOLE different style than SBs) and recognize its legitimacy but for all the LB riders I witness, I see two different kinds: those who ride similar to Alex albeit not to the same perfection, and those who cruise down the line with zero maneuvers attempted and no walking on the board. Don't take this the wrong way, but I view the REAL way of LB riding (displayed in the video) to be far too theatrical for my taste. That's not in any way an attempt to belittle its value and intricacy. It's just looks to similar to a stage performance kind of like synchronized swimming. I equally respect synchronized swimming as an athletic entity and art form of physical movement, I just don't ever see myself ever having a desire for those movement art forms because it's not the athlete I am which is an anaerobic power athlete.

My honest opinion is that the cruising sector is subjecting themselves to monotony and really not warranting overtaking SBs riders in a lineup just because they can paddle and plane faster. Further, I'd be far more inclined to yield rides and waves caught to a cross-stepping/nose riding LBer than the cruising group. Because I know the LB artists are looking to hone their craft further with every ride whereas the cruisers don't display a will for a progression and advancement of skill and technique. It looks like the cruisers just don't get the point of the potential of a LB. Maybe you guys see a greater density of LB riders in the artist category. I sure as hell don't.

Once again, not labeling, not categorizing it in an absolute manner. I'm conveying my opinion and perspective on it based on all the LB riders I see which apparently differ widely in objective. My posting about this is to learn what's behind your motivation to ride LBs. Whatever that reason is, it's neither right or wrong in my mind. It's your choice and I respect that as each person's right.

 

For me, the reason for long boarding is two fold. I've only been surfing for three years now so the extra volume has been nice for not only catching waves but riding them until they fizzle out completely. I catch more waves and ride them farther than I would on a short board so my learning curve can only be accelareted. Also, I have a wife, three year old son, and a job which all compete for my time. When I get a chance to get on the water I want to stack the odds of catching the maximum number of waves in a session in my favor.

Having said that, I just bought a retro fish and am looking forward to seeing how different it is...that is of course if we ever get another wave.

 

Dorian is up 10mph in winds and is projected to head further north by Tuesday than originally intended. Looks like it will miss the Caribbean and has also lowered in pressure to 999mb from 1009 a day ago. Still early but that is a big improvement.

The invest east of Bermuda is looking better too.

 

Everything is going to stay far to the East.... too far to the East.

 

What is so bad about cruising? For me, as a person with less than two years devoted to the surfing thing, it is all about getting a long ride versus making a quick turn and being done. I can catch any wave, even the small stuff, on my egg. However, by the time I catch it (sitting inside on small days), I can make one turn before it fizzles out. With a LB, you can catch it pretty far out and usually ride it all the way in. I find that to be more worthwhile than just getting a single turn in. I can walk the board, slightly, and even do it occasionally on my funshape. It just usually isn't worth messing with when the waves are knee high. When your surf report looks like this: http://www.swellinfo.com/surf-forecast/folly-beach-south-carolina
You need to use the equipment that at least gives you some play time out there.

 

Here is what meteorologists on central Florida hurricane website said today:
The 6Z GFS animation) weakens Dorian a bit as it gets halfway to the Caribbean islands, but then regains as it goes just north of the Caribbean islands, through the southern Bahamas, and keeps it moving west, eventually into Southeast Florida and then turns it up the spine of Florida. Main feature causing this is the ridge north and misses a trough that would turn it more north early. This is a long time to keep it going west like that, possible, but I'm sure this will change over the next few days.

The euro loses dorian, around the same time the GFS weakens it. As small and "healthy" as this storm is now, the Euro may not be a good indicator currently.

Climatology still suggests Dorian will curve before making it to the US, but currently there is enough evidence to support that it may not, so it will need to be watched this week and next. That said, odds are, that it will recurve before getting that far west. "

 

Exactly... All we do now is hype up swells and storms that bring swell and half the time it hardly has an affect on us or everyone thinks were getting head high waves and we end up with knee-thigh highs... Let's wait til its 48-24 hours out and then get excited... However I shouldn't talk cause I get all giddy when a storm is on the way... Hurricane season is on the verge!

 

In other words, they have no effing clue HAHAHA

 

5 pages on it already? We're f**ked, not happening.

 

What he said.

 

Do you guys read the NHC discussion on the storms?
That is one of the first things I will take a look at:
Tropical Storm Dorian Discussion

When you go to the Hurricane Center, and go to the Storm page, under the text products drop down menu, you will see - discussions.

 

Sometimes I do, but I usually just wait until it's much closer to look at any details, too many variables at the early stages of a storm to even worry about it, predictions are a crap shoot, mother nature has taught me that nothing is guaranteed till it happens.

 

The Navy thinks the same. But there is a ton of activity in the Atlantic basin. We'll get some groundswell soon enough.

https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/wxmap_cg..._atlantic&prod=swlwvht&dtg=2013072512&set=All

 

I would argue the exact opposite. riding a long board with extra volume so you can catch more waves and ride them all the way until they fizzle out is probably slowing down your learning curve, depending on exactly what your learning goals are. By the way, nothing at all against longboarding meant by this at all. I love it.

 

You aren't learning if you aren't up on the board riding.

 

Your right. Its just strange hearing the longboard=learning mantra having learned in the 1980s when funshapes didnt exist and logs weren't learning boards - they were just longboards that your dad had stored away. Most of us learned on a bigger shortboard, 70's single fin or fish and just learned to paddle harder if you wanted to catch small waves, and some potentially fun days were frustrating days. But I think the more challenging equipment steepened your learning curve, especially paddle technique and learning to really ride waves. Just a perspective, and off-topic one at that.

 

Excellent post. Thanks for the heads up, I didn't notice that.