6 Down - Feeling it

New pad is working out well.  Took our dog on a run on my skater this morning while I watched the crowded waves - the spotted dude is so outta shape!  This morning was good and I was on it at 5:30.  Surfed until about 7 when it was completely packed out.  Chest high with really good shape.  I had an 8 point ride this morning.  Massive carve to tail release, full rail cut back off the white water hard, two pumps and then blow the tail.  Surfing really well today.  No leash, lost my board once and didn't hold back.  That has me feeling it.  Looking forward to surfing with homey this weekend, it should be fun.  Maybe Dume.  Maybe somewhere else, I don't know.

Back in the saddle... 6 down

I've been keeping a running total in my head.  Made up some ground in Tavi, lost some recently.  6 down.  Fun this morning.  Had some waist high runners with 2 - 3 snaps felt good on the komp.  So stoked to get back on the contest circuit!  Can't wait until August to fire back up!  New apartment, wife, dog.  Getting settled, so stoked.  Oh and I cannot wait until I have internet and TV tomorrow.  That will be awesome.  You don't know until you don't have it for 2 weeks.

My Day

What is love?

Love is one of those things that is hard to define, like the meaning of life, there is no simple way to describe it. So the description takes many forms, sometimes in art, sometimes in music and even sometimes in form of harsh words as a parent tries to protect his offspring from the youthful stupidity of "learning the hard way". So, I will try to describe it to you in my own way. Of course, for me, since I lack that innate ability of artistic expression that is so often associated with effective emotional communication on the topic, I must then take the boring approach of defining it and giving examples of it. Through my trials and tribulations, I have observed that for love to sustain, there are certain things that have to exist. These are Trust, Friendship and Respect. I have also noted that the web that holds these things together is a solid base of consistent Communication. This is what is needed to find a partner that is compatible with you for the long run. It is much beyond the simple visual that you have of walking down the trail with her under your arm and feeling proud that other guys are checking her out. Showing off her curves, being proud of her size the way she looks. Because, you will have some bad times with her, and she'll need to stand by your side when you do. Picturing yourself growing old together is nice, but not a requirement. Yes, I've experimented over the last few years, I tried the alternative types, bigger ones, the sleeker ones, but as I drift in search of the meaning of each relationship, I somehow lost sight of the fundamentals of any relationship. Trust: This has been lacking, that solid feeling off the bottom, that positive feeling when you take a cutback off the whitewater, the ability to release her tail and show it to the guys out the back, yet not be jealous if they want to ride her. Then there is Friendship: Those days when it is windy and there is nobody else around, you have to have that connection to just have fun with her no matter what the conditions are. To enjoy each others presence, to be able to reach down and feel her rail and know that she is meant for you. Respect: She stands on her own merit, she makes you proud. Communication: Transferring your desire through your feet, giving each other positive feedback. What does this equal? You see I have found love again, she is shorter by an inch, a little skinner, but just a tad thicker, she has traditional values as I'm done experimenting with the alternative types and yes, we have a connection. Yes, I love my new Rusty Redline.

What is love, baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more...

34/32 - Contest Overview

Got out there today. Too much party yesterday - so tired...

Tough day for me. I surfed on the wrong board, but that wasn't the problem. I just surfed really shitty, on edge, sketchy and not a lot to offer. Yeah, I'd like to make excuses… The truth is that I don't know why I surfed like that, I have no excuses. It was still a super fun day with probably the best waves that we saw all year on our little gimmick tour. My 5th versus Jay's 3rd are not representative of how we surfed. Jay surfed very solid but, but in the end I think he was handicapped by his 2.5 move repertoire as it seemed the judges eventually got tired of seeing the same moves out of him. I know he is confident and hopefully, this lights a bit of a fire under his ass to figure out how to add a variation or two to his portfolio. He has consistency but not enough variation and function to his surfing to really compete against Yari and as such he'll be relegated to slug it out for second place as long as YV is in the game.

In the end, Jay pushed Yari to the repo, where I struggled to get through with a 3rd in that heat, just outdoing some very nervous newcomer. But Yari? He knew it all along. He'd win. He always does. He can surf within himself and almost guarantee a win; he varies his surfing, both on the forehand and backhand enough to take down anyone. His surfing is functional, stylish and powerful. Even when he picked off the small insiders, when it seemed like he was panicking because he hadn't caught a wave with only 5 minutes left in the heat (Jay's heat), be he wasn't panicking, he knew that he'd do enough. That quick bottom-turn, that tail release, that snap. He's too good, he stands alone. Can he be beat? Certainly, they are 15 minute heats so anything can happen. Jay beat him in that heat with a close decision (1 judge had Yari winning), but is anyone better than him in our division? Absolutely not. Jay was excited after our finals heat, I did not see his waves, but I saw 2 of Yari's and from the back and I knew the competition was for 2nd place. At one point a right was coming for us (me and Yari) and he calmly asked if I wanted it, probably knowing that it did not matter. I was beaten; I had nothing left, so I just said "No" and watched him dismantle it. He was in the right spot but was willing to give it to me. Knowing that it was rightfully his, I could not say, "Yeah, I'll take that from you." I just couldn't and I didn't have anything left anyway. I'm surprised I got 5th to be honest. I'm very happy with my result to be certain.

Munsterman, Penning and Mezak are probably in the second tier. Wolfe is a wild card for certain. He could be at the bottom or the #2 guy on any given day. His surfing is powerful and probably more functional than anyone else's (he can make it around sections and link turns better than anyone). He saved Jason from getting a 6th place finish in the Open Men's with a nuclear meltdown. I don't know if it was drugs or what, but he just started snaking people. It made it entertaining to be sure! I'm down in the next tier, probably just me and Salick. My surfing is too erratic too all over the place to truly contend. Can I get lucky? Of course, I ride big gnarly as well as anyone out there, but that is not what wins these contests. Maybe a lucky heat with a barrel or something, I can win. That won't stop me from trying!!! I'll keep getting better, certainly I will, I'd like to be in the 2nd tier. Jay probably needs add a tailslide and a functional cutback to his bottom turn and blast / floater bag of tricks to get out of the second tier. The judges made it clear that 2 moves are not enough… Maybe Yari will lose interest. Maybe we'll get better when we are 40 and seniors. We are still kids, we are still dreaming, that keeps us young certainly… I almost certainly have to go to Morro Bay now. Suddenly, I cannot wait!

Oh yeah.

Jason versus the volcano 28/29 - down 1

No surf today, I have to focus. I have to be in the right frame of mind for an epic showdown at Salt Creek. It is reading like a movie script, with the protagonist being the against-all-odds alcoholic making a surfing comeback. I, the antagonist have to do everything in my power to try and undermine the improbable comeback of our hero. I'm the spoiler. I'm underhanded and backstabbing. Crude, rude, tough and mean. None of the other peripheral characters know this, but you do, the movie goer, the reader, the hopeful onlooker. Even our hero takes me at face value, but then again, he can only see the good in people. He is completely blind to the underhanded tactics that the enemy is employing, it is just his personality, and it is the reason why you root for him. In the shadows, I lurk, doing everything I can to keep the unlikely from happening. It is up to me, to keep the alcoholic from making his heroic and historic run to the top of the leader board, stopping him dead in his tracks from doing something that will be passed down in surfing lore or in an against-all-odds sequel. That is why I won't surf today. To let my body rest, to be fit and ready for tomorrow, to do whatever it takes to stand in his way. I want to be Butler's Duke, the one that capsizes this Cinderella story. The big stage is set for what could be the final act in this epic drama. You see it is against all odds that our hero put down the bottle, that he stood up out of the gutter, dusted off and reconnected himself to his surfboard. Misstep after painful misstep, he somehow still sits within striking distance, and this is the hook, the drama that gets the viewer attached to the outcome of the story. It would be too easy if he were to exploit his talent from day 1 and dominate the scene like he should. He is our Tom Cruise, he should be at the top, but he'll have to get there by overcoming adversity. Were he secure in his dominance, the audience would lose the will to root for him. Missing the final by 1 wave because he didn't have a watch, forgetting to sign up for San Clemente, the nervous starts that garnered 2 last place finishes, if this was not enough, the story teller unleashes another curveball. It is the India subplot which is never really explained to the audience but looms large as an unsurpassable challenge making the reader want to concede; giving up on our hero is less painful than seeing him through to certain failure. Yes, it is almost certain that he will miss Salt Creek, he will not get the girl at the end of this feel good story. The writer wrestles with the script and struggles with scenarios that will keep him in the game. He smoked a little too much sticky green one night and he thought he had it! It would be, James Bondesque, he would charge to the planes emergency exit after it had already taken off and just as it passes over Salt Creek he would pop the emergency exit jumping out with his board and air surfing all the way down to the water just in time to make the contest. Realizing that this was a chemically induced lack of judgment, he had to go back to the drawing board. It has to be improbable, but believable. The simple randomness of the event has to be such that it creates this believability, falling under the "who could make that shit up" umbrella. Ready to go, ticketed, he is walking down the jetway to his plane, all is lost. But no! What's that? Muffled over the loud speaker, "…delayed…" Flights to Europe are delayed? What? Why? The transatlantic crossing that the Spirt of St. Louis is known for has been shut down due to Dante's Inferno rearing his ugly head on that frosty little island of Iceland! It is fitting that hell's wraith as Dante describes it is the representation. For it is the last of his nine circles of hell, that our hero will have to overcome to triumph. Yes, betrayal, the ninth, the worst of Dantes circles of hell; it is here, the symbolism that is being put forth to satisfy the writers desire for meaning over entertainment. This is the place where we lose most of the audience, but for the astute, the ones that want to get into to the mind of the storyteller, they do research and it is his hope that they realize depth of the symbolism that has been embraced to make a point. It is with these gimmicks that the writer hopes to catch a reviewers eye, and to make it a classic. It is his hope that this drama will not be forgotten, but be used to teach fundamental truths of good versus evil for generations to come. Our antagonist, the betrayer, has first been foiled by the angry Icelandic inferno and now he must create bolder more devious plans. This is where we are now. How will the next chapter play out? Will our hero win? Will the villain's tactics prevail?

This story and "In God’s Hands" are the best evidence for surfers to stay away from trying to be intellectual. This could easily contend for the title of worst production of all time, which “In God’s Hands” currently owns… At least this one is non-fiction.

Anyway, I'm ready to surf tomorrow, I feel pretty good, I'll pick Jay up at 5:30. Even without any drama, well have a fun day of surfing since at Salt Creek! That is why I'm not surfing today. Rest for multiple sessions tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it!

25/25 - got it done and it was fun...

Got a lot done this morning, including a surf.  Big windswell peaks, out of control and ended in the rain.  Not a person in the water except me.  I actually caught some fun ones, I think that is because I'm used to surfing shitty waves, which in this case, it wasn't that bad.  I would've stayed out if I didn't have to go to work.There was a rainbow out at sea for my whole 45 min session.

More like a truth cookie.

Never seen a fortune like this.

24/24 - so shitty today.

From the best day in the last 6 months to the worst.  Weather was cloudy and there was some wind on it.  I was a little hungover to boot.  I caught 6 waves though, it was still fun.  Nap now.

23/23 Lowers - so good.

Surfed Trestles with Jay, but for some reason he decided to surf san'o instead of uncrowded lowers - I posted up... So good. Surfed for 4 hours until I buckled the nose of my board. The 3 buckle or major board trauma in 2 months...

My favorite surfer and the best of all time, but… 22/22

it still needs to be said. Yeah we know you dinged up your foot. Yeah, I'm sure you felt it, I'm sure it hurt. Dude, don't be a drama queen! You don't need to limp down the beach and then pull massive turn after massive turn and then limp back onto the sand to demonstrate how heroic you are. "I don't care if my foot falls off I'm still surfing, haha (smile)" ? You are not pulling some dude out of a trench in Afghanistan and saving his life, you are surfing. One time I put duct tape over my stitches on my stomach so that I could surf, I think I should've gotten a medal for that one, especially because I wasn't getting paid to surf…

Maybe people like these "overcoming the odds" stories, but I'm over it. Parko jacked his ankle last year and it cost him the world title, I didn't hear shit out of him. Maybe he was saying it, but I just didn't hear him making excuses. Kelly, you won the f'ing contest dude...

By-the-way, I had a good surf this morning. Wind swell, so fun.

Hot air cold water

Damn it looks good out there.

I'll be even after this sesh... I can wait to take apart some
springtime wedges!

Buy American... Mazda

15/15 - Good Friday - so good!

Last years post:

http://portosurf.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-23-good-friday-and-i-mean-good.html

It was really good today.  The only problem is that it was so consistent once you caught a wave it was a fight to get back out.  Anyway, I surfed for a long time on this Good Friday like last year.  I got thumped over and over for sure.  I was thrown to the bottom multiple times, most of which included me holding onto my board as a result of a duck dive.  But the payoff was a barrel fest.  I got tons of barrels but only came out of 2.  So fun, so good.

Yesterday was 14/14

It was out of control.  I was the only one out.  I made it outside somehow and then got stuck in a rip that sent me out to sea.  I was able to paddle out of that back into the line up to immediately get cleaned up by a bomb set.  Some how I got 3 waves in about 45 minutes, but it was not easy.  Glad I did it though.

The next time I think it's hard to surf...

I'll look at this photo.  Tom sent it yesterday.  It is from Tahoe on Monday.  You have to be pretty hardcore...

I cannot begin to explain...

To you how bad this is going to suck. Super consistent, windy, big and
cold. My back hurts and i'm tired. Play a violin for me please.

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What to do? What to do. I really don't want to surf this morning, but I think I is going to rain and get bigger so I should go get 3 I guess. It is so shitty.

13/11 - Mike Olson please check in for your heat!

The contest organizers really screwed this one up. First of all they didn't tell me that I was in the 7:15 heat so I was struggling to get my wetsuit on at 7:13. Secondly, I have no idea why they decided to do a living room start! So that's the situation, the horn rings at 7:15 and I have to get 3 waves by 7:30. Run down the hill and it's on! Of course it was way bigger than yesterday and super consistent so by the time I got in position it was 7:21. 9 min to get 3 waves... I won my heat.

It was good!!! Shit, that always happens. It was good and hardly anyone out because it is onday and I only have time for 3 waves. Live and never learn is my saying.

New Favorite Name on Tour:
Was - Jihad Khodr
Now is - Wiggolly Dantas
Both brazies.

The Nice Day... 12/10

Got 4 waves. It was about 80 degrees on the beach with people
everywhere. There were a few waves to be had but I hadn't found them.

11/9 - Fun at turtles ok at porto

Surfed porto int he morning yesterday, I got a few, just not the one I wanted.  Then me and Jay drove down to my Encinitas for my brothers b-day party.  I got some good ones at turtles!  So fun to surf a reef after tons of beach break.  You feel like everything slows down.  I had one that I got a hold of for 3 shwacks.  It has been a long time for me to do that...  Back to shit beach break, oh well, I really think the discipline in hard to surf stuff helps my surfing even if it isn't as fun.

9/8 - Changing order up

It is 9 sessions in 8 days.  That makes more sense.  I headed out yesterday in the arvo and got a few.  Saw Bret out there and he said it was going to shut down.  He was right, it shut down, I got cold and caught a crappy one in.  I surfed basically by myself.  Had a few good ones early though.  Logged seshy!

Vocabulary Lesson - 8/8

Shithouse [shit-hous]

-adjective

1. When the surf generally sucks

2. When anything generally sucks

"This morning the waves were shithouse, even though I caught a few all the way to the inside"

This morning it was shithouse, I got up and thought it was offshore so I ran down to the waters edge in the dark. It was then I realized that it was side shore at about 10mph and there was a pretty good bump/lump on the water. I was able to surf for more than an hour, but I did not catch much.

Going Back to Tavi!!!

Two weeks of paradise!

Not that flash today.

Living the Dream - 7/7

Surfed this morning - I'll admit, it was a forced effort.  There were some waves however, but I only had time for to catch 4 because I woke up late.  Only one real wave where I had 2 turns on it.  It felt good.  I'm looking forward to a good long session where I don't have to get out of the water at a set time.

 

Living the Dream - Erik Furuholmen

I was joking when I said Jay you should enter that contest, but it looks like a dude that we surf with in the WSA did.  He got a 1.45 in the round of 128 for the Vans Pier Classic at HB.  Does that mean he's pro?  Do we need to file a formal protest?  Jay do you think you could get better than a 1.45?

That Stupid Guy...

I wish that I could take credit for the name, but my neighbor gave it to me.  She is the sweetest little old lady (80+).  But, one weekday she didn't know that I was home and I had just put the trashcans away (my trashcans – not hers), I admit they were a little mixed up.  Anyway, she had to go fix them (obsessive or something).  While she was arranging them to her liking, she got all angry and yelled, "That stupid guy!".   Sweet old lady, yeah right!  So funny.

6/6 Days/Sessions

Starting to feel it again. Getting that confidence back. Oh yeah. Late drop, throw it on edge pull in high and tight. It is the little nuances that you don't think about that make the difference. When pulling into a barrel, the tendency is to just want to stand there. What I have found is that if pull under and go as high as possible in the barrel and make a slight adjustment (turning down the face of the wave) you can pick up just enough speed and tuck just enough to fit in and make it out. I did this in the morning. Sick barrel - came out clean. Then I found another one that I back-doored. A kid was right in front of me duck diving, so I either had to pull it off or we would be a tangled mess on the inside. Same high-and-tight move. Although I did not make it out of this one, I fit in perfectly and adjusted along the way to get some crazy travel time. I pulled in about 15 yards before the kid and when I fell, I came up about 15 yards on the other side of the kid. So I was in there for about 30 yards - a pretty good distance for a barrel at my home break. The kid immediately threw his hands up and hooted for me. That will make your session, it did mine. Of course, I had to play it off, but I was stoked!

Eddie Means offshore - 5/5

Yeah Yeah.  So good out there today.  Had a stand-up (maybe a little crouched) barrel but got pinched.  I heard there was going to be a Catalina eddie today.  It is the time of the year for those to start and what that means for me is offshores.  I love it.  3 and 3 is where I stand, I need a couple double session days to give me a bit of a buffer.  Jay is supposed to be doing the streak with me, not sure if he is.  I'm really at 5 and 5 because I started last Friday and I also surfed Saturday in Huntington, so screw it I'm using the 5/5 number.

2-2-22

2 days, 2 sessions on the 22nd.

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Wierd this morning. Shallow sand bars, pretty solid out there though. Had wrong board. Caught a wave going out to sea, cuz it broke on the shallow sand bar. Should've stood up - would've been a first.

Time to get back in the game...

I'm 5 sessions behind right now on my 365 in 365. It'll be tough to catch up this week, but I will. Work out today and Yoga tonight. Get ready for the pain! I don't know why I'm always injured during the same time of the year (last year was knee surgery). The waves are the best (most challenging) and that is what I love. I'll be back in the water this week. This morning there were spitting barrels reminiscent of Cape Hatteras or something. Nobody out. It is breaking down towards Dockweiler now! The sand has moved so much that there are bars down there. Impressive. I have to get back in the water...