Last fall I posted about my progression with surfing. This year the trajectory stalled. Rather than a prolonged summer vacation in Southern California like we enjoyed the previous three summers, we threw together a last minute, short trip at the end of July. We really enjoyed our vacation, but I was not satisfied with my surfing.
For starters, I rented a long board–a log. The thing was an aircraft carrier. I hated paddling it out: it was heavy and clunky, and I struggled to push it through the surf. By the time I got out to the break, I was exhausted. Then when I actually tried to catch waves, I had difficulty managing such a beast. When I rode it, I felt very disconnected from the wave due to the mass of the board. Maybe with proper training, longboarding would be more fun for me, but on my own, all it did was frustrate me.
Also, on that trip, we stayed in Orange County rather than North County San Diego like we usually do. This resulted in us trying a few surf spots that weren’t good matches for us–WASTE OF TIME! That added to my frustration. Accordingly, I scheduled trips in October and November to North County SD so I could try, again, in more familiar territory.
In October, I rented an 8 foot epoxy board. That was a good call. For the previous three years I surfed on an 8 foot foam board so the general dimensions of the epoxy board felt familiar. The board had less volume than my foamy, but it was still easy to paddle. I had a more difficult time catching waves on the epoxy board, but when I did, the feeling was more sporting than the foamy. The October trip was an improvement from the July trip, but I really didn’t have enough time to progress much. Also, the water temperature was several degrees cooler than summer and not having a proper wetsuit diminished my experience.
In November, I bought a really nice wetsuit and rented a 7’4″ inch poly board. The board was light and paddled well. I quickly discovered, though, that I wasn’t ready for board that was much narrower and with far less volume than that to which I was accustomed. Accordingly, I traded it in for an 8’4″ board. While not as humongous as the log, this board was similarly heavy, wide, and clunky. I made the most of it, but I wasn’t thrilled.
Of course, I was grateful to be out there in the water, with my son, giving it a go! It wasn’t all bad. In fact, a bad day surfing is still usually a pretty awesome day! Nevertheless, I am not satisfied AT ALL with my surfing journey stalling. Accordingly, I’M GOING NUCLEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I NEED to put myself in the hands of excellent instructors, in a place with dependable, appropriate waves, and no crowds. Warm water would be nice, too. I NEED to break through to the next level. So let it be written, so let it be done.
With Love,
P. Gustav Mueller, author of The Present