Day 122 - So crowded, It was small.

I some how ended up in the middle of a big group of soft top surf schoolers. I just surfed as I always do, I wasn't mean, but I did push a couple of people over who were obliviously dropping in on me. Nobody could surf out there. Which brings up the "epicenter theory". Is it he quality of waves or the level of talent that brings about better surfers? This is a discussion that happens a lot. I think it is more related to the epicenter. In other words, the more good surfers there are around, the more likely you will be good. Yes, I guess, waves are a requirement, but then why do the best surfers in the world come from Florida? It makes no sense. Bad waves + good surfers = the best surfers. Pushing the limits in slop, is tough, but it makes it so much easier when you actually do surf good waves. The point of this is that there were no good surfers out there today, so I probably did not improve...

Knee high and clean wind swell. I surfed my short board.

She just said "tripindicular"... The stuff that is on TV during the weekends. I don't know how it ended up on this channel, but I'm into it now. It also fits with the theme as there were certainly a bunch of Val Surfers out there today.

I may go surf some more slop now... Not feeling like working right now. I work a lot, not always for my day job though.

Day 120 - Even Smaller. How is that possible?

In between goofing around and having a good time, sometimes I like to surf. I thought yesterday was small! Today, I was riding, well let's just call them waves for lack of a better descriptor, they were micro! I did manage to catch a bombing knee high wave and with all the pressure to perform, well I fell off the side of my 10 footer. It was glassy and the water was warm, I think a SUP would have been the call out there today. This guy would have been stoked: TheLittleGuy. Anyway, still a good time, still a good way to start my day.

120 / 30 = 4 is that true? I've been surfing every day for 4 months? Wow! The thing about it is that life flies by so fast, but these last 4 months have gone by exceeding slow as they have been packed so full of experiences and such a good time. You should try it sometime, you know doing what makes you happy...

Day 119 - Small, Very Small...

Clean wind swell at about ankle to knee high prevailed today. It called for a long board a 10 footer at that. I had fun still, that is just how surfing is. Ankle high to triple over head, I have a smile on my face. When it's bigger, that's when I put my serious look on.

The crew this morning had to double take as I have not been on the mal (aussie for long board) for a long time. Good times are had on the journey... The destination is always waiting.

I was afraid this would happen...

I did not want my site to become an outlet for posting funny haircuts...

But, what am I going to do?

Reader contributions:

Happy B-day Pops!

My Dad's Birthday today! I hope it is a great one!

Forecast...

Umm?

Day 118 - Home Stretch

Small wind swell prevailed again today. Clean conditions made if fun and I was surfing fairly well. I went for it a couple of times and almost pulled some big tail slides, but just barely losing my balance a the end. I feels good to be back on my game. I cannot wait for tomorrow, for real swell or even this afternoon. I'm not sure how many days I'll take it to, but I doubt 126 will be the end of this streak...

Day 117 - Finally loosening up...

Wind swell, my favorite kind of swell for Porto. The pace of it, the randomness, you stay on your toes and find some gems. I had 3 rights that I let loose on - caught about 15 waves total. Wow! That felt good! My Komp loves to release on this kind of shit. My back is still bothering me, but it loosened up enough to transfer some real power to my back foot for a good tail slide or two. I'm back in the game, now its time to count my blessings and get back on the program. Hot Yoga tonight is the call - not looking forward to it at all! The first one is the toughest one.

Day 115 - Toughest 2 days yet

Hot summer fun. Well, it should be anyway. But my back is jacked up. It is weird, a little more like my neck is screwed up. Anyway, I got out there an caught 3 last night, but I was in so much pain that I think I was probably turning white. I have been icing my back all day and I'm ready to head out and get 3 again, just to keep the streak alive. I'm so close to reaching to my goal, but it could slip away if my back doesn't get better. We'll have to see after today.

Right now it is about waist-to-chest high with quite a bit of afternoon breeze on it. I'm not concerned about he waves... Just getting it into the books is what I'm concerned about. After, I'm looking forward to a beer and UFC 100 at Summer's. Should be a good time as long as my back is not completely seized up.

No Surf Yet - Will have to surf after work.

Back is still bothering me. Not sure what to do about it. Hot Yoga? Maybe tomorrow. The waves looked really fun though, with glassy conditions and waist to chest high with good shape.

Day 113 - 3 and out

I suddenly have a problem with my neck. Almost bad enough to threaten the streak... I made it though, the waves were so good. I just caught 3 very short ones to log a day. I'm going to start updating again, no matter how short they are. Such a nice day...

Closing in on my goal of 126. I don't know where I'll stop, but probably not at 126. It is just too fun!

Um calculating... Day 92 - Yesterday

So I have to admit, it has been a little tough to get in the water after 2 weeks in Tavi. My mind is running wild after my travels over the last month or so. First Nica and then Tavi. During this streak, I've had 7 + 15 or 22 days of surf in foreign waters. In world class waves, what an experience!!! Now what? More surfing at home, more loving life for what it gives me. It gives me a lot! I'm so fortunate, shooting from the hip all the time and hitting my mark enough to keep it spicy.

Yesterday, I held off surfing until the last moment. I got out there at about 7pm with the intention that I'd just get 3 waves. The waves were bad, but I found myself not getting out after my 3 wave quota was met. I stayed and surfed until about 8pm or so. I found myself enjoying the challenge of the 1 to 2 foot dirty wind slop peaks. A lot of people complain about the quality of waves. I'm one of those people sometimes. But come on! I've surfed for 92 days straight! Are you kidding me? How is that grounds for complaints? If I can do it, anyone can. Excuses will certainly stop most people as they try and stop me everyday. In the end commitment supercedes all, commitment and integrity lead to fulfillment. I'm so stoked! Stoked on life! My next chapter in life will be governed by the prior principle. To be continued...

I still need to get out there today. I could not wake up this morning for some reason. Next week, I'll start back in the gym - not crazy - just at maintenance levels.

One more point. My homey just made it to 90 days of sobriety today. I'm so stoked and proud of him. 90 days ago, the Vegas over/under line would have been a week on the bro, but now he has a new job, new attitude, new lease on life. The gutter is where he was headed but the sky is the limit now. So stoked. It is my opinion that we tend to gravitate our conversations towards the negatives in life, complaining about this or that, political blunderings, what is going to happen if the economy doesn't get better, whatever. But also just an opinion, these success story's like Jay's are where life lives. It is why we live, for the positives. I have to admit, I'm transforming more now than I ever have. I'm embracing these successes and using them for inspiration. Call it what you will, fulfillment or whatever but the end result is that I'm happier than I ever have been and I'm really not trying to get anywhere. I'm here now and it is perfect. I'll be somewhere else in the future and that will be just as perfect as it is now. Wherever that is...

The streak still lives!

I haven't surfed yet today because of an early meeting, but I returned from Tavarua on Saturday and got our there. A little weird, to surf SoCal after 15 straight days surfing some of the best lefts on the planet. Trying to go right was funny, my body just could not do it. I wonder how many waves I caught in Tavarua? I wonder how much tube time I racked up? I wonder how much distance I covered? I wonder why I'm not living the dream now. I wonder a lot of things these days.

I'll have to calculate the my streak later on. I have a lot to catch up on here at work! I didn't know that I would stay 2 weeks! So many stories.

Headed to tavi!!!

Sorry I haven't been updating much. Just too busy! I'm a little
conerned that the waves aren't going to be epic. Oh well, I'm sure it
will still be a blast! Look for my tavi shackumentary shortly after
the trip!!!

Day 65 - Excuse me, Um, Ma’am?

Mrs. Nature? I’m not sure if you are married, so I’ll go with Ms. Nature: Please do not do this to me. I’m going on the surf trip of a lifetime and the super long range models are not showing any life at all!!! Why would you play such a joke on me? I have stamina for miles, lungs for days and determination for weeks, which I’m sure, are all great for snorkeling in Fiji, but that is not the point! Yeah, I get it, I haven’t recycled enough, my carbon footprint is arguably bigger than a house, but I don’t go out of my way to upset your ways. If I had more motivation, I would, I could strap myself to the front of whatever environment destroying machine that the capitalistic greedy evil exploiters are employing to accumulate useless illusionary amenities at the cost of the health of your children. Ok, so I’m not a tree hugger, but I'm conscientious! Please mother, will you spin some magic in the south Tasman Sea for me? I’m just asking nicely, I will not change ways if you don’t, I won’t start pouring my motor oil down the storm drains, I’m not going to start using Styrofoam again and I won’t start making fun of hybrid owners, it is not like that. So just to be clear this is by no means a threat. It is just a kind request, I am just asking nicely for you to work your magic. Do you remember that time that we went to Indo, in ’04? You were there, pumping swell at us, calming the winds for us, and making the right conditions for a trip of a lifetime. It was you, me, Jason, Ed, all the Brazilians and that one Auzzie on the Huey? I know you like to joke around and you got us! We were smoking and drinking everyday and you kept pumping swell at us. I was like, “Mama, that’s funny, you held me down for 15 seconds!” We had such a great time, do you remember? I do! I miss those times with you Ms. Nature, I do miss them indeed. Well, if I don’t hear back from you, take care ok? I’m sure there will be other times when you are not so busy refreezing the southern seas or getting ready to stir up hurricanes in the eastern Atlantic and maybe we can get together for some coffee or something.


Yours truly,

Mike



Today was small again, the water is warming up. Jay was noticeably perturbed with the conditions, but I was in Tavarua again. I had one wave where I was able to generate plenty of speed, lay on my rail and bring it around for a bank off the whitewater. I’m feeling pretty sharp, pretty loose and very ready. I’m ready to head out today!

Today is my peak day of training. I’ve been stepping it back up again. Yesterday I swam 3000 yards; today I’m going to do 3500 yards and then I’ll begin to back down and start to rest. I’m holding my breath every lap for as long as possible on one of the lengths so my cardio is tip-top. I’ve been working out as well, the strength is good. Yoga every other day has me feeling lose. My weight is down to about 175 or so – that’s a good weight for me. The Nica trip was great training! I mean I cannot express enough how stoked I am. There are no words, there is no way to transfer it to paper and it simply is not quantifiable. I’m a kid, I have grom-stoke frothing from every pore. Living it up and loving every second.

Dropping:




Floating:






Tucking:

Super Long Range Models...

They are showing absolutely no swell for the beginning of the week that I'm going. Hopefully, the models are wrong (that far out, there is a high degree of error). Maybe it is a good thing, but I'm assuming it is not. I'd prefer to see some potentially large storm developing under Australia in the long range forecasts. However, I also do not like to see a ton of swell just before going to a destination (this is certainly not the case - it looks pretty bad there right now, so I'm optimistic). Usually, when there is a ton swell or it is ideal just prior, it means that when you go, it will be mellow or the conditions will have changed for the worse. I guess that is just how weather is, heatwaves and coldsnaps always break. In Nica, we caught about 1/2 of a solid swell, which kept us busy for about 3 days. We also capitalized on a pulse on the Thursday (one day swell). So, this is what I do, I start looking at all the charts and put my amateur wave forecasting hat on (I'm pretty bad at it - I just cannot help it when I'm this fired up).

Day 64 - Tavi Tavi Tavi!!!

I surfed waist high Tavarua today. Well not really, but that is where my mind was, so it may as well have been. I'm working so hard to peak (physically) even a little bit more - it's all mental at this stage, I'm there physically. I want to be ready if it gets serious out there, there will be a bunch of Hawaiians on the trip and a ton of better surfers than me, so I'll be pushed by both talent and cajones. The Hawaiians will certainly be like, "It's 2 foot out there", which is when I'll double take and say, "How do you get a stand up barrel in 2 foot?". That's what they do you know, it is all about downplaying the conditions on their end, that's the culture which has developed out of regularly being subject to serious surf. This happened at Macaroni's once. I'll have to find the video of that sometime. There were some Hawaiians calling it 2 foot and guys were getting stand up barrels. The joking aside, guys from the islands are typically the real deal and they'll drop in and they'll pull in. They'll surf double overhead stuff like its nothing, doing turns where it doesn't seem possible. I can't wait to see this, experience it, take it all in. There is no way that I'm going to let this opportunity pass. If I can paddle in, I'm on it. If there is a barrel, I'm in it. That is what I'm thinking, that is what I'm doing. I'm in my twilight of taking a serious beatings, so I'm going to rack up as many of those as possible now (I think I got whiplash from a pounding in Nica)! Without risk, no reward. So stoked, so stoked. Just have to hope for a solid swell or two during my time there. I watched a show on Tavarua on Fuel TV last night after Tom informed me about it via text. It was a Nixon trip to Tavi, probably in February or something (not prime time), they got fun waves, but nothing serious. So you can get sort of skunked there, I hope that is not us.

We caught some fun ones out there today. Nothing GOOD but, I had fun. I kept trying to bottom turn even though there was no room to do so. It was about waist high on the inside and bowly. We both were able to get some speed. One wave, I thought Jay was going to launch as he had a ton of speed, but he instead opted for a super extended floater - probably the right call, but I like to let loose when there is nothing to lose.


Backside Airdrop!


Ben sitting pretty:



Turning where I shouldn't:

I love surfing:

Day 63 - Getting Better

I had fun out there to day on the fun gun. Had a couple of full-attack snaps on the fun gun! Generated speed on some waist-high bowls. Yeah, I can go fast after that Nica madness. I'm ready, so ready for Tavarua. You thought I was amped for Nica! Are you kidding me? I'm going to surf arguably 2 of the best waves on this planet with about 20 or so surfers? Really? Life is so good to me. I count my blessing every day. I truly have a special life going and love every second of it. I am a happy, happy camper.

Laker game last night agains the Nuggets... I lost my voice. Me and Jay, yeah we went. Insane!!! Nail-biter! I'm a huge fan if you haven't figured, even though my pops is a Laker-hater. I guess, I forgive him.

If you don't surf, this is Tavarua:

http://www.tavarua.com/

I really hope there are good waves while we are there. I'm in shape, I'm ready. I'm pulling in on bombs!!! It's that simple. Tube time is the call. The high line is my line on this trip.

I don't know anyone on the trip, but I'm sure I'll get to know them. It will be mostly industry people as a guy from Volcom is setting up the trip. More on how the trip came about later. I'm pretty busy right now.

A couple of Nica Pics (More to come)

Me (having the time of my life!):

Painting in the airport in Nica.

I just saw this (forgot that I took it) as I was sending the pic from the Laker warm up. Had to share it. I almost bought it. Just kidding. I wonder who does buy these things? There were a lot of them.

Lakers!!! - Addendum: They won!!! Crazy Crazy game.

Day 62 - Lakers!

At the game tonight. Should be good, we have take down the Nuggets in game 1! Got 4 waves today, it was a little bigger than yesterday. Had to throw some turns on the big daddy again. Still had fun. I'm back on the workout plan... Did I mention that I'm going to Tavarua next Thursday? There is a pretty good story behind that, but it will have to wait since I'm watching the purple and gold warm up right now and I'm sending this from my phone. More to come...

Day 61 - 3 and out

Just got my quota today. Tiny!!! I got my 3 on the long board and got out. Ankle slappers on the sand, it happens. Still tried to challenge the conditions - I cannot resist - I tried to crank a turn on the long board where I shouldn't have and it rolled over, I fell on it banging my forearm on the rail. Some things never change. Not worth the pain, but I cannot stop myself. I have a lot to do in the coming days. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm going on another surf trip in less than two weeks? I cannot wait (again)!!!!

Day 60 - Small and Bad

It is hard going from thumping barrels to crumbly knee high mess! I got our there with Jay pretty late as I was messing with my computer all day. It seems I screwed something up with one of my programs, so I had to restore the whole computer from an archive instead of messing with it. Fortunately, that worked.

I rode the long board and Jay rode this fish that he has been fixing, which he borrowed from our buddy Frank. It was downright awful out there. What a contrast! But, I still had fun. Imagine that! I caught about 6 waves and didn't get my hair wet.

I'm going to do the best at recounting my Nica trip over the next few days. I'll probably forget some details, but I think it is better to get something logged now. It was a good trip, but not an epic one. We had a blast, some barrels, some bombs. I love surf trips. Now it is time to start prepping for my next one. In two weeks! I leave May 28th! More details to be revealed later.

Day 51 - Taking off to nica!

I cannot wait to get there. Today was really fun, buy I cut it short
in order to rest and get ready for nica. I had 5 or six waves, which were chest high and peaky. So fun, but my mind was set on getting to Nica. I got out early and got to packing.

Day 50 - I don't remember...

But I know that I surfed! I'm updating this after my Nica trip. I got a barrel the day before, I cannot remember my session right now. That's OK, I was out there. We had a pretty good string of wind swell before I took off to Nica.

Day 49 - Fun but not so fun

Session 55

There was a lot of swell in the water, and it was pretty shifty due to the proximity of the secondary wind swell. I got lucky out there. My second wave, a doubled up left came right to me. I knew it was going to be meaty so I paddled for the shoulder to get to the edge to try and avoid getting closed out. I dropped in with no expectations, but it threw and I pulled into the slot, suddenly I was looking at the lip crashing in front of me just past the nose of my board. I was in there! A fairly quick in and out, but I got pretty deep and I came out dry. I don't know the last time I had a legitimate barrel, one where you pull in and shoot out dry like that. Maybe a few months? I don't remember right now, but I know it has been a while. I closed it out with a floater off the whitewater and a hoot. Remember the post where I said don't claim it? Well, I did not make a physical gesture, but my hoot probably resulted in the same effect. I was stoked! I shouldn't have, but I couldn't hold back the emotion. I had the discussion with Jay after that, he said, "you won't see another one of those out here, so don't even bother looking." He was right, but I was still looking. Other than that I had a closeout floater/off the lip on a wave that was overhead - about as big as I can go on something like that. I pulled it, which was another highlight of the session. In general though I was not surfing that well on waves that were a little frustrating to deal with. I'm so looking forward to getting on the road. We locked in our lodging today. We just need to get a ride to the beach from the airport and we are set. I'm extremely busy at work and I'm behind - back to it.

Day 48 - Viva Mexico!

Very short - It's crunch time. I'm under the gun at work. Today, Jason broke his streak and did not head out there with me. The waves were backing off in the high tide, but I still had a couple that I was able to connect through with some pretty good cutbacks. Waves were probably shoulder high on the sets and I went left more than right. My surfing is pretty sharp at this point. Yesterday was my last swim workout. I'm planning on heading to yoga tonight. I think it is the teacher that used be in a Russian circus. She is good.

Day 47 - Bad Time

I headed out for another session. The waves looked good, but I really struggled. From stepping on my leash to just being in the wrong spot. The tide came in and the wind picked up, it was overhead and I caught probably 10 waves, with the best one only resulting in 2 cutbacks. I did not have my mojo out there tonight.

Day 47 – Objective accomplished

I’m worn out! Smack! Face first into the wall of exhaustion. Perfect. By the numbers so since last Tues (6 days): 6 workouts (3 legs/3 arms), 6 yoga sessions (3 Hot/3 normal), 6 Swims (12,000 yards), 6 core workouts (1/2 hour long each) and of course surfing every day. Basically, I’ve been working out in some shape or form (including surfing) for about 4 ½ to 5 hours a day and I’m not messing around, sweating a lot pushing as hard as I can. I’m pretty happy with my progress! Especially yoga, I’m actually feeling pretty good in class. 2 things to note here, I think it is clearly easier to get back to levels that you have already been achieved (last summer for me) and the second is that there are huge benefits to going to yoga for consecutive days. It just seems your body does not have a chance to tighten back up – they always say this, but I guess I’ve never really believed them. My arm and leg strength are about 80% and 90% respectively (as % of peak weight I have lifted in the past). I think I will be close to 100% after a few days of rest. What do I have left? My final 2k yards of swimming will be today and then I’ll begin to rest my arms. I have a 2 more leg workouts (tonight and Wednesday), One more arm workout (tomorrow), 5 more yoga sessions (3 normal/ 2 hot). Tomorrow I’ll swim as well, just breath training however (I’ll only do 1,000 with as much as possible underwater). I might add in a sand hill or two on Wed/Thurs. The point is that my legs don’t need rest, it is the arms that are always problematic because it is necessary to paddle so much when you are surfing everyday. Of course, core workouts every day until I go (even while I’m there). Well, it would have been better to spread these workouts over a few months, but I didn’t know that I would be going. Yeah, this has been hard work, but for the amount of benefit that I’m getting, it is nothing. My back is pain free! A little twinge here or there, but for the most part it is good. I’m exhausted, but my surfing feels reasonably sharp. I feel like I’m going to be ready. Bring it on, maybe well get a bombing swell that I can test my limits on. Maybe it will be just small the whole time and I’ll be able weave and turn. I don’t know but, I’m glad I’m here instead of that place of physical insecurity.

Today, the waves were solid, but I didn’t really get much. A solid cutback, a weave to the inside, a few beat downs from the lip. There were some pretty solid sets out there. Jay says it will pick up in to the close of the week. We’ll see, it could be good to test my thumb tail before I go. I think this will by my “go to” board – 6’3” rounded tail, but wide enough to keep things loose. It works well in waves where you need to turn and fit into barrels. Hopefully, it will get challenging here on Thursday or Friday. That would be a nice late season surprise!

Day 46 – Thanks Warren!

My good buddy Warren, who is also my lifelong physical therapist, designed a program for me to strengthen my core. He did this a while back, but I still have the workout (he does these stick drawings of what I’m supposed to do, utilizing the ball and the foam roll). I have been doing this everyday along with my other workouts. The surprising thing is that it is not only helping my back to feel better, but I’m reaching new levels in yoga as well. It is not that I care to be a standout yogi; it is just that it is much more enjoyable when there is less pain. Anyway, it is allowing me to make more progress than I had previously thought possible for such a short period of time practicing. My back is feeling good! Multiple surf trips have been hampered by my bad back and it has been real trouble for the last 10 years. The first one that I remember where it was a real problem was Punta Abreojos with Tim, probably around 1999. The first session, the waves were good, but I had to get out of the water after only 3 waves. Then we got his Jeep stuck in the sand… So many stories. Anyway, I had an MRI once and they said that I had a herniated disk and that there was some degeneration. So, I need core strength to make up for the difference and fortunately it is right now. Incidentally, Warren had given me 4 exercises before I went on that trip to Abreojos and it got me back in the water then too! I did them on the beach before and after every session.

This morning the waves were good and my back felt perfect. I got out there, but I was too amped. Jason, had already surfed and he had told me that it was good. My first 5 or so waves, I really struggled. I couldn’t find my groove after riding the long board and the fun gun. And then it happened, right in front of a good surfer that I know from Santa Cruz, his name is Nick. I took off on a chest high left, slowed things down a little, got in tune with the wave, picking up speed I got out ahead of the wave so I laid that squirrely board on rail. My cutback was so strong, I had strength to burn as I turned the compressor so sharp yet so efficiently that I was heading back up the face at the whitewash that I had just left behind and I crushed it, throwing my board off the whitewater with authority, finding myself in the right spot again. What an amazing feeling, that’s how you are supposed to do it. Nick gave me hoot and then came up and said hello. From there I was letting go of snaps, floaters, cutbacks, everything. I felt very good physically even though I was worn from all the working out.

Day 45 – Just 3

There was news of a front coming through, so I knew it could be bad. It was awful. White caps and wind. I rode the fun gun and Jason rode my 6’8” traveler (pin tail made for barrels – funny that he rode it). Afterward, I pushed very hard on my prep, the workout was brutal. I finally tried out the Spectrum Club in Redondo Beach. I liked it, it is in the marina, it has an outdoor pool and the gym is open air throughout. I did Yoga, Lifted (legs), Core and then swam 2,000 yards.

Day 44 - Up the Ladder

Today was small, but better than I thought. I sandbagged by ridding the long board as it was very small and frustrating yesterday on the shorty, I just wanted to get a lot of waves and not struggle to catch them. I did, I got my share of waves, pretty much every set that came through and I even had some pretty good turns on the 10 footer. As I usually do, I imagined that I was on my short board, arms in proper position, switchblade stance* trying to take the extended rails of that 10 foot boat to their limits. It was probably waist to stomach high with some decent punchy waves on the inside, I could have ridden my shortboard. I always ride that long board without a leash. I lost it once today and had to swim in reminding me of the soreness in my arms from swimming for the last three days and surfing the last 43.

I’m still on my plan to do yoga every day until I leave, workout (lift) up until Wednesday, swim up until Monday or Tuesday, and continue to do core workouts everyday. I was pretty happy with my ability to hold my breath longer yesterday so I’m a little intrigued to see what happens today. What I do know is that my strength is pretty low right now as I am very tired, exactly where I want to be. Powering through this will pay dividends, I am certain.

*I call it the switchblade, where you put weight over the front foot and the back leg extended with a bend in the knee), Machado doing it nicely on a top turn:

Huh?!? I have to see his… I think it is from a movie “The Present” by Thomas Cambell, not sure though. I think I checked out another Woodshed Films production down in Encinitas at Patagonia last September or with my bro. I'm pretty sure this is Chris Malloy. Funny.

Day 43 - Tired

Tired and happy about it. I'm headed to the brink. I'm really not sure why that sounds fun, but sometimes you just need to see what you can do, how far you can take it. Maybe it is bad for my health, I don't know, but I enjoy it. The swim will happen later today, I have to get some work done now. I guess work should not be considered dilatory even though that's what it feels like.

Today, was a downer after all of the good waves yesterday - it had dropped off quite a bit. I had a few, but I was sluggish. That's OK, as long as I'm not sluggish in Nica. I hope we don't get skunked, but if we do, I have lots a of books to read. I cannot ever seem to find the time to read them, so it will still be great trip!

If anyone wants to meet us get your tix! Right now Ben and I are locked, his buddy Drew is probable and Tommy (from Orlando fame) is a maybe. Here is the info:

Flight number	Copa Airlines CM303	Departs	Sat, 09 May, 02:12
From	Los Angeles	Arrives	Sat, 09 May, 10:30
To	Panama, Tocumen Intl	Class	Economy
Number of stops	0	Equipment	Boeing 737-800

Flight number	Copa Airlines CM106	Departs	Sat, 09 May, 11:18
From	Panama, Tocumen Intl	Arrives	Sat, 09 May, 11:58
To	Managua	Class	Economy
Number of stops	0	Equipment	Embraer 190

Flight number	Copa Airlines CM105	Departs	Sat, 16 May, 15:41
From	Managua	Arrives	Sat, 16 May, 18:16
To	Panama, Tocumen Intl	Class	Economy
Number of stops	0	Equipment	Embraer 190

Flight number	Copa Airlines CM302	Departs	Sat, 16 May, 19:02
From	Panama, Tocumen Intl	Arrives	Sun, 17 May, 00:05
To	Los Angeles	Class	Economy
Number of stops	0	Equipment	Boeing 737-800

Day 42 - Flip the switch

The switch has been flipped. I'm a maniac. Water on the brain, no joke. After my swim yesterday, I went home and toiled through the core workout that Warren (my friend and a PT) designed for me to help stabilize my lower back, then a quick leg workout at the gym and finally to yoga (regular, not hot). Today, I woke up at 5am and did a brief core warm-up before my surf this morning (see below). At lunch I did another 2k, to be followed by hot yoga after work, a core workout and then lift (arms this time). What I'm trying to do, as I have done this kind of emergency prep before, is to force myself to hit the physical fitness wall as hard as possible as soon as possible. I want my body to ache with exhaustion. This is what happens on surf trips (if it is good), which is a natural result of such a single-purpose-trip. The idea is to be able to have triple-sessions everyday and more stamina allows for the best probability of being out there when everyone else has gone in for lunch or whatever. Fortunately, surfing everyday goes a long way toward the prep work, now I just need to smooth out the rough edges. I'm amped! Oh yeah, just to clarify, this is not a surf trip, it is a video acquisition trip. I need footage for my newly formed video production business. But I'll surf between all of the hard work!

The good spots get crowded, that is just a fact of life. Colorado's, where we are going (posted a pic of it yesterday) can get real crowded for short periods of time. That is because it is frequented by a number of boats in the area and if they all show up at the same time, it can be a mess. In this case, it is better to just wait it out because it will not be long before they all clear out. There is something peculiar about group think that affords many opportunities to surf between the gaps of a “shift changes”. In this case, land-based camps service the break, which utilize boats to get there, so the group dynamic is magnified by the fact that the boated-in surfers require frequent ferrying back to the camps. It is actually preferable for it to get really crowded because you know that the opportunity for solo barrels lies just beyond the frustration of the water-taxi surfers. For some reason, these windows happen at all venues, I've seen 50 guys at Macaroni's turn into 5 within an hour, 25 guys turn into 2 (me and Ben) at K-59 in El Sal, 20 into 2 at Lance's Left (yesterday's post). You have to be ready to pounce. Fatigue can be an issue, but if you have already been there and back recently (the idea behind the workouts), then it is no problem. Nica has that prevailing offshore wind, so triple sessions are likely because it does not typically blow out in the arvo.

Today’s surf was silly. I counted 36 waves during my session. It was soooo consistent and good! All but one of those waves, I was able to complete turns on! I had so many good ones that they all meld together in my head. Jay came out and said, “I saw you fall on that set, that good one.” I honestly could not remember the wave that he was talking about and it was a set! It was a good workout to be sure. I got out there at the crack, right at 5:45 and then headed back up the hill at 7:30, so that is a 105 minute session. This means that I caught a wave on average every 3 minutes. That rarely happens! But wind swell comes through again, which is why it is my favorite.

Addendum: I wrote this yesterday but I don’t know why I did not hit publish. I think I was probably a little delirious from my swim at lunch. I pushed it a little too hard. I felt sick after. But I did manage to recover enough to go to hot yoga, the gym (arms) and another core workout. I’m laser-focused on this prep. I guess I cannot be accused of apathy in this case - I really hope we score because I’m amped!

I’ve been skunked in Costa Rica, not a good feeling. Maybe we’ll get lucky this time. By-the-way, in case you haven’t noticed, the surf trip has already started for me. I’m on it right now, the anticipation and excitement started to grow as soon as I had confirmation on my plane ticket.

Day 41 - Locked in...

Yep, Colorado's! Bought my ticket today. I'm in emergency workout-prep-mode. I swam 2,000 yards today at lunch, about a quarter of it underwater. I'm in better shape than I thought! I try to take myself to that panic stage every lap by swimming underwater as long as possible*. The goal is to be comfortable when it gets heavy and it can get heavy in Nica. I'm trying to simulate double sessions for the next 7 or 8 days and then I'll rest to be ready to go when I get in the Central American water 2 Sundays from now. Tonight, strength training and then Yoga. Cardio, Strength and Flexibility. Why? All for the possibility of getting in a little earlier, making a correction just a little sharper, feeling a little more confident to draw a difficult line and pull in. With strong offshore winds and shallow sandbars at Colorado's, late takeoffs are the norm helping to achieve the goal of coming as close to disaster as possible, which is a requirement if your are to instantaneously transform a few seconds into the unforgettable. I'll be just marginally more prepared, which is probably more mental than anything, but who cares. I'm mental, but I'm motivated.

Today was a little bit junky but fun. The achievement today was a couple of deep-dish bottom turns that resulted 2 really comfortable frontside snaps. It was probably chest to shoulder high on the sets. I caught a lot of waves in a short period of time again today. I had one really good right where I floated a long section and then powered off the bottom straight up into a rapidly diminishing shoulder. I have never been known for my chirography, but this is backhand maneuver is becoming my signature.


*The first time we went to Indo, inexplicably, Jason had the bright idea to buy a carton of cigi's for the boat trip ...ahh the Huey I. Also unexplainable, we bought something like 12 cases of beer to split between the 3 of us (I think we ran out about day 9 of 12). I think there are only 20 per case of Bintang, but I could be wrong, anyway it means we drank about 8 or 9 a day each - of course some days heavy and some light. Once again, I don't have a good answer, it really doesn't make sense to spend $3k and go around the world to sit on a boat drinking and smoking in a Muslim country! Of course the entire time we had macking waves. We were surfing Lance's left, me and one other guy from our boat, an Aussie, I forget his name but he was cool. It was doldrums calm and hot with double overhead+ waves. This typically is not that big of a deal in Indo, because you can usually stay on the shoulder if you want, out of harm's way. Well, I cannot control myself, I pulled into a 2x bomb, I was locked, I had come out of a less threatening one on the prior wave. Not this time. I got thumped. Not reef, but rolled. I started on the outside and stayed underwater for the duration, I came up on the inside. I don't know how, but I was just in the turbulence the whole time. I came up, after probably about 15 seconds which seemed like an eternity. Judging by the distance that I had traveled underwater, this is a good estimate. I don't know how those big wave guys do it! My thesis is that it probably comes down to preparation. Adrenaline + charcoal lungs, had me seeing stars, I didn't have much left in the tank, I wasn't relaxing, just burning oxygen as fast as possible. Remind you, there were only 2 of us out and it was perfect, but I had to get out! It seems that the lack of oxygen or the scare set in motion an excruciating headache, I could no longer surf. However, I was back on the piss (as Aussies say) that night and chain smoking, go figure. Fortunately, those days are past (drinking and smoking heavily) and I survived, but this memory is why I'm fanatical about being in shape for a surf trip.

The Huey (it used to be blue and pretty run down):

Day 40 - Bathroom Window

I was up early (5:15) trying to get all of the chores done that I had not accomplished over the tweakend (stuck in the editing bay the entire time). It seems that in my laziness (or activeness if you are my computer) over the last few weeks I have not been able to take advantage of a true dawn patrol, one where you have to squint to see your first wave. However, this is the time of year when every day gets noticeably longer. I hadn't realized it, but I could have been out there by 5:45 - the earlier dawn had crept up on me! This morning, after one look at the waves, my calculations told me that it was good, just the kind of waves I like, consistent, peaky wind swell with offshores and a low tide to force every last drop of power out of them. In between taking my dry cleaning (it opens at 6am) and getting money out of the ATM at the gas station (which took 2 attempts as I forgot my wallet the first time), I woke Jason up to to tell the inveterate early morning complainer to mobilize because I knew it was good. When I returned, he was on his computer questioning my judgement with regard to the waves. Not wanting to disappoint, I hedged and said I don't know, maybe it is not good (I knew it was). I ran to my bathroom, yelled through the house that I was going with or without him and began to change as I looked out my bathroom window at the oil tank behind my house. My bathroom window faces the refinery and there is not much to see. I think the depressing sight had me reflect for a second, "maybe it isn't that good". Who cares, I'm going. Suited up, Jason again questioned my haste... Two waves in, "What window were you looking out of? The bathroom?", as I recalled the sight that had me pause for a second in my thoughts - it was good and now I could question his judgement with that sarcastic remark. He nodded and agreed. In most aspects of life, being wrong does not feel so good. But in surfing, the majority will be happy to admit folly if it turns out to be a good session. Jason echoed this sentiment with his nod, happily accepting the unanticipated fortune. My first wave was a fast right, two pumps, float it, bottom turn and let loose. Yeah, it was going to be a good session. My only regret was that I was not on it at the COD - this time it means "Crack of Dawn". A left followed shortly, I got on top of it, my board was responding today. Jay had a right, I jokingly said that it would have scored a 6.2 in a contest from the Volcom series. He surfed it perfectly, an open face snap, speed section and close out blast. It was a good session. I had my fins out few times, a few cut backs, some open face turns and all the while the general population was sipping coffee trying to inject some artificial motivation in preparation for the first day of the week. Are you kidding me? When will people learn? Monday is the day!

I had been tentatively planning (thinking about) a surf trip for the last couple months. Cycling through the pros and cons of different destinations. Let's see, there was Tavarua, Indo, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, Brazil, Easter Island, Samoa, the Galapagos and a few others thrown in for good measure. Nica was an early favorite as my buddy Ben was pretty interested in testing the offshore winds and barrels of Colorado's (a beach break in Nica). I had one of the best barrels of my life there... Down to a 6'8" (had broken my 6'3"), late drop, buried rail to avoid the curtain, high and tight and ducked a chandelier to come out clean. Flying out a jet engine only happens so many times for us mortals - the thought gives me goose bumps right now. Talk about an eidetic memory, one of the top 10 barrels of my life for sure. I'd like to ramble a little bit more here. To explain something about these weird words that pop up... You see there is an email distribution list called "Merriam Webster's Word of the Day", which sends me a new word everyday. My game is to try and use whatever word they throw at me each day in these entries - eidetic was the word a few days ago. The point is to see if I can identify them a year or so from now when I look back on this. Why? I don't know, just like I don't know why I'm surfing everyday. I suppose that I'm trying to learn to be a word snob and amusing myself at the same time. Oh yeah, back to the regularly scheduled babble... I think I'm going to take advantage of the swine flu outbreak and jump on a plane to Nica in 2 weeks! Yep, warm water barrels. The stoke is palpable right now. I still have to buy my ticket, but they should be cheap! Who wants to go to Latin America right now? Me! Who knows, maybe they won't let me come back for a while. Anyway, of course, I worked it to not break my streak, but there is always risk in traveling - I'll keep my fingers crossed. During the last streak, I did a week in El Sal, came back and got on a plane to NY to sit on an investment panel and kept the streak alive (surfed in the morning one day and then the following afternoon the next). So I know that it is possible. But, right now I'm looking forward to a local session tomorrow.

Day 39 - An hour late and a wave short

Sessions 43 and 44

Session 1 of Day 39

Things cleaned up over night and the swell actually got a lot better. It seemed like it was all windswell, but this one was generated from a greater distance than the previous day, which combined with the offshore wind resulted in some very good shape. The tide was on the rise, but the sets were large enough to break outside with some consistency resulting in some of those moments... where we watched in awe at the shape of the waves up and down the beach. We should have been on it earlier and we knew it, the tide would shut it down, and it did. Jay was amped, frothing for waves. I can recognize the boy's style from a mile away, that's what happens when you surf with somebody a lot, you only need a silhouette. I saw a guy drop in, he looked just like Jason, but he was spazzing out like a typical portorior* so I only half paid attention as he tried an angry turn on the dying wave. It was Jay, wrought with too much emotion he had lost all connection to style as the angst that had built up in him from days of sub-par surf and injury had gotten the best of him. He got a couple in typical style after I let him know that the suspect wave did not go unnoticed. I had a couple of really fun waves. My last one was one of the most memorable of the session. I took off on the inside, dropping into a well formed a-frame peak, with one pump I had quite a bit of velocity, there was only one problem... deer-in-the-headlights standing in stomach deep water. I decided to risk his safety for my satisfaction. I was headed left, he was square in my path, requiring a deep bottom turn in order to lay my board up on the lip for an extended off-the-lip/floater carrying me about 10 feet (just passed the bystander), I held on as long as possible and then released from the lip. It was a gamble that paid off, to my surprise not only did I make it passed him, but I pulled it. That was a fitting way to come in and it left a good taste in my mouth, which was probably responsible for the motivation to get moving for a second session.

Session 2 of Day 39:

We got out there and it showed promise, but again we were let down as the waves really had trouble breaking on the outer bar. The increasing onshore winds played havoc with the weak wind swell causing it to break too early, resulting in mostly impotent sections. None-the-less, surfing every day had us case-hardened, we did not even think about it, we were hunting for gems out there. Yeah, we had some turns, I had a near reverse and Jay had a couple good turns on the inside. So we closed the session trying to shag a few in close to the shore and we did. Jay finished it off with a very nice frontside snap on one of these insiders, he had finally rained in the emotion, applying restraint to not overpower the waist high junk, he got on top of this last turn without a bobble. I guess he still has a patent on that frontside snap. Ok the session was messy, but the broken record applies here, it was still fun.

*Portorior - Your typical Los Angeles weekend warrior who likes to go to El Porto a couple of times per month and tries way too hard to rip, resulting in an inept, ugly exhibition of head-snaps and exaggerated movements that do not actually coincide with any functional surfing move. Studies have shown that these guys typically talk about surfing 4.6 times more than the average dedicated surfer.

Day 38 - Messy

Today held promise as the funk caused by the wind overnight helped create the perception that there would be a number of opportunities for turns and decent rides.  We got in at the right time, as the maxed-out 6.2' tide was on the decline, at about 10:30, but it just was not meant to be.  I think I made the comment to Jay that it is nice to actually "drop in" on a wave (after my first wave) and at this time the session still held promise.  The comment was made because we had a week of fairly small waves for which "drop-in" would have been a misnomer to describe the start of a wave. However, today's promise never turned into anything tangible.  The breeze slowly turned into a gale and the conditions went from bad to worse.  I caught a few waves, but I was mostly frustrated.  I came back up and burried myself in the editing bay for a solid 8 hours straight.  I was working on figuring out how to produce a multi-camera segment.  I love clowning around with video, I don't know why, but trust me, it is just that, clowning.  You will certainly be hard pressed to see a sententious segment created off of my desktop. 

This is the kind of genius I strive for:

Darth Vader being a smartass

No fluff, just cuts in the right places - It probably says a lot about me.  Thanks to Jason for sending me this.

Day 37 - Surfer, Dude

It looks to be one of the greatest movies of all time and I'm only 10 minutes in. A must see for sure. Not sure if it got immortalized with a statue, but it should have. The movie actually was pretty funny for a surfer to watch as it highlighted an argosy of surf stereotypes.

The swell picked up over night from the south. It had the classic long left lines pushing up the beach, but there was a little morning sickness on it. Today the high tide was our friend, helping the fickle walls to back off just enough to make the waves peel up the beach resulting in some very long weavable lefts. I caught 4 or 5 decent ones and then off to the grind. Another short session, maybe I'll get a longer one tomorrow.

Day 36 - Weaven

Today was a transition day as I got back on my short board. I caught a few good waves and it felt really good to get the weave* going again. Jason was still on the fun gun and I think he had a couple of decent waves, but as always, we were just really were glad that we got out there today. The weather was gray, and it was not quite glassy with a little bit of side/off shore wind from the south. The tide was high again this morning so the waves strained to break on the outside, instead they rolled slowly to crash on the inside. A couple of waves actually did break on the outside sandbar and they looked rideable, but it seemed like a very unlikely scenario to be in the right spot when a set came. So we surfed the waves that crashed on the inside instead. As we were getting out of the water we saw a long boarder catch a very good left, he took off in no man’s land (the middle section), resulting in a long ride through to the inside. I mind-surfed along with him and his lack of turns frustrated my mental image. This made me feel like I was missing out on a session, walking slowly away from the water, I really wanted to go back out there and snag a few more. The waves were probably waist to chest high today as they had picked up a little bit since yesterday. I had a fairly short session after waking up late, which has been the theme this week.

*The weave was first recognized in the drainage ditch in front of Orange High school on a skateboard - Jay was the first person that I saw perform the weave. We realized that by weaving the skateboard back and forth in the transition that we could actually generate speed by transferring energy to the wheels through only body movements (not pushing off with our feet). The weave was later validated by Martin Potter as we saw him at uppers one day weaving perfectly on a small little right, accelerating faster than anyone that I had ever seen. Most things are fuzzy to me but there are a few instances where I have an eidetic memory, that wave of Martin Potter at Trestles is one of these.

Day 35 – Cup o' joe

Today was small, but I caught a ton of waves again on the long board. We had planned on getting 3 and calling it a session as it was an ugly morning and the waves did not look too appealing at first glance – the tide is still very high in the mornings and the waves were very small amidst a gray backdrop. What did I do? I caught about 10 waves in total and even had a couple of waves where I was able to successfully walk up and back on the 10 footer. The crossover step is so fun, I’m not sure why but it is almost as fun as a good turn on a short board. Jason and I had the conversation regarding the similarities of surfing in the morning and a cup of coffee. Sleep deprived, it is always tough to wake up, but just making it to get coffee can be motivation enough to get you going. This is how surfing is, it is so difficult to get moving, but once you’re in the water, the comfort of the bed seems so far a way and not appealing. It is a perfect way to start off every day. I have to admit, today I had a difficult time refraining from posting some boiler plate, so I’ll keep it short, which will likely be the theme in the coming days as I work my way through earnings season (day job speak).

Day 34 - Laker Day

The title is fitting for 2 reasons, it was like a lake out there today and the Lakers just took a 2 - 0 lead over the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs.  Today very small waves prevailed, but I was able to catch a lot of them.  The waves were about knee to waist high, but the air was calm and hot again, so the conditions were actually pretty good for a small high tide morning.  The calmness of the morning and warmth in the air besot reality this morning for the 30 minutes we were surfing.  There was no work, no stress, no thinking about the future or any other overemphasized facet of life, I was just present to the calmness of the morning.  I wished that I had arrived earlier to my therapy session in hindsight.  Jay and I had the discussion regarding the size of the waves and our mutual agreement that just getting in the water has the effect of keeping surfing in the foreground of the mind.  It is a really good feeling to be on point when the waves do return and this is how it is accomplished; consistently maintaining the feel of surfing in the foreground of thought.  Getting out there even when it is small and doing whatever it takes to catch a few waves replenishes the water on the brain and that is what we did.  This morning, I rode my long board again, which was the correct call.  I caught a lot of waves in a short period of time and on a number of them I pretended to be setting up for big moves, but in reality I was just surfing the waves in my mind as the 10 footer had no intentions of complying with my imagination.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow - to bed for now.

Day 33 – Monday Blues

Not much happening in El Porto today… After such a nice weekend it was hard to get motivated. I surfed my 10’0” longboard and delayed as long as possible resulting in only getting a 25 minute surf in the books this morning. I found myself on my computer, checking stocks and doing whatever else to waste time at 6am. I finally got out there at about 7am with Jay. It was fun to get on my longboard for a few, taking advantage of the nonexistent crowd and good weather. The air was already warm and it was clear that it would be another hot one, what a difference from last week! I’m looking forward to doing that again sometime shortly, probably tomorrow as apparently there are still not supposed to be any waves. Jay sent me the forecast and it looks like some SW is due for Thurs/Fri so I’m stoked to start figuring out how to take advantage of this knowledge. I’m thinking point Dume or somewhere in the vicinity for the dawn patrol on Friday. Now that I have my point break stoke going…

Day 32 - 6 x 3 = 18 (Rincon Math)

Ah, I finally have a real keyboard back. Writing on a phone is not easy!

Today, I surfed Rincon for the first time ever. It was pretty amazing. On the way home from El Capitan driving by Rincon, I looked over my shoulder, detached from expectations and what did I see? I saw a good wave on the inside with a shortboarder flying down the line! I took me two exits to turn around as I hesitated, thinking through all of the effort it typically takes to surf a new wave, but I figured it was as good of time as any to have my first go at the famous wave. To cap an amazing weekend, it was nearly 80 degrees; Rincon did indeed have waves and hardly anyone surfing! What was going on here? I don't know, but I think it was just another case of getting lucky. I mean on a Sunday? Are you kidding me? Is it possible to plan a trip to Rincon with the same results? No, probably not. I don't know where the waves came from and I don't really care, but they were good that's for sure.

While it was not big, I saw one wave where Rincon truly did its thing and connected through to the inside from way out on the point. It was a pretty amazing spectacle to be sure. I saw a girl on a piebald board that had a really good wave in the middle section that connected to the inside, which started me shuffling up the point to a deeper takeoff spot. The hustle and bustle of the crowded peaks at home had me pumped and ready to take advantage of the dodo-like mentality of the laid-back point surfers. While there were some good surfers, the mentality is just much slower and made it really easy to get waves that I should not have been able to catch. You can still see Curren’s influence in the older surfers, there was one guy whose style matched everything about Curren, to the point where I had to double take to be sure that it was not in fact him. What an amazing wave! I caught 6 legitimate waves in a little more than an hour, but then the word was out. It started to get crowded and getting the set waves became much harder. I got out; my back was stiff from driving so I figured I'd get back on the road headed to Manhattan Beach. The waves I caught were far longer than anything that I have ridden for some time so the six waves that I caught were plenty. I had one that was a serious thigh-burner, from which I had to take a break in the middle of the wave, just standing for a few seconds to rest through a slow section – that is a good feeling. It was a lot of fun hooking up a good point after logging so much time on the one-and-done waves of my local beach break. On a point like this, you get to slow down and relax a little, it is all together a different kind of surfing. I’m glad that I no longer have to say, “I’ve never surfed Rincon”, as I’ve had to say countless times over the last 20 years.

Day 31 - .5 x 6 = 3 (Lake Michigan math)

After surfing long enough, it is inevitable that the topic of the quality of waves and the possibility of surfing in the great lakes region will have presented itself in some form or another. I have read a few articles and even seen some video. Now, it goes without being said that if given an opportunity, I certainly would jump at the chance to get a fresh water session in, if nothing but for the novelty of it. You see novelty sessions are right up there with near death experiences when it comes to attention grabbers (nobody wants to hear about how perfect you scored Macaroni's, unless they have been already or are going soon). I have gotten a lot of mileage out of the only other fresh water session that I have had, which was by all standards a novelty session. I have a video of Tom that I'll have to post as soon as I get home. That was in Orlando at the wave tank at Disney World. We even paid $100 for lessons and I can't remember how many waves, which were on foam boards and straights, but it is safe to say that the wave count was in the single digits. Well, that's what it felt like today, right on the precipice of the unsurfable. However, there was no novelty today. I don't know why I care, but I find myself wanting to go around and explain to everyone on the beach that I have a streak going. It is a little embarrassing trying to catch quasi-surfable waves. I caught 6 to be sure that the streak did not end. I figured 6 half waves equals 3 real waves. I mean I stood up on all of them. I went a direction and I even had a mini floater. But, each ended in grabbing my board and running it out in shallow water much like you would do after hitting a pebble on a skateboard. The weather was downright hot and the water had warmed up a few degrees in the the last 24 hours as the warm sunny windless stagnation seems to be heating the ocean surface. It is time to hoick a beer out of the cooler and sit back and enjoy the campfire. What an amazing day...

One more - nice day

Where am I?

Day 30 - 3 on the Beach

This one will be very short since I'm sending it from my phone in Santa Barbara. Yes, I caught 3 waves and they were all technically rights, but not by much. They were more RIGHT on the beach. The water was so cold that my hands hurt as soon as it touched it. I'd say that it was low 50's, but it was crystal clear. The transparency created spider web reflections on the sandy bottom. Anyway, people were looking at me like I'm crazy, which at this point, they'd be right.