Flash!
Yesterday, end of day. I had nothing else to do, so I simply decided to pack up my stuff and go to Scripps for a late session. I could see that Pacific Beach was crowded, as usual, and I didn’t have the patience for Black’s. I knew I would be able to spot a spot at the pier, so I just went for it. I wasn’t expecting much. There was the checkered flag out, which removes most of the best surfing area near the pier, so everybody was forced to huddle as close to the marker as possible to get a whiff of the waves. Continue reading
Sunday Sesh
I was looking at the surf reports this morning. Surfline color-codes surf quality: grey means nothing going, blue means don’t go, green means you can go, and orange means you have to go. As soon as color codes were handed out, an ocean of green was staring at me. We don’t have these days often, so I packed my stuff and headed out. I decided not to try my local break, Pacific Beach, because on Sunday mornings it’s incredibly crowded. Continue readingThe Ten Worst Habits of Advanced Surfers
YouTube has some funny videos – even about surfing! The one every novice should watch, though, is titled, How Not To Be a Kook. The YouTube player can not be loaded with disabled JavaScript. The following video is embedded here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=TTvOyTtPzRg It’s a short compendium of the things you need to watch out for when you start out. The rules of the trade, the etiquette in the water, the all-important right-of-way. Continue readingWestern vs. Eastern Learning
Today, surfing reminded me of my days doing Tai Chi. OK, you say. Whatever. Hear me out. My buddy and co-worker Dudley said I should do Tai Chi with him. I had seen them do it (since “perform” or “workout” don’t work too well) at the Jardin du Luxembourg one May morning, and it looked blissful. (Plus, twenty years later I manage to get a gratuitous reference to the Jardin du Luxenbourg in a blog post! Continue readingIs Surfing Dangerous?
Every year, there are reports of surfer deaths. There is the always popular (in the press) shark attack, the horrific vision of a sneaky predator shooting from far under the surface to swallow you in little pieces – or big chunks, as luck would have it. There is the giant freak wave that submerges you for minutes until you drown. But, really, how often does either happen? On the other hand, surfing looks fun and safe. Continue reading
Teahupoo. How Do You Say That? What Does It Mean?
In case you have never seen the awesome wave of Teahupoo, here is a video. The amazing Laird Hamilton rides the famous giant wave of Tahiti. Immediately, people started calling it “the greatest/largest/highest/biggest wave ever ridden!” in a quest for view count spectacular. Fact is, the wave at Teahupoo is amazing in many respects. Still, it’s not the biggest wave by far, not even the biggest surf-friendly wave, nor the biggest wave surfed. Continue readingA proud moment
Without much further ado, here two YouTube videos that illustrates the progress you can make in just a few weeks of surfing. First a video shot at the end of February (uploaded on the 27th): The YouTube player can not be loaded with disabled JavaScript. The following video is embedded here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=joIj0jCJgzo Then this latest video, from mid-April (uploaded on the 13th): The YouTube player can not be loaded with disabled JavaScript. Continue readingWhy is Duck Diving so Hard?
I am not the fastest learner when it comes to surfing. I have been slogging it up for the past 8 months, inching forward, looking admiringly at the divinities of surfdom that treat a mass of water like I would a snow-covered slope. But no, things have to be figured out piecemeal, and while every time I go I feel a little better, I feel a lot like my aunt: recovering from a stroke, she gained her mobility day by day, but while the differences were very noticeable every time I visited, she was frustrated because it was too slow. Continue reading