Great Session!

Had a pretty good session this morning. The tide was a little low, but the sets were rolling through with perfect shape. There was a nice peak just north of the pier. Although there were a decent amount of people out, I figured this would be a great day to practice my crowd surfing.

My strategy was simple - post up real close to the pier and work my way to the peak. It worked pretty well, plus I know a few of the people in the water. I got a lot of lefts and rights - and if you were lucky - you would get the sweetest cleanup wave every once in a while. Once it got later in the morning, the crowd definitely loosened up.

I feel kind of guilty about buying a new board because there are two shapers that surf the pier every morning. I always feel like they are checking out the new boards I get and they think that I am betraying them in some way. Whatever, I just really love the fish I got.

I am eventually planning to buy a board from them, but I just haven't felt it yet. I also get vibed when I don't buy a board from the local surf shop too.

But that's just me.

Leaving tonight for our Manila office. I am bringing one board just in case I get to go out and surf. Not keeping my hopes up though.

Woke up late, but had a pretty fun session

Pretty good today - there were a few peaks on both sides of the pier. Tide was a little bit low, so the end of the ride was a little gnarly. I actually should have brought the shortboard out instead of the fish.

Saw Matt and he was hanging out with a few friends. No advice for my surfing today, but it was cool - I had a pretty good session with a few good rides.

Big ups to Pete and Jamie, who I think gave birth to a baby boy recently. Congrats!

Saturday was crowded, today the tide was super low

As expected during the summer, weekends are packed at the beach. The weather is nice, so I don't blame anyone for wanting to be in the water. There must have been 30 people on Saturday when I got out at 8 am. I ended up just staying real close to the pier and tried getting anything that broke on the inside. I really have to work on my crowd surfing - based on what I have seen, you really have to be aggressive, but not aggressive enough to be considered a d!ck.

Today, the tide was really low and there were only a few people out. The shape was really good, but the rides ended in about 2 feet of water.

Starting Wednesday I am out of the country and I highly doubt I will be able to get in the water. I am bringing my surfboard anyway just in case.

Ridiculously hung over

(Found this image online. I thought it was very appropriate.)

Man, last night was ridiculous. Had our usual happy hour with the folks from the office and it was like the perfect storm - a few people were leaving and there was a new guy who just turned 21 a few days ago. Poor dude would pass out wherever he sat.

Paddled out this morning and there was a combo of a wind swell and a tiny ground swell. I brought out the fish because there wasn't much size. The good ones that rolled through had a lot of shape, but showed up every 10 minutes. Had a good time, but the water was cold. It definitely helped me with my hangover.

The Titles Work!!!

Awesome, the titles are working again....

So today was very bad, but surprisingly there were a lot of people in the water. Actually, there were two of us in the water and a big group showed up. It's a bunch of kids that always surf together. I'm not sure if they are all brothers and sisters, but they are together all the time and are usually accompanied by one adult. Guy seems pretty cool because he looks out for the kids and makes sure they are always surfing.

I remember him out with 2 kids one day and the waves were head high plus. One kid punted an air on a closeout wave. It was pretty rad.

As for me, today was horrible because there was an onshore and there weren't any waves to speak of. I actually just decided to paddle out because I am going to be travelling on business again so I will be out of the water for a while.

I fixed the ding on the fish and replaced the leash with a 6' competition leash. Competition leashes make a world of difference. I would recommend it to anyone who always feels like their leash tangles up or the leash drags a little bit.

Dinged the Fish!

I was checking out the fish last night and I saw a small but significant ding on the bottom near the nose. Was kind of bummed out! I actually started to worry if I could still surf the other boards in my quiver.

This morning I brought out the 6'0" Merrick Flyer and I actually was doing a lot better with it than before I got the fish. I guess surfing different waves and different boards really makes a difference with my surfing. I found myself positioning a lot better and other things a lot better this morning. Surf sucked, but I felt , my performance was decent considering the conditions.

Surf in Hawai'i yesterday, surf Venice this morning.

Pretty cool feeling, surfing in different places one day after another. Yesterday we surfed in Tongg's and it was a lot bigger from the day before. There were about 10 more people out, so you had to share a lot more waves. Lots of old school dudes surfing and catching some good rides. By 9 am, though, the tide shifted and the sets were super weird. We ended up just paddling in.

This morning the surf was decent - waist + high. Brought the fish out (again). I'm really starting to love that board and feel a little bit guilty about not wanting to bring my other boards out.

Picture Dots took yesterday on the way to the sea park.

Tong-ta-tong-tong-tong's.

Tong's is where I surfed this morning. The place is pretty good, but the swell is pretty weak, so you have to wait a few minutes between sets. Definitely a good day for the long board, and a decent day for my fish.

When I first got out, it was pretty awesome on the inside. Had a few decent rides. My final ride was pretty awesome. I posted up to the right of where everyone else was and I got a sick right before I paddled in.

Lots of girl surfers, older surfers and dudes with sea canoes surfing. It's a really interesting place because the surf culture is so rich.

Surfing with Dolphins! No surf today, just hanging out at the sealife park my friend works at. I got to hang out with some of the best surfers in the world!

First time to surf in Hawai'i!

Well, I finally got it out of my system and surfed in Hawai'i. The surf wasn't that big or great, but at least I got 3 rides on my fish.

We arrived yesterday and the surf was actually pumping. I opted not to go out because I wasn't too familiar with the area.

Also - what I heard is true - the paddle outs here are pretty gnarly. 10 - 15 minutes to get out at least. But it is definitely worth it! Nice waves, warm water. The place we paddled out today was right in front of the hotel and it is called "Old Man's". Probably named that way because it is a pretty soft rolling wave. There are a few obstacle courses - rocks on the far side keep people from going right.

My friend here works at the aquarium and he said we could go swimming with the dolphins. That is something that I am really excited about!

I should have brought the short board

Thought I was going to be slick today and bring out the fish. It worked for the first half hour, but the sets kept getting bigger and bigger. Biggest ones out there were head high to head high ++. Some gnarly dudes out there dropping into some bombs. The highlight of the day was when a longboarder dropped into the sickest left off of the pier. Didn't look like a super long ride, but he made it.

The end of my session consisted of me just sitting around and waiting for one to take in. There were just big slabs rolling through with no shoulder.

Flow like Donavon

So this is the first day back after Vegas, and Vegas was awesome!

I took out the fish this morning and it was definitely fun. Surf was about waist to shoulder high and there were a ton of peaks. I almost feel guilty bringing the fish out cause there is a little bit of an unfair advantage.

The fish really helps me work on my flow. I also realized today that switching boards is good for my surfing because it helps me focus on different aspects of my surfing.

Hawai'i in 2 days!