The Porto

Frustrated weekend

29 June 2013 9:15 am

I was pretty excited about the past weekend. Big head high swells a couple storms here and there to smooth things out. Also to add a little spice to the weekend I committed myself to only using the short board.

My frustration began 5 minutes into my first session. I'm not sure if I psyched myself out, but I didn't catch one wave. And if I'm being honest, I think I was fearful. The waves at the point were about chest to head high with some chop due to the wind and I was on my short board.

Maybe it was my lack of experience on this new board, maybe it was the fact I was tired from working out at the gym all week, maybe it was because I was stressed at work all week. Regardless of what it was, my mind was not there and my body followed suit.
The second session of the day went much better. A storm passed and really cleaned things up. I still didn't catch any waves, but I came close. By that point I was just exhausted and was starting to panic a few times when I was kept under for and extra second or two. Got thrown over the falls onto my board two times. I called it quits for the day, feeling defeated and a bit broken.

That Sunday a big swell came through again. This time we had the added charm of heavy fog rolling in. I didn't know you could play Marco Polo while surfing.

So another four hours of frustration. Not a wave caught. Well, actually, I did catch waves, I just didn't get to ride them properly. I would say a solid 6 waves where ridden on my belly. and another two I made the drop but could make the wave. My friend asked me what I thought my problem could be. I surmised it was the timing. I just wasn't popping up at the the critical moment. Either I was too late or too early.

At the end if the session we all decide we were beat and took in our last waves. And that's when it happened. I dropped down a wave going backhand, popped up and rode it on in. I think I had an orgasm. My friends that were waiting on the shore to leave where hooting and hollering. My personal cheerleaders. They understood the grief I had all day.
Since my buddy hadn't taken his last wave in I decided to paddle back to see if I could catch anything else. And sure enough, I caught another wave. By that point it was done.

We left and ate at surf taco.

Finally rode the shorty

2 June 2013 11:57 pm

Yup that's right, mark it on your calendars. June 2nd 2013, The Porto finally got a handful of rides on "The Cock" the kick ass short board. I was quite surprised considering it was 3 to 4 feet of mushy; short period slop; with really strong south winds blowing.

In total, I got 4 solid rides. The board felt so small and loose under my feet. A stark contrast compared to "Lolita" the fun board, which is like a flotilla. I have to persevere so I can eventually surf top to bottom, like I've been dreaming of doing for some time.

One area I really need to work on; is my pop up, it's supper sloppy. There were other opportunities, but I kept messing them up. When I popped up; both of my feet would land close together on the deck, right on the traction pad. I don't know if I was tired cause I surfed 2 days in a row, but either way, it's a pop up mess.

Later that afternoon, I hit up a different beach with some friends. I was a bit apprehensive, since I was tired by that point and a thunderstorm was developing. But my friend insisted, that after the storm would pass, it would be magical. So, we waited out the thunderstorm. And conditions completely changed from how it was earlier. Instead of mushy slop, it turned into clean; sometimes glassy; 4 feet swells, with minimal wind. To add to it all, a rainbow decided to show up and prove my friend right; It was magical.

I was pretty exhausted from the earlier session, so I decided to ride "Lolita" my 7'6" fun board. She held up quite well and made for some fun rides. But there were some waves I would have liked to have gone shorter.

At the end of the day I was stoked, not only to have finally ridden my short board, but also to have caught a great swell on the 3rd day of surfing mushy conditions. Ohh one other thing, the day before this event, I got the longest ride on Lolita I ever had on a small knee biter, go figure...