Day 21 - Session 26

Small wave friday the 13th! Surfed ok, it is just so small!

Day 20 - Sessions 24 & 25

Surfed 2x today. Surfed really well in the arvo. Saw Jensen out there (competition in our surf league). He's not that good, which gave me confidence.

Day 19 - Session 23 - Veterans Day!

Veterans Day!!! I'm thankful for the Vets.

I couldn't figure out why my break wasn't inundated with High Schoolers... Veterans Day. Surfed really well at the start and then it became really foggy and I could not figure out where to sit. I could not see the beach at all, so I could not see the wave and I could not get in the proper position. I was really happy to be surfing better though in the beginning. I ended up getting out of the water and I was about 400 yards down the beach!!! I guess, now that I think about it I was only catching rights and I would just paddle straight back out, but the walk home was pretty long.

My back is sore from really cranking some turns in the beginning.

Day 18 - Session 22

Waves weren't all that great and it was crowded. Probably because there had been waves and the stories had filtered out about the sessions that everyone had. To be honest, I struggled out there, not feeling that sharp - frustrated a bit.

Day 17 - Took the day off

Was tired and bummed about surfing poorly at HB. Needed a day. I have to ramp up my head for January! 5 contests! My goal is 5 finals in January. No time to think, I'll have to be sharp. It will be fun, I cannot wait.

Day 16 - Session 21 - Bummed

Surfed poorly in my heat in very good HB conditions. It was an NSSA - last second entry. I got equal 7th. Jay got 3rd, he won his 1st heat, he caught the right waves and surfed them well. In the final, nobody is a match for Taco in those waves. The guy dominates. We'll get there though. I think by the end of this hectic season in both the NSSA and the WSA, we'll be getting into the finals at every contest.

Day 15 - sessions 19 & 20

Busted my lip up. Big today.

Day 14 - sessions 17 & 18

Worked from home, surfed twice, the waves were on the rise. I saw a guy from one of those contests out there. I was on the burnout, I have not gotten used to it yet.

Day 12 - Session15

Got a few today. Was fun, surfing well.

Day 11 - Session 14

Had a good one in the fog. Had a wave that would have been an 8 for sure!!! That's what I need in the final to take down Yari! Ha Ha. I had two really solid snaps on my backhand where my tail got loose and then I finished it with a backside reverse. I've only done about 15 of those in my life, so it is pretty special. Would have scored high for sure. I need two of those in the final. Could be big this weekend in Pismo. I hope so! That is where I think I have an advantage. Big and gnarly is the edge for sure. I hope so. I need the points!

WSA/GATORADE CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR SERIES Masters 30 - 39* DIVISION
RATING NAME Total Points 08/08/09 San O 09/18/09 Ventura 10/24/09 Ponto 11/07/09 Pismo Pier 12/05/09 Oceanside 01/09/10 S.C. Pier 01/30/10 Southside Pier H. B. 03/06/10 Morro Bay 04/17/10 Salt Creek Dana Pt. 05/15/10 Church Total Points 1 Yari Vodraska 4290 1500 1500 1290 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4290 2 Trevor Mezak 3038 833 1290 915 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3038 3 Chris Munsterman 2975 1095 875 1005 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2975 4 Kris Wolfe 2595 915 1005 675 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2595 5 Philip Salick 2383 875 675 833 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2383 6 Rick Hahn 2375 1005 750 620 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2375 7 Mark Wisdom 2240 833 732 675 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2240 8 Roy Sassa 2162 750 620 792 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2162 9 Erik Furuholmen 2120 713 675 732 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2120 9 Kevin Hamor 2120 0 620 1500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2120 11 Eric Rendon 1965 1290 675 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1965 12 Mike Olson 1708 0 833 875 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1708 13 G. Ivan Connelly 1647 0 915 732 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1647 14 Shige Takanashi 1482 0 732 750 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1482 15 Jason Penning 1370 750 620 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1370 16 Mike Burau 1095 0 1095 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1095 16 Chris Giles 1095 0 0 1095 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1095 18 Tim Burrows 792 0 792 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 792 19 Kelly O'Connell 732 0 732 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 732 19 Tatsushi Wakabayashi 732 0 0 732 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 732 21 Chris ILtis 675 0 0 675 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 675

Day 10 - Double Sesh - 12 & 13

Session 13 was awful. Worked from home and went out at lunch. Waves were bad, but I feel like I'm getting close to ready for the contest this weekend at the Pismo Pier! Me and Jay are battling!

Day 9 - No Session - Still on 11

So small.

Day 8 - Session 11

Halloween! Got a surf in, which alleviated my hangover!!!!

Day 7 - Session 10

Got out there that is about it. Halloween party tonight.

Day 6 - Session 9

Got out there. It was cold! Gotta go now. Surfing much better, I'm looking forward to Pismo! I feel pretty good now. Hopefully that translates into a final!!! I'm hoping a number of surfers don't show, so that I can catch up since I missed the first contest.

Day 4 - Session 7

3 in the bank. It was fun this morning, but I cannot get my surfing back to where I want it for some reason. I'm analyzing everything and not just surfing, I guess. I'm really trying to change what I do to get better. Competition will do that to you. The problem is that I'm not surfing naturally because of it. It is like pulling teeth changing technique after 25 years. I'll do it though. I have another 10 days to get a consistent comfortable snap/floater/cutback combo down.

Day 3 - Session 6

My new streak is to have more than 365 sessions in 365 days. So I always have to have my sessions ahead of the days passed. I surfed 5 times on Saturday and I did not surf on Sunday. But I got out there this morning. So the total is 6 sessions on day 3 - I have 3 in the bank - a new challenge. Also, I'm committing to updating this blog every day, even if it is just to say Day X - Session X.

Surfed the contest this weekend. Got 7th again. So both my WSA finishes are 7th's. Oh well. I've gotten 4th in the Repercharge heat 2x now. Frustrating. The waves were bad, but I've been surfing poorly as well, so I'm actually surprised I made it through my first heat. I actually did so in both the open division and the masters division and got 4th in both heats following. I'm going to work hard to get ready for Pismo. My surfing has to get sharper. I want to consistently be in the final.

Power Rankings - Old Guy Surf Championship up for grabs!!!!

Power Rankings:

1) Jason Penning Boring but effective. Well at least that is the expectation. He has 2 1/2 moves and in theory they are functional. A Snap, a Floater and 1/2 of a cutback. His style differentiates him (he has a little) and expectations of consistent top 3 finishes has Yari and his smoking buddies talking. However, the biggest disappointment on tour so far this year invites more question than answers. Unless Mike can get on the podium, there'll be no challenge to that quarterfinal finish that he posted in the NSSA College Series back in '92. Yeah, he's faced the Doonan's in competition, but that was a different millennium and he gets little credit for those faded memories. He's still leading the power rankings, even if the judges fall to sleep before he finishes his ride, chances are that he'll finish it.

2) Mike Olson The anti-Jason. Consistency is his weakness, style his Achilles' heel. Yeah, he has added a weak open face frontside hack to his repertoire recently, but in clean rippable waves, he is yet to prove himself. Reports have him pulling off a big move or two during free surfs, but we are yet to see him link anything together on the contest circuit. When you see him drop into a long clean wall, do your best to not visibly wince as he dissects it with a machete. But, don't underestimate him, he may post a score or two if he manages to chew on a wallet long enough to ride one to the beach even if the epileptic seizure is most deserving of the credit.

3) Tom Lavia (No Photo Available at Time of Press) - the darkhorse, the wild card... This could all change with one heat. Tom's talent is known, but questions remain. Will his free surfing skill translate into success on the big stage? He likes to go for it, but pulling the big move and wrapping it with some functional surfing for solid points is unlikely according to "people in the know". Yeah, going into the ponto contest, he should have home court advantage, which argues for a higher ranking, but there is too much unknown. For instance, he lives 15 feet from the beach but all sightings have him hanging with the Jars of O-town. Why is this? Can he not generate speed on his own? Is the "3-to-the-beach" in is vocabulary? Can he stick the big move? More questions than answers at this point. His lame excuse for missing the deadline to sign up has him relegated to chancing a beach-entry. We'll wait to see if he shows before reassessing.


Recent News:
In a surprising move, Jason has opted to head to Mexico with his friends from his old work. He'll probably get waves, but at a high cost. This is how it breaks down... Mike Olson 833 vs. Jason Penning 1370 points. The minimum point total for showing up (assuming 18 surfers) is going to be 620. Jason's absence certainly heats up the two man race. 833 + 620 = 1453 after this event assuming Mike earns a last place finish. Reports lately are that Mike has been surfing shitty, so that might be a good assumption! This is setting up a for a classic showdown in Pismo 2 weeks from now as Mike goes head-to-head with his nemesis (they'll carpool but conversation will be kept at minimum). The wild card is Tom Lavia, who will likely make his first appearance on tour with home court advantage (ponto is his home break). He will not likely be a factor down the stretch but would certainly pounce at the opportunity to serve as a spoiler. Taking Mike or Jay out of a competition is certainly top of mind for him. At an infantile 34, he has the a lot of energy and staying fit by chasing around 2 kids all the time may prove to be a key to his prospects on tour this year even if he is unable to make all the events.

Made it to day 202!!!

Now taking some time off. Still have been getting the water though. The reality is that we have had some serious swell in the water, for a long time, so my small wave surfing is suffering!!!

Day 196 - It's on like Donkey Kong

Working on my contest form... Surfing NSSA this weekend, probably going to get destroyed. You see it turns out that I don't know how to surf contests. But, I'm going to figure it out. I want a lot of heat time. The real goal is the WSA though. Going toe-to-toe with Jay and Tom.

By-the-way, I haven't been surfing very sharp. I don't know why that is. I think because now I'm analyzing every turn, every cutback and thinking comp. It is funny. I think it'll make me better. The real reason to do it? None. Just cuz it is fun...

Jason normally surfs these things well, but he's struggling to get out of the gate this year. We are both motivated and we are going to do the whole WSA series. I'm also going to do some of the NSSA's for experience. I'm surfing in the Seniors and the Masters this weekend at Goldenwest. It should be fun! My goal is to make it through a heat. But, I'm looking to be in the top 5 in the WSA! Jay wants to be there too, so we are going to have to battle!

WSA/GATORADE CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR SERIES Masters 30 - 39* DIVISION
RATING NAME Total Points 08/08/09 San O 09/18/09 Ventura 10/24/09 Ponto 11/07/09 Pismo Pier 12/05/09 Oceanside 01/09/10 S.C. Pier 01/30/10 Southside Pier H. B. 03/06/10 Morro Bay 04/17/10 Salt Creek Dana Pt. 05/15/10 Church Total Points 1 Yari Vodraska 3000 1500 1500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3000 2 Trevor Mezak 2123 833 1290 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2123 3 Chris Munsterman 1970 1095 875 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1970 4 Eric Rendon 1965 1290 675 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1965 5 Kris Wolfe 1920 915 1005 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1920 6 Rick Hahn 1755 1005 750 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1755 7 Mark Wisdom 1565 833 732 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1565 8 Philip Salick 1550 875 675 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1550 9 Erik Furuholmen 1388 713 675 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1388 10 Jason Penning 1370 750 620 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1370 10 Roy Sassa 1370 750 620 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1370 12 Mike Burau 1095 0 1095 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1095 13 G. Ivan Connelly 915 0 915 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 915 14 Mike Olson 833 0 833 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 833 15 Tim Burrows 792 0 792 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 792 16 Kelly O'Connell 732 0 732 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 732 16 Shige Takanashi 732 0 732 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 732 18 Kevin Hamor 620 0 620 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 620