Swell in July

Today marked the last of 4 consecutive days of fun waves. Wednesday we had a chunky session at C-street in which I didn't get a ton of waves, but I did get one really good wave that earned compliments from the boss Jim, coworker Cameron, and a hoot from the local webcam owner/surf shop manager/area talent on the good noseride. Thursday was the best, with stomach to chest high superglass on my quad fish and then my log as the tide fattened it out. Friday was head-high chop on the N end on my Stewart with old pals. Today P-funk and I hit our old favorite in CB for pretty glassy waist + diminishing waves in the river runoff with just a few other guys out. The light was really nice at dawn because the sun was coming up and there were also storms around, so the clouds were lit orange from underneath. Four days running is pretty good. And I'm not even rashed or sore or anything.

It was cool to ride the different boards and surf in 4 different spots where I saw a lot of old faces right before I leave for Florida. It's all very nostalgic.

Grip Your Stick

Maxim Magazine, which I haven't seen in years, used to have a section called "Found Porn" featuring advertisements that could easily be misconstrued by viewers as something more sexually explicit. This photo is a promotion for a bodysurfing aid called a Gripboard (www.gripboard.org). I submit:

Um...If you don't get it, I can't help you. Cheers.

Clean and Empty Masonboro

P-funk and I paddled over to Masonboro this morning from the S end of WB for a surf session in what we predicted would be small but glassy conditions. Unlike the 4th weekend (see the paddling blog for my assessment of that cluster$%&#), we found the island nearly deserted. There were about 7 people in the water, but spread out over a couple of peaks, so plenty of room. The waves were waist high and very clean and very fast, breaking top-bottom (hollow) in a couple feet of water. Many were closeouts, but when you got the right one, they were a little bigger, steep, and quick but not unmakeable. I had three really good ones, which totally made all the paddling and walking with my heavy longboard worth it. Because we didn't get started until 7 and it takes some time to paddle the inlet, we only surfed for about an hour and a quarter before we had to start back in time to not get parking tickets, but the quality of the waves I got was good enough to sate me for the day.

Nose Exploration

I work in a local bike shop. Of the 17 people that work there, 8 surf and several more are in the process of learning (I suppose we're all still in the process of learning, but you know what I mean). The boss surfs, the manager surfs, and so on. We've been getting together mornings lately and surfing together before work. It's been great and we've scored pretty great waves for July. It's not uncommon to go weeks in the summer without rideable waves, so several days a week is pretty good.

This morning was shaping up well with light off shores and a couple feet of swell at a decent period at WB, so I got up at 5:45 and was on the beach by 6:20. I watched for a few minutes, trying to make up my mind. There were only two people out and they didn't seem to be catching much. I decided that since I had gotten up and driven down I might as well get wet, so I drove a couple blocks down and found a parking spot close to an access and waxed the log, hoping I might just catch enough to make it worth getting up (it doesn't take much). I made my way up to the access where we meet and eventually found Cam, having ridden a few pretty good waves in the meantime. It ended up being pretty darn fun, with stomach high glassy waves, left and right, a bit of a pack (it is Sat. and July after all), but spread out enough so that it wasn't a problem. By 7:30 I was surfing with Jim (the boss), Cameron, and Billy, all good company. It's not saying much, because I'm not a great noserider, but I got three of the best noserides I've ever had. It was a memorable session on that note alone. Just fun quick clean waist-stomach open-faced lefts where I could make my turn and run to the nose. Usually that lasts only a second before I've either fallen, outrun the wave, or have to back off, but these waves just held up perfectly in front of me, and water was breaking over the tail, so it held me up. I got out around 8:30 and went to work to get a shower and cup of coffee before the day really got going. It was a good one.

And I even have witnesses.

S-Turns Bodysurf

I'm the speck dropping in to this fast little left with nothing but my swim fins and a lunch tray from Wendy's. It reminded me of my days in the Islands. Photo by P-funk.

Corporate Sesh

About a month ago there was some confusion about a shop meeting and who was in charge of it and my boss Jim volunteered me to head the meeting this week, since he would be in Costa Rica (poor bastard) surfing his brains out. I jumped at the suggestion by seizing control in a dictatorial manner and proclaiming that the location of today's meeting would be at the WB beach break of my choosing. Donuts, I suggested, would not be a good idea, as they would get salty, sandy, and possibly tubed. Anyway, today was the day, so I rallied the troops last night for a prework session this morning. The forecast looked pretty good for fun little loggin waves.

Bill and Georgia, Covi, Jason, Cam, and myself showed up and everybody got in the water for a bit (except Jason, who chilled on the beach and shot pictures). The waves were super clean and glassy, thigh-waist high, and a little chubby with the falling tide. We traded waves for a while and hooted at each other. It was so much fun that we're going again tomorrow. How cool is that? Play in the ocean before the workday with your coworkers? The people that didn't show were so jealous that I think tomorrow they'll be a few more people. It was my first surf at C street, and it was pretty fun and uncrowded. Bill and Georgia took a bunch of photos which Bill then cobbled together in a slide show and set to music to show at work. He even got some OK shots of me I think (I'll post a few when I get them).

Super cool. What a great way to start your day.