Hosed...

OKAY, I should have known. It was wishful thinking. I got to Sunset and it was weee ankle high. Only 3 guys out. I waited about 20 minutes and decided that I was hosed. I checked the conditions last night (yes, I finally learned) and knew that it was going to be flat at 6am. Nevertheless, my desperate self thought maybe, just MAYBE, a miracle would bring some good waves. EGH!! The tide was too low. Man... this is REALLY starting to bug me - the work thing, I mean. I know that Sunset would have been fun like yesterday if I gave it more time for the tide to fill in a bit more. BAAAH!!! Why couldn't I have a job that accomodates my surfing habit?

Hosed again... X-(

I'm Scaredy-Cat!

My alarm went off at 5:30am and I rolled out of bed and into my wetsuit with my eyes barely open. Man, I was so tired... But I grabbed my board and drove myself to Sunset. I don't even remember driving there. You know that state when you're so tired that you just drive the route that you usually drive without even thinking about it? Well, I made it to Sunset without thinking twice. Wow, I guess it's now become a habit. :-P

I surfed the Point at Sunset this morning - my first time there. After everything that I've heard about the Point - that you have to be a good surfer to ride there, that you need to be able to turn quick and go down the line like pro or you'll end up at the rocks along with your board - I was a bit nervous about getting into the line up there. Actually, I was just scared. :-\ Yes, scared even though the waves were small. I still suck donkey. :-[ I did notice that the waves were a lot quicker than where I usually sit out at Sunset - Dos Banos and the Stairs. Marlon was there waiting for me in the line-up, which gave me some relief from the scaredy-cat in me. It was actually really fun. I met Michael (a cool dude that I'd never met before) who rode some waves with me and gave me pointers. And Marlon rode some waves with me and reminded me to turn to go down the line. Is there any lefts at Sunset? I'm a goofy foot and am always going down the line on rights. I don't think I've ever gone down the line on lefts. I wonder if I even know how... I'd like to order a left at Sunset please.

No notable waves to talk about. I'm catching waves consistently now (yey). Small waves, not big ones. I think I need to work on my posture though. Marlon says that I bend at the waist a lot of the time. Maybe I should practice squatting more during my popups in the livingroom. By the way, I really want to learn how to do a kick-out (wait, is this what its called?) at the end of the wave. I don't like this "jump off the board to stop the ride" routine. I see the others do a kick-out to turn the board and paddle right back out. Cool move... I asked Marlon about how to do it and he explained but eh, in one ear and out the other. I need to physically do it before I understand what that's all about...

All in all, it was a fun session. I made a new friend - Michael, surfed a new spot for the first time, and got good exercise. I wanted to stay longer but work, of course, got in the way as usual. X-(

Sunset again tomorrow morning...

O waves, why do you hate me so?

Since I haven't surfed in a few days due to my busy work schedule, I got up early this morning at 5:30am to surf. No, I didn't check the tide, and no, I didn't check the conditions. And yes, I was too lazy to check the surf report last night. I guess I never learn, do I... :-\ I figured that I'd paddle out no matter what anyways. I went to Bay Street and the ocean looked angry. Wave after wave... I think it must have taken me about 15 minutes to paddle out. Man, my paddling must still suck donkey. I thought my paddling had improved, but I guess I was wrong. After I got outside, I was so tired that I needed to rest for another 10 minutes. And as soon as I caught a wave in, I had to deal with being pounded by set after set in my struggle to get back outside. Ay-yay-yay... Caught on the inside AGAIN! I tried to paddle outside again for about 20 more minutes then just gave up. I got pissed off at the waves for getting the best of me and pummeling me with their anger one after another. Finally, I just said, "fine, you win." Yes, I'm a wimp. O waves, why do you hate me so? I just wanted a few rides this morning....

On the bright side, the water has been warming up. I was really hot in my 3/2 full suit. :-P

Good Old Sunset

Sunset was fun today. After over 3 hours out in the water, I'm now sportin' a fat hand and neck tan. I think that was the longest session ever since I started surfing back in January. I got into the water at around 7am and didn't get out until after 10:30am, at which point, I had trouble popping up. I was catching waves, but I was so tired that I would pop up and fall off right away.

I need to work on my form. I know I'm not looking too graceful when I'm riding. Marlon says that I need to pull my shoulders back and STOP sticking my butt into the air. Haha, I bet THAT looks real nice. MHM. I need to squat more, I think. I'll practice in my livingroom this week and see if I can bring it to a moving surfboard during my next session.

I'd like order a wave please....

The tide was right, so I went to sunset at 6:20am. And well... not much going on there. There were 2 desperate surfers, waiting, sitting on their boards in the water, hoping for a ride. I watched until about 7am to see if it would get better, then finally gave up. This SUX, man! This is supposed to be the weekend! I waited for 5 days for this day! Sigh... this is when I wish I could go through one of those drive-thrus, and order a wave. Actually, order about 20 nice peelers. BOOOOOOOooO~! O well, maybe tomorrow will be better. Angela wanted to go to El Porto to surf but she never woke up. Maybe we will make it there tomorrow... :-\

Recovered, but the same old song and dance

I managed to get up this morning before 6 am without an alarm. I think I finally have that internal clock thing going here. I felt better this morning - at least I was able to walk and lift things without pain. :-P Unfortunately, I didn't get Whiffleboy's comment until now - I just got back from Sunset. Mhm. I never learn, do I? I didn't check the tide report last night because I was aching.... Okay, I was lazy. :-
I arrived at Sunset, and saw the usual crew - Marlon, Danny, and Joey (who I affectionately call "Cupcake" as he calls me his "Buttercup" - Awwww.... how cute. hahaha! I'm SOOO the affectionate type... NOT!). I saw Sherman who wasn't going in. But I did see Marvin and his buddy paddling in. I watched them for about 15 minutes to see if they would catch anything as I decided to paddle out if they were able to ride something. But NADA. I saw Marvin paddling for a few waves but they just rolled on through under him. As I was leaving, Sunset looked like it was getting better with the tide filling in, but I had to get my ass back home to get ready for work. DAMNIT! Why does work get in the way so much? It's interfering with my surfing progress! I said good bye to Cupcake, Marlon, and Danny and hauled my lame arse back home. And here I am. Man... 2 mornings without surfing. And it looks like it will be 3 (I just checked the tide and it looks like it won't be any better tomorrow).

Will I get to surf this week? THAT is the question of the week.

I tried...but emm... no way.

I really did try. But being that I didn't get home from my trip to the desert until midnight last night, and my knucklehead self managed to waterlog my phone while on the boat (I use my phone as my alarm), I had no alarm to wake me up for dawn patrol at Sunset. But I probably couldn't have made it anyways. My entire body was sore from kiting Saturday and Sunday (I'm still in pain as I blog). I woke up this morning and turned over to roll out of bed and into my wetsuit as usual but errrr.. OUCH!? My neck, arms, abs, back, and quads all in knots. It hurt to even walk. It hurt to lift my arms. It just hurt. Period. (I guess it's a good thing though, right? It shows that I got some exercise :-P) But seeing Whiffleboy's and Surfsister's entry, I guess I didn't miss much. Hopefully, I won't be in as pain tomorrow to surf tomorrow morning. Maybe Sunset will be better tomorrow. Whiff, maybe I'll meet you some day at dawn patrol.

Err.. what were we thinking?

Yea, it rained last night, but I wanted to surf damnit! A little bacteria won't hurt too much, right?

I arrived at Bay Street at 6:30am. Damnit, completely blown out! But desperate for surf, I waited for it to get better. I saw Sherman and Coz, who weren't suiting up (bad sign!). But Marvin was there, sittin' in his car, contemplating whether to go in or not. We were both already suited up half way as usual. (This is how I always go to the beach btw - roll out of bed and into my wetsuit, then subsequently, into my car with my board) So when Marvin decided to go in, despite seeing Sherman decide to not paddle out, I decided to go in with him. I wouldn't go in alone, so I felt better that he was going to paddle out. I think we were 2 of err... 4 other desperate surfers on the water (not a good sign). The water was choppy, the air was windy, and I felt like I was going to get sea sick. After 15 minutes, I thought, "what the f**k are we doing out here? there ain't no waves, man!" Then it actually started getting better. Sure, the water was still choppy, but the waves started rolling in and there were actually some rideable waves, IF you were sitting in the right position. I even managed to catch 4 unnotable waves. That's 4 more than how many I expected to catch. :-] They were all closeouts, of course. I tried to watch the waves to distinguish the closeouts vs. the peaky ones. But judging from my session this morning, errr..emmm...err... I give myself a D- in judging the waves. :-(

Sigh... better luck next time, I guess. Hopefully, I will be out in better conditions next time. No surfing this weekend as I'm off to Lake Mojave for a kiting trip this weekend. Sunset will be my spot for my morning surf sessions next week. Woohoo!

Surfing... a mental game?

This morning was spent watching the waves at Bay Street. I woke up at 5:30am, and was out the door with my surfboard by 5:45am. When I got to Bay Street, it was blown out. So, I thought it was the same old song and dance -- woke up early for nothin'. Yea, yea, yea, Whiff, I never learn. I should do some research the night before. :-
So, I walked toward the beach to watch the surf, and finally met Dave - the Asian dude that see at Sunset and Bay Street now and then. He was the only one out on the beach, watching the waves. It turns out that he'd been surfing for 20+ years. Marlon had told me once that he was a really good surfer. I talked to him about my surfing ordeals and my progress. And he talked to me about wave selection. That I should really be choosy about the waves that I go for. He was surfing near me yesterday, and he had noticed that I took off on one particular wave that closed out. I actually remember the wave. I made the drop that was pretty steep (I was proud of myself about that), and then since the wave closed out, I didn't know what to do except to jump off. I tried to do a kick-out like others do, but of course, I failed. He said that I was doing well in my progress and to keep going out, but that I needed to study the waves. And to notice the rips, the peaks, the close-outs, the rideable shoulders, etc.. He said that wave knowledge is very important, and pointed out the close-out waves and the rideable ones from the beach.

At around 6:45am, Bay Street was starting to look okay to ride. But no one was out yet so I didn't paddle out since I don't like to surf by myself. I may get injured or die or somethin' and no one would even know. :-[ Sherman, Stephanie, and Gary finally came out at around 7am. Sigh.. if only something called work didn't get in the way. I had to be out of the water by 7:30am to make it to work by 9, so I decided to just watch from the beach for the little time that I had left. I saw the peaks and the close-outs that Dave was talking about. And I finally realized that I was just going for any waves that looked like it would break in the right spot. Not really looking for the peaks or shoulders. My mistake. Duh, right? I know that people had been telling me this but it never really registered. It's probably because I was so focused on trying to get my lame ass on my feet and making the drops.

So now (maybe tomorrow), I'll see if I catch better waves that let me turn and go down the line after I drop down the face...