Trigger Pulled

So, I bought the board. I tried to be thoughtful about it. I put the boards side by side on the grass, I compared dimensions, I tried to think of counter arguments... But in the end my excitement was too much and I bought the board in a fog of giddiness. I got it in the water that afternoon and right away felt that it was much smaller than I imagined it would be. I'm guessing that Hess doesn't dome the deck like the Haut2 is. And perhaps the wider template has more effect than I thought it would, and calculated.

I was able to catch waves and ride them, and it duckdives great because I sink it completely when I'm paddling. It made me feel very out of shape.

I had a board that was small, the mint Bonzer, and I had to let it go. The reason was that it didn't have enough float for me to catch waves early and it didn't drop in late very well, or at all. This Hess board drops in late just fine, so maybe I will be able to make it work. It just wont be my everyday board, more for good waves.

Big Island Little Waves

Went looking for Shark Pit and found it HUGE. It was the day the Mavs contest was held, and they said it was some of the biggest surf ever paddled into for a contest. There was a car parked overlooking SP with two 10' full guns on the roof and the driver telling his friend it was just too big to surf, out of control. We took that as a good reason to go home, via a quick dip at Bolinas.

Bolinas was about head high and smaller. The bigger waves closed out and the smaller ones rolled along without much excitment, but it was wet.

The last week in Feb I was on vacation with my wife on the Big Island of Hawaii. There were waves out in the ocean somewhere, but all I ever found was some small wave bodysurfing at Hapuna Beach. It was warm, in clear water, and with not too many locals to make it unsurfable. The weekend did bring more boogers to the beach but we were on a schedule and didn't have much time anyway.

Now I'm several weeks since a decent session and I may be making up for it chasing down a used Hess board. I've wanted one for a long time, and this used one is a good price and is close to if not exactly what I would order if I was to buy a new one. I'll have to see how it works out, whether I pull the trigger or not. I'm leaning towards yes, especially since the wife is starting work and we'll be a two income household again. And she's been spending money doing her things, and we just had a cheap vacation, and the tax return is coming, and...

I'm probably gonna surf this weekend, good waves or not, just because I have friends in town and I'm getting desparate. Here's a photo of the board. It's 6'2" 19 3/4 and 2 9/16 thick.