Got one

I had the chance this weekend to get that V-pin into some waves. I went out to Sunday morning Pleasure Point, just me and a hundred others. I stuck to Sewers hoping to find a pinball wall. I got one really good one where the board held a line and speed as the wall ran with a bit of throw of the lip. No barrel, just a nice run with the curl.
There were more than a few surf matters out picking up all the small ones that passed below the main lineup. That used to be a wave I could shoulder hop to keep myself occupied while I waited for the wide swinging waves. Instead I stayed occupied watching the matters take off in the barrel, run the short peaks, ride waves together, and generally have a good time. I absorbed some of the stoke radiating off of them, but needed some actual waves to feel satisfied. So I paddled over to Rockview.
There were a few beginners out at Rockview and I offered advice on how to catch the tricky wave to one guy. He told me he was on a borrowed longboard and didn't want to smash it. I shared my story of once riding my fathers longboard at Rockview many years ago and on one wave driving the nose  strait into the reef. He didn't think the story funny, but I told him it hadn't happened since! The on the next wave history repeated itself and I drove the V-pin into the reef. I stood up in waist deep water, flipped the board over and saw what I didn't want to see. Split open glass with mud in the crack along the nose, and a nice ding on the other side of the nose to match. I headed o the beach.
So after one good wave and no more than three other waves, the V-pin needs repair. I walked the board back home thinking I'd throw on some swim fins and take the mat out to Rockview. When I got home the door was locked and I hadn't brought a key with me surfing. It was a beautiful morning and it made perfect sense that my wife and little guy would want to take a walk, play on the beach, do anything except sit at home waiting for me to return. So I wasn't all that mad as I sat in my wetsuit on the front porch for 30-min waiting for my family to come home and let me in. (Not unlike a dog in the rain.)
Even with only the few waves I got I could tell the board felt good under me. I need to fix it, and be more careful next time. I have to remember to not force it and ride the right board for the conditions, even if that "board" is a bag of air, or even just my body. I have plenty of options on hand specifically so that I can take full advantage of whatever the ocean offers. No need to take a longboard to a nasty little slab!