Summer is here. Yup, all the clichés too. Crowds, kooks, flatness, dog days (no complaints here – remember – the ground actually freezes in Jan.) no surf zones & hours, waaa.
OK, friends, I’m going to he the contrarian.
Riding the smaller waves we have this time of year forces us to be resourceful, not only where to surf, but how to approach the wave. Do you do the late take off? Chase it down from way outside? Or will the wave behave the same way, only smaller? I find myself thinking about it, yes – a cerebral approach!
Learning from choices, and experimenting – that’s the opportunity now. Practice cross stepping, head dips, whatever you want, run off the front of the damn board, who cares!? There’s no penalty!
Hell, anyone can surf a perfect waist to chest peeler. But when it’s only knee to thigh high, squeezing an actual real ride out of the wave is hugely satisfying. This ability divides the kooks from the passable donkeys like yours truly. Easy glide.
Paddle, paddle, hook into the face, and aww yeah, you’re weightless, or so it seems. It’s like I just got away with something. You still get that graceful glide. An aquatic free lunch – ha-ha. And if I may…if you don’t have a longboard, you’re SOL. Rock on with your bad selves, bro’s.
Riding these small and often imperfect waves, wherever, with your friends it where’s it’s at. Period. Yes, given the choice, who wouldn’t take perfection? No, it isn’t all time, not epic; you won’t be talking about it in the parking lot next winter. But I promise you this, ten years down the road, friends, you’ll remember dorking around in the warm water with your buds almost as much as anything else.
Next time – an all Big Bertha issue!
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