"You're not going to hit the pier today?"

Today was more of the same - smaller sets that were kind of mushy. The good part about it was that there were peaks up and down the beach, so I didn't have to fight for my position by the pier. Water is about the same temp with a few cold spots.

So I was sitting by myself in front of the first lifeguard tower when I saw Matt paddle over with Guy Okazaki, a local shaper. I said hi, as usual, and Guy asks me, "You're not going to hit the pier today?" I replied, "No it looks too crowded." He responds, "Yesterday you kept hitting the pier. The guys were counting how many times you hit it."

Very demoralizing to say the least.

I took a chance and checked out some retro fish that are on sale at Rider Shack, this new shop close to our office. They have this pretty sick retro fish made by Cult Industries for $349. It's a pretty good deal and I think I am going to score myself a 5'8". The dude that owns the place is pretty cool and I got a good vibe from him. You can check it out here:
http://www.ridershack.com/cult58retrofishsurfboardgreenfreeshipping-p-826.html?cPath=84_157

After today's comment by Guy, I'm really going to get something that gets me into these mushy waves earlier. I'm finding myself having to take off late and not getting much of a ride. I'm also going to learn to shoot the pier instead of jumping off of my board right before.

On a side note, Nick (this dude who used to work at Rip Curl Santa Monica) was out this morning and ripping. He's probably the best shortboarder I have ever seen surfing by the pier. He's just super quick on the wave and just hacks it up, regardless of conditions. There was a guy taking photos today and he quickly moved over there to take some snapshots.