Losing Stoke

I wanted to go for a surf tonight... but then I also didn't want to go for a surf. What I wanted was long, clean lines of glassy, peeling waves that go on and on. I wasn't quite committed to going out in dumpy bad surf, getting beaten up, and not catching any good rides. There are days when I do commit to going out in any condition, and then end up having a great time despite my expectation to the contrary... I've been pleasantly surprised in messy surf, big surf, and tiny surf. Tonight, though, I wasn't so committed.

I stopped at the north end of North. It didn't look great, but I ended up talking to a totally stoked American, who convinced me to at least check out the south end of North. His stoke helped. But there wasn't a parking spot at Mid, so I drove to South instead of the south end of North. South didn't look good... but I made a u-turn and drove back to the south end of North, and walked out and looked. It didn't look all that great. I stood there for quite a while, unable to make up my mind.

After watching for a bit and realizing that I wasn't going to be doing anything else if I didn't go out, I decided to go out even if it wasn't going to be great. It looked cold... so I put on my booties for the first time since June. I paddled out... got out surprisingly easily (I must be getting better at this)... and waited and waited and waited. It wasn't all that great for what seemed like forever... I caught a few close outs... and successfully made a huge drop which I for some reason barely felt (maybe I was in the air for a bit, I didn't feel the wave under me)... it wasn't a bad session... but it wasn't a super fun one for the first half... but because I was wearing booties, I was very warm and was able to stay out comfortably... then the surf got better, and I started getting much better rides.

At one point, I caught a peeling wave, and as I popped up, cameras on the beach started flashing at me... and there must have been over ten flashes aimed at me for the first few seconds of my ride. Tofino is, for the moment, filled with tourists.... and I am as watchable as a seal. Somewhere out there are pictures of me surfing that I shall never see.

Winter is coming... and I had better figure out how I'm going to keep the stoke.

Giving up

Here's another first:

Today, I gave up.

I went to North Chesterman after work today... the swell was 11.9ft according to the surf report. I went out, worked really hard to get out, got out, sat for a while, and after watching one gigantic wave after another come in and not break in any rideable way, I gave up, and paddled back to the beach.

I decided that I wasn't going to get any good rides in gigantic, big, dumpy surf... so I left to go check out other beaches. I went and checked South. At the end of the trail, I saw Ralph, who said there will be no surfing for him today.

I decided to not go out and get killed and not get any rides. So for the first time since I've been with Bluepath, I gave up.

I went home, got out of my wetsuit, put on a pair of jeans, and went to check out this climbing gym that a friend has been trying to get me to go to (who has the time, with all the good surf we've been having?)... so I went there and climbed. I'm climbing way better than I have ever climbed before... not that I've done a lot of climbing before... but I surprised myself. All the paddling must have improved my upper body strength... I was pretty impressed.

The good time climbing was making the evening pretty good... but the thing that topped it off was that the climbing gym dude's girlfriend came in... and said that the surf at North was nasty and big and NO ONE got any rides... one person got barrelled, chewed up, and spat out on the sand... not the water.

Well... looks like I made the right choice! Sometimes, giving up is the exactly right thing to do.

WohhhhhhhH!

Big surf today... went to North Chesterman and successfully made the biggest drop of my life... totally overhead... went all the way down... and then all the way back up. Who knew that the big 1966-inspired wood fin on the Bluepath would carve so beautifully!

Aside from that, it was an unremarkable session.

But holy crap... what a drop!!

Time Well Spent

Got the day off work today... and had no check-outs... which meant I had the whole day to do whatever I wanted.

Last night, I made an appointment to get my haircut. This morning, I went and had my hair cut for three hours. Three hours of cutting... not colouring, not treating, but cutting. The best haircut-- par excellence.

Then I went to the bookstore to see if I could purchase a copy of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest to give to someone... they didn't have it... so I ended up lending out my only copy (4th printing of the 1st paperback edition... which means absolutely nothing in collector terms... but... it is my first and only copy of the book). I can hardly believe I've done this... but I've put my e-mail address on the inside cover, in the hopes that he will write me and tell me that DFW is awesome and ask me out. I've already pictured the Austenian moment of revelation.

Microwaves at Cox.

Now I, with my awesome new haircut, am going to bed.

Inspired by Caffe Calabria

Pretty and tasty but a little rock-like, acceptably so, but still...
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Surfboard for Sale...

I went out to Cox with Bluepath yesterday. It was big and onshore. It was so difficult to get out that in those conditions, I have never managed to get out before. Being super tenacious and a better surfer than I have ever been, I was able to paddle out in a reasonable amount of time, and without fatigue. Sitting on the outside with an 11' board and waves the size of houses coming at me was quite an experience. It was so big that I thought I was going to die. Yesterday was bigger and worse than the day on which I got beaten up by Bluepath and had a chunk of hair torn out. In short, I was afraid.

I didn't get killed, and I didn't get any good rides... I decided to go check out Long Beach instead. On the path up to the parking lot though, I dropped my board. It dropped from waist height... and was severely dinged all along one rail, and had little dings all over the bottom. The fin was all scratched up.

Because my board had been dinged once already (a very minor one that did not require repair), I didn't freak out. I went home, washed the board, assessed the damage, and put it back in its bag to take to the Board Medic the next day.

I dropped Bluepath off at the Board Medic today, and he'll be well and good by Friday afternoon. I am very grateful that we have this guy in Tofino. Stefan the Board Medic and Dave the mechanic are people to whom I shall eternally be loyal.

There has been much discussion recently about what board to surf during the winter. I have been convinced by many that the Bluepath is a great summer board, but that we could never be happy together in winter. I have even taken up an offer to try out a fish (shortboard that supposedly catches waves really easily). Since Bluepath was at the doctor's, I took out my 9'1" South Point to Cox tonight. I got out, caught one wave, and brought it back to my car and switched back to the 11' NSP. Ralph was out there on his 12' Munoz. He has been telling me that I can ride an 11' all year round-- he rides his 12' all year round. Apparently, all I have to do is figure out how to do it... and then I'll never go back.

Well, after tonight's session on the 9'1" shortboard... I'm convinced that I already won't ever go back. My task from now on is to get better on the Bluepath... surf every day on an 11'... and hope that by the time winter comes around, I will be good enough to neither kill nor be killed.

The 11' NSP is still a great board... I caught a super awesome right that went on forever. There'll be one more session tomorrow night on this super floaty epoxy board before Bluepath and I are together again. I wont' be riding the 9'1" shortboard again... so I guess it may be time to sell. Time to sell my first surfboard. Hmm. That's something.

Patagonia can suck my non-existent _bleep_

I was told long ago to not pull on my hood to get a wetsuit off, because I'd damange the suit. I pull the hood anyway because it's the easiest way to take of a wetsuit... and usually, the elbows and knees are worn out long before anything happens to the hood... at least that's what's happened with my other old suits. A few weeks ago, I noticed that I managed to rip a hole in the shoulder of my wetsuit, where the hood is attached... well, I had been warned.

So it was time to start thinking about a new wetsuit... which is fine, because even without the hole, the crushed elbows and knees would have had me frozen this winter anyway. I had been thinking about these new super awesome Patagonia wetsuits that are out right now... they're supposedly super high-tech and really warm... eco-friendly, merino-wool-lined, life-time-warranty and all that good stuff. Guess what... they don't make women's wetsuits for frigid water. WTF?!?!

Apparently women don't surf in frigid water. Patagonia... never bought anything made by them... and now it looks like I won't ever.