It was a few foot OH and stiff offshores so there were big barrels today in the dirty souff. This morning was low tide, and bombing way way way way outside. Guys were getting clobbered at the bottom of the drops, so I went to work and waited till after lunch and the incoming tide. The wind swung a bit more out of the SW, holding the lefts wide open. Glad I didn't go out yesterday, my way younger (41) buddy got his shoulder dislocated inside a barrel he didn't make it out of, and he surfs Peru and PR on the regs. Did some yoga instead, to get loose for today. It still looked quite gnarly at the Juno Pier, and Singer Island was a giant ball of bait fish, so I found a spot up in Jupiter that looked more forgiving and peaky, about shoulder to head high. Surfing is as much about confidence as it is about ability, timing, equipment, and conditions. Mine was a bit shaken after last session, so I chose a spot that looked easy on the takeoffs. The last wave I got was a beauty, a smooth hollow shoulder high peak, held wide open by the wind. I had to paddle almost due south to angle in properly, and I paddled hard to get down into the face. Made a real nice smooth drawn out backside bottom turn on my 6'6" NA Pete Dooley round nose round tail. It is FAST and fat. Got a couple off the lips and the face got steeper and bigger, about head high. Did a quick cut back to get back into the pocket, then got a nice off the lip backside and the wind blew me almost out the back, but the board has a round nose so I scooched up front and did a re- entry back into the wave, and got maybe three or four more real nice backside turns, and made it all the way to the sand, and said to myself....time to go back to work...with my swag back. All it takes is one good wave well ridden. Life is goode.
Who cares?? Now, we DO CARE about bikinis...please send pictures of "California girls"...never mind surf stuff.
mysto swell showed up today...the buoy went from nothing overnight to 4' @ 11 seconds. East swell. Lunch break sesh at the break that's near my work. waist to chest high breezy textured conditions. in warm weather there would be 20 others on it. Today it was me and my office mate ( and surf bud) on an otherwise empty beach trading mid day rights in the cold cloudy dreary. Rode my 5'8" mini simmons which flew along in the soft 3 foot rights. I feel like i'm only a year to two away from not having the stoke to paddle out in waves like this when the air and water are hovering around 40. But today the stoke was alive and well. I always gotta snap a pic. One day, i will only have memories of surfing, and then not even memories. My bro, co worker, and stoke resuscitator, milking an ugly wave for all it has to give.
My doctor said keep the ball rolling, don't stop. So whenever I go out, it's doctors orders. Therapy. When I grow up I wanna be like Chummer. 75 years old still surfing good waves, still full of stoke and full of love for his family and his tribe. He gave me a big hug on the trail to the beach at OR Park a year ago I will always treasure. STOKE!!!
Now you got me thinking I need a bigger boat for the big days in winter gear. not a suggestion really, but why so wide for big days? I'm thinking of a rounded pin like 6'2"x around 19 3/4 and 2 1/2. volume like 34 to 36. kinda like a black beauty.
Yeah, my current step up is 20.25" wide, maybe I'll keep it same, and add a tad of thickness and change the tail from swallow to round, that should add stability without dampening performance. I just wan a bit more foam under me for late drops. Thanks Peajay!
I made it out for a long board lunch. It was knee to waist and semi clean, it dropped off quite a bit from yesterday. Got a few nice lined up peelers. A guy was flailing on a LB on the way inside, I got one all the way in and said to him as I paddled out past him, he needs to focus on bending his knees. He was totally stoked, and I said to his buddy, hey, at least he's having fun. I was told he just got down from Chicago, so he IS living the dream. Last wave: Only thigh to waist, took off backside left, was gonna do a nice drawn out drop knee bottom turn, there's a guy paddling out right in my way, so I had to crouch and do a grab rail to get the board angled more, went flying past him, then stood tall (all 5'9" of me lol) and glided the glassy wave to the beach. Life is goode.
what bottom contours would you get? would get reverse v in it? i always go back to this thing from greenlight. http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/235086/24823b9b52/441001097/e301df06d4/ Reverse Vee Today, the term “reverse vee” is used very loosely, but generally refers to vee that peaks somewhere between where the entry rocker ends and the leading edge of the front fin(s), and fades to flat in the tail. This forward vee accomplishes many of the same things vee does in other areas of the board, but it is mainly utilized to provide stability and control in boards designed for very large surf. Vee used through the middle of the board flattens the rail rocker through the mid section, but maintains rocker through the middle. Therefore, this design element is not utilized with hard, tight turns in mind. Instead, the focus is on smoothing out turns, maintaining control at high speeds, and providing manageable steerage on an otherwise lengthy and bulky surfboard. Reverse vee is also used in designs ridden by “front footed” surfers – those who put a disproportionate amount of weight on the front, rather than the back foot, and on drive-oriented designs with their wide points forward of center, like retro single fins or boards designed to provide a smooth ride in the tube.
Just a bit out the back starting from the trailing edge of the side fins, not thru the whole boart. I'm not going out at Jaws. Lately my comfort range has dropped to 6-8 feet faces, only bigger if its breaking slow and walling up, and not closing out AT ALL. Main goal: have fun. Mission Accomplished LOL
Huh?? You aren't going out at Jaws?? I thought I saw you out there?? Wasn't that you erratically paddling around out there taking swigs from a bottle of whiskey as if your life depended on it??
