Nice sunny weekend at the beach. The waves were unorganized and must have been good somewhere else cause there were very few people where I decided to surf. I was on the surfmat and just wanted to get some time in the water. I had one good ride and several experiments that didn't seem to work. I've been reading suggestions on how to ride surfmats and lately I'm ridding the mat with my chin at the front edge and hands on each front corner. My biggest problem was loosing the tail end and sliding down the face, loosing all speed and bogging in the flats. Frustration.

After my session (and some sit on the beach time) I swung by Mollusk. I figured it was time for a new surf movie, one every 5 years seems about right. I had two in my hands, "The Present" and "Crystal Voyager." The Present is the hottest new movie, and CV is more along the lines of a novelty most people aren't interested in. I had been told by several different people that I should check out CV, so I went with that one.

The movie was basically a look into what George Greenough (GG) was doing in the early 70s. The movie impressed upon me several things. One, GG didn't ride the surf mat with his head over the front and his hands on the front corners. His head was a bit back, and his wave-side hand was holding mid-mat. I took heart in this because that's a more comfortable way for me to ride. Plus, I think having the weight back helps hold in the tail. If not that, then my legs are closer to the wave and can drag in the face to straiten myself out easier. Second, GG was a tinkerer. I knew this before, but watching him not only tinker, but stick with a big project (he retrofitted and resurfaced a big, live aboard sailboat) made me think I need to finish some of my tinkering. Admittedly I'm no GG, and my tinkering is following the directions of others, but still, I gotta start somewhere.

Took the plunge

Last weekend I ordered a replacement to the Haut Quad. The original one had developed a crack across the deck. I carefully repaired it, but it didn't hold, so I put it up in the rafters for safe keeping. I didn't want it in two pieces in case I ever wanted it cloned.

Well, last weekend I was driving by the Haut shop and saw what I thought was Doug's truck parked out front. I stopped in and was right, he was there. I asked him about the original board and he said he had all the info he needed in his computer, dimentions and such. So I went ahead and ordered one up.

All the dimentions will be the same, but I didn't pay extra for the fancy color job, or even the polish. Should come out to about $500-$600, and I hope it's as good as the first one.

List of things to do this summer in Central California

This is in response to the 23breaths blog for today. He listed 10+ things to do in Southern California this summer. Here's my version.

#1 Surf Waddell Reefs on a south swell.

#2 Walk into Ano before dawn and go surf alone.

#3 Surf OB on a rare, windless summer day.

#4 Show up to the beach wearing shorts and sandals on a day that the fog never clears.

#5 Pick a friend who lives closer to the beach than you. (If you're already closest, then pick someone who is closer to a different surf spot.) Surf an evening session with them, crash at thier house and surf again in the morning.

#6 Surf the Slot (Lane, cliffside) as the tide is dropping.

#7 Bodysurf, bodyboard or otherwise surf the side wave at Its.

#8 Surf the Bolinas Estuary.

#9 Surf somewhere north of that.

#10 Seriously consider surfing F****rs, but then chicken out (with excuses like "To far to drive.")

#11 Fly a kite at the beach on a blown out day.