(Was stuck in drafts and finally posted 2/26/16)
i shouldn't be making my first post of the year in September, but here I am. Since March I've been working a new job that's 9-5 with 2.5 hours of commute a day. My weekends have included 11hour sleep sessions trying to catch up, and less surf than normal. Not to say I'm unhappy about it. In fact I've found some peace in the idea that I've had a good life, I've caught some good waves, and I don't need to chase happiness anymore. Now I can relax and let some waves go by.
I'm also dealing with several unsatisfying sessions in a row. It's the worst time for surf around here, and with my limited free time, hitting the windows of goodness is harder.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Thoughts on GG
I've been doing some bodysurfing and some bodypo riding (californiasurfcraft.com) and I've been enjoying myself. I have been thinking about trying to build a flexpoon using cork for the rail shape and floatation. That got me thinking deeply about flexspoon rails. What's going on there.
The history of the flexspoon is GG trimming material from his surfboard to make a kneeboard, and from his kneeboard to make a flexspoon. The name implies that the flexibility is the most important aspect, but I'm beginning to wonder. Flex certainly feels good when it's the right amount, but it's not as large a difference as the revolutionary surfing GG was doing back in the early 70's on his boards.
I'm not sure if hard, downturned rails existed prior to GG's flexspoon. Boards at the time were longboards that evolved from finless olo and paipo. When you are finless you use the rail to hold into the wave and avoid sliding the tail out. The roundness acts like drag as water flows over it. Once the fin came into play the round rails we no longer needed, but this wasn't recognized at the time. Rails with a hard transition from a flat bottom board break free the water wrapping around the rails and thereby free up the board from the wave. The result is speed and faster responsive turns.
When GG trimmed his kneeboard deck away to nothing, he was in effect getting rid of the round rail and making a hard rail. His surfing was tighter in the pocket, faster, and with greater turning ability. I had this same experience over the years when I moved from strictly classic longboard to shortboard and on to other variety of surfcraft. (And occasionally return to classic longboard.) Although it has taken me many years to develop the skill to take advantage of these design aspects.
So, if I'm going to make a flexspoon kneeboard, do I need it to flex? I want to mold off of and existing board and I have some options. The first option is a 5'8" kneeboard. I like the size but I've been told it's too small for me. Making a flexspoon off it would remove most of the flotation and it may become unusable as a kneeboard. Furthermore, the shape is quite different from a flexspoon with a central widespot, not being spoon shaped but more hard rails to the nose, and a quad-fin setup. The other option is a 6' GeeBee from Fineline. The template is very flexspoon, and the nose is spooned, but there is also belly through much of the board and the rails are 50/50 knife. It's also wide (for standing on) which I worry would be too wide for kneeboarding. Can I accommodate for that by making it more flexible? Is flexibility the answer, or just a small side benefit of the design. Will the belly in the board being used as the mold original be a problem? Benefit?
Gonna have to make something and answer my own questions.
The history of the flexspoon is GG trimming material from his surfboard to make a kneeboard, and from his kneeboard to make a flexspoon. The name implies that the flexibility is the most important aspect, but I'm beginning to wonder. Flex certainly feels good when it's the right amount, but it's not as large a difference as the revolutionary surfing GG was doing back in the early 70's on his boards.
I'm not sure if hard, downturned rails existed prior to GG's flexspoon. Boards at the time were longboards that evolved from finless olo and paipo. When you are finless you use the rail to hold into the wave and avoid sliding the tail out. The roundness acts like drag as water flows over it. Once the fin came into play the round rails we no longer needed, but this wasn't recognized at the time. Rails with a hard transition from a flat bottom board break free the water wrapping around the rails and thereby free up the board from the wave. The result is speed and faster responsive turns.
When GG trimmed his kneeboard deck away to nothing, he was in effect getting rid of the round rail and making a hard rail. His surfing was tighter in the pocket, faster, and with greater turning ability. I had this same experience over the years when I moved from strictly classic longboard to shortboard and on to other variety of surfcraft. (And occasionally return to classic longboard.) Although it has taken me many years to develop the skill to take advantage of these design aspects.
So, if I'm going to make a flexspoon kneeboard, do I need it to flex? I want to mold off of and existing board and I have some options. The first option is a 5'8" kneeboard. I like the size but I've been told it's too small for me. Making a flexspoon off it would remove most of the flotation and it may become unusable as a kneeboard. Furthermore, the shape is quite different from a flexspoon with a central widespot, not being spoon shaped but more hard rails to the nose, and a quad-fin setup. The other option is a 6' GeeBee from Fineline. The template is very flexspoon, and the nose is spooned, but there is also belly through much of the board and the rails are 50/50 knife. It's also wide (for standing on) which I worry would be too wide for kneeboarding. Can I accommodate for that by making it more flexible? Is flexibility the answer, or just a small side benefit of the design. Will the belly in the board being used as the mold original be a problem? Benefit?
Gonna have to make something and answer my own questions.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Good exercise
I got a message Sunday morning that the beach looked good. JZ had family things to do and was possibly wishing to live vicariously. I rallied my mojo and grabbed my 7'5" Noriega. I know that any waves that need that much board are too much for me right now. The last few times I was in bigger waves I got winded quickly and my arms weren't strong enough to catch waves or battle the current.
I got to the beach and was pleased to see it was a reasonable size at the north end (4-8'), where it was also well shaped. I paddled out and the worst I faced was the middle bar which was shallow and hitting hard. I got lucky and found a pass through and made it out without much trouble. By the time I made it out I was winded, and far from where I wanted to be. I spent the entire time paddling south against the current. The good news is that I am in good enough shape that I could comfortably paddle against the current for awhile before having to take a rest. The bad news is that I only made it to the peak a few times, and didn't get any good waves any of those times.
I found myself hesitant. I was thinking I needed to be patient and chose the best waves to save my energy. By the end of the 3 hours of surfing I realized that waves I had let pass were the best waves, nothing better ever came to me. Hindsight, but also notable that in the past I have been more aggressive by chasing down any wave that came to me, good or not so good. (I do let obvious bad waves pass by.)
I also admired the beautiful sky, full of cirrus clouds flying high between storms. So many shades of grey and stark contrast from the sunny side of a billowy cloud to the shaded side. I also enjoyed watching others get good waves and smiling at others out there. I tried to be friendly and reassuring without being condescending. I have no right to be condescending given my present state of physical fitness and after not getting any good rides from three hours of being in the ocean. All this left me in a good mood and feeling like I can get into better shape and hopefully enjoy more rides next time.
I got to the beach and was pleased to see it was a reasonable size at the north end (4-8'), where it was also well shaped. I paddled out and the worst I faced was the middle bar which was shallow and hitting hard. I got lucky and found a pass through and made it out without much trouble. By the time I made it out I was winded, and far from where I wanted to be. I spent the entire time paddling south against the current. The good news is that I am in good enough shape that I could comfortably paddle against the current for awhile before having to take a rest. The bad news is that I only made it to the peak a few times, and didn't get any good waves any of those times.
I found myself hesitant. I was thinking I needed to be patient and chose the best waves to save my energy. By the end of the 3 hours of surfing I realized that waves I had let pass were the best waves, nothing better ever came to me. Hindsight, but also notable that in the past I have been more aggressive by chasing down any wave that came to me, good or not so good. (I do let obvious bad waves pass by.)
I also admired the beautiful sky, full of cirrus clouds flying high between storms. So many shades of grey and stark contrast from the sunny side of a billowy cloud to the shaded side. I also enjoyed watching others get good waves and smiling at others out there. I tried to be friendly and reassuring without being condescending. I have no right to be condescending given my present state of physical fitness and after not getting any good rides from three hours of being in the ocean. All this left me in a good mood and feeling like I can get into better shape and hopefully enjoy more rides next time.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
A new twist
I got out earlier this week. I hadn't been watching conditions at the beach because it's been raining. I got a message from JZ that it was looking good and so I headed over. I knew it was small and I brought the Pacheco, spoon, and surfmats. There was some offshore wind holding the waves open and everything looked exciting. I grabbed the spoon because I wanted more time on it. As soon as I got into the waves I realized that even though it was 2-4', the waves were short period and soft. Mid-tide wasn't helping it either. I thought I should return to the beach and swap for a mat, and I still think that would have been a good idea, but I stayed on the spoon. I caught some waves but struggled to get into anything early enough to take advantage of the hollow peak before the waves mushed out. I went the wrong way a few times when I should have at least tried to backdoor the peak. This hesitancy comes from previous hits I've taken on other days. Riding the spoon I've had to adjust my approach. On a standup board like the Pacheco I can get to my feet and pump a turn to quickly generate speed. On the spoon that isn't an option and all the speed has to come from the wave. I think this has more to do with it being a single fin, and a kneeboard, than being something unique to the flex spoon shape. I did manage something between a head dip and a barrel ride on one wave.
I think the mat would have been better not because I could have back-doored more waves, but because I could have better enjoyed the softer part of the wave after the peak/bowl was finished. The best board I could have had would have been my log. The extra floatation and paddle power would have helped me get into waves very early, which would allow me to set-up the run across the peak and possibly inside a small barrel. Of course I think an even better board would have been the board I want to buy next, but that's typical of the way I think. The perfect thing is what I've been eyeing but haven't purchased yet.
So now for the twist! I left my gear in the box in the back of the truck for several days. Wetsuit and all was jammed in and when I extracted everything, I realized the spoon was jammed in such a way that it was twisted. The fin was pressing against something and the UDTs were weighing down one rail. When I pulled the spoon out it had noticeable amount of twist set into it. I've done this kind of thing once before when I left an "L-Flex" fin in the trunk of my car. It had gotten jammed between things and came out with a twist in it too. I was able to flex it in the opposite direction to undo the twist. I can't do that on the spoon and so I hope that a few rides will be enough to relax the misshapen board back to "normal." Normal in quotes because when we glassed it, it developed some concave in the back half, which shouldn't be there.
I think the mat would have been better not because I could have back-doored more waves, but because I could have better enjoyed the softer part of the wave after the peak/bowl was finished. The best board I could have had would have been my log. The extra floatation and paddle power would have helped me get into waves very early, which would allow me to set-up the run across the peak and possibly inside a small barrel. Of course I think an even better board would have been the board I want to buy next, but that's typical of the way I think. The perfect thing is what I've been eyeing but haven't purchased yet.
So now for the twist! I left my gear in the box in the back of the truck for several days. Wetsuit and all was jammed in and when I extracted everything, I realized the spoon was jammed in such a way that it was twisted. The fin was pressing against something and the UDTs were weighing down one rail. When I pulled the spoon out it had noticeable amount of twist set into it. I've done this kind of thing once before when I left an "L-Flex" fin in the trunk of my car. It had gotten jammed between things and came out with a twist in it too. I was able to flex it in the opposite direction to undo the twist. I can't do that on the spoon and so I hope that a few rides will be enough to relax the misshapen board back to "normal." Normal in quotes because when we glassed it, it developed some concave in the back half, which shouldn't be there.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Maui
I'm skipping some OB sessions both bodysurf and flex spoon. Not on purpose, I just didn't update before leaving for Maui. Now Maui memories have overshadowed anything previous.
We got to Maui early Monday the 10th. We grabbed lunch and headed to the beach. There was a big NW swell hitting and Baldwin had some good heavy beachbreak. I did some bodysurfing off to the side of where it was hitting the hardest. I managed some longer rides for the conditions, and managed to not hurt myself, save for the ankle bitters of coral pieces rolling around in the shorebreak. Hookipa was breaking way outside, but with offshore winds. Having only the mat to ride, I headed along the NW shore looking for waves. I found some all the way out at Waiehu Beach that were easy enough to be a warm-up session. This far over the waves were small, around 3', and the spot was inside of an outer reef, making them soft. The location is between the ass end of a golf course and a cool little beach ghetto. (Ghetto in the sense that they weren't million dollar houses, but still more than I can afford.) I got a handful of soft waves while sitting inside of the peak. Not exciting, but very pleasant to be in warm water and easy waves.
The next morning (Wed?) we got up before dawn and headed to Jaws. I opted to park at the top of the trail and hike in. It's a longer hike than expected and we welcomed the ride in the back of a truck for the second half of the hike. When we got to the lookout a beautiful set came in. It looked inviting with the nice bowl and offshore wind. It was early enough that nobody was out yet but several were gearing up on the top of the cliff. We watched another set and took note of how long it took the lip to hit the trough. This is the best way to guestimate size, and it was big. When a few finally got to the outside we saw it was about 20' or more. We watch one clean left ride, and one guy miss a wave and get caught by a wave later in the set. Held down for awhile, not popping up until the far inside. He was fine and swam to get his board, but it was scary to watch. We left soon after that knowing we had a long hike back and the sun was heating up. We scored another ride back and continued our day.
A few days later, after more Baldwin bodysurfing, JH gave me a heads up that the Kahului Harbor had good waves. We headed over there and saw he was right! It was only 4' on the sets and most waves were smothered after hitting the deep spot after the shelf, but the wind was offshore and the crowd was minimal. JH was out on a bodyboard, there were a few longboards, a sit-on-top, and some small boards. I surfed for an hour getting many waves and having a blast getting pocket rides and near barrels. About the time the wife was getting bored the crowd picked up so I came in. I could have stayed out for hours if the "conditions" had remained constant. As it was I was grateful for what I got.
A few more uneventful days (surfwise) and we rounded the island to the Lahaina side. I got out early Monday morning to Honolua Bay between swells. It was very small and the handful of people were just watching from the cliff waiting for the new swell to show. I didn't waste time and headed down to surf whatever there was. I ended up with about 45min to myself catching 2-3' waves next to the cave. It was dang fun and I must have made it look good because about 8 people showed up all at once. Still small, and I still got some waves, but I packed it in promising myself to return at dawn the next morning. Later that day we bodysurfed at Napili Bay. It is an odd spot with 3' waves surging, not breaking, up the beach. I bodysurfed it by riding the surge just behind where the lip would be. This kept me from getting pushed along dry sand up the steep beach. Surge up the sand, then try to surge back down the sand never standing up. It worked, and was a fun new way to approach to ocean.
The next morning I was up before dawn headed back to Honolua. This time there were many, many cars already filling the parking spots and most people were gearing up in the darkness. The swell had peaked the previous afternoon but was still big enough to give rides through the Cave section. I headed down the cliff in the dark, slowly picking my way along the foreign footpath feeling my way with my toes. I got to the small pocket of sand to gear up and could see several people already in the water. By the time I hit the water there were more than 10 guys just at the Cave. I returned to where I surfed Monday, now a"down the line" spot. The bigger waves were hitting a different part of the reef so I tried for smaller ones with better shape similar to the day before. I did score some larger ones when someone couldn't connect from the Cave. It was still tons of fun, but different, which is good. I know I could have made some of the waves from the Cave peak, but there were too many people and not enough waves, so I took what was available. The wave reminded me of WS Santa Cruz when it's good. I think the difference is that Honolua Bay is that good much more often, but I've gotten really good waves along the WS with fewer people to contend with.
I brought my GoPro to Maui but didn't once bring it out. I almost did at Baldwin one morning, but as I was walking back to the car I saw a few guys heading into the water with at least one GoPro. I had wanted some scenery picks from inside the tube and 5 other guys all trying for the same thing discouraged me off the idea. I took a few iphone cliff shots of Jaws and Honolua, but will not post them because they don't capture my matting experience.
I returned to CA to rain and storm surf. DH is on a surf trip, I have a cold, and the Oakland BS crew didn't contact me for Saturday surf anyway. The weather is supposed to stabilize mid-week before going stormy next weekend. I'll aim for something between storms, but wont enjoy putting on a wetsuit.
We got to Maui early Monday the 10th. We grabbed lunch and headed to the beach. There was a big NW swell hitting and Baldwin had some good heavy beachbreak. I did some bodysurfing off to the side of where it was hitting the hardest. I managed some longer rides for the conditions, and managed to not hurt myself, save for the ankle bitters of coral pieces rolling around in the shorebreak. Hookipa was breaking way outside, but with offshore winds. Having only the mat to ride, I headed along the NW shore looking for waves. I found some all the way out at Waiehu Beach that were easy enough to be a warm-up session. This far over the waves were small, around 3', and the spot was inside of an outer reef, making them soft. The location is between the ass end of a golf course and a cool little beach ghetto. (Ghetto in the sense that they weren't million dollar houses, but still more than I can afford.) I got a handful of soft waves while sitting inside of the peak. Not exciting, but very pleasant to be in warm water and easy waves.
The next morning (Wed?) we got up before dawn and headed to Jaws. I opted to park at the top of the trail and hike in. It's a longer hike than expected and we welcomed the ride in the back of a truck for the second half of the hike. When we got to the lookout a beautiful set came in. It looked inviting with the nice bowl and offshore wind. It was early enough that nobody was out yet but several were gearing up on the top of the cliff. We watched another set and took note of how long it took the lip to hit the trough. This is the best way to guestimate size, and it was big. When a few finally got to the outside we saw it was about 20' or more. We watch one clean left ride, and one guy miss a wave and get caught by a wave later in the set. Held down for awhile, not popping up until the far inside. He was fine and swam to get his board, but it was scary to watch. We left soon after that knowing we had a long hike back and the sun was heating up. We scored another ride back and continued our day.
A few days later, after more Baldwin bodysurfing, JH gave me a heads up that the Kahului Harbor had good waves. We headed over there and saw he was right! It was only 4' on the sets and most waves were smothered after hitting the deep spot after the shelf, but the wind was offshore and the crowd was minimal. JH was out on a bodyboard, there were a few longboards, a sit-on-top, and some small boards. I surfed for an hour getting many waves and having a blast getting pocket rides and near barrels. About the time the wife was getting bored the crowd picked up so I came in. I could have stayed out for hours if the "conditions" had remained constant. As it was I was grateful for what I got.
A few more uneventful days (surfwise) and we rounded the island to the Lahaina side. I got out early Monday morning to Honolua Bay between swells. It was very small and the handful of people were just watching from the cliff waiting for the new swell to show. I didn't waste time and headed down to surf whatever there was. I ended up with about 45min to myself catching 2-3' waves next to the cave. It was dang fun and I must have made it look good because about 8 people showed up all at once. Still small, and I still got some waves, but I packed it in promising myself to return at dawn the next morning. Later that day we bodysurfed at Napili Bay. It is an odd spot with 3' waves surging, not breaking, up the beach. I bodysurfed it by riding the surge just behind where the lip would be. This kept me from getting pushed along dry sand up the steep beach. Surge up the sand, then try to surge back down the sand never standing up. It worked, and was a fun new way to approach to ocean.
The next morning I was up before dawn headed back to Honolua. This time there were many, many cars already filling the parking spots and most people were gearing up in the darkness. The swell had peaked the previous afternoon but was still big enough to give rides through the Cave section. I headed down the cliff in the dark, slowly picking my way along the foreign footpath feeling my way with my toes. I got to the small pocket of sand to gear up and could see several people already in the water. By the time I hit the water there were more than 10 guys just at the Cave. I returned to where I surfed Monday, now a"down the line" spot. The bigger waves were hitting a different part of the reef so I tried for smaller ones with better shape similar to the day before. I did score some larger ones when someone couldn't connect from the Cave. It was still tons of fun, but different, which is good. I know I could have made some of the waves from the Cave peak, but there were too many people and not enough waves, so I took what was available. The wave reminded me of WS Santa Cruz when it's good. I think the difference is that Honolua Bay is that good much more often, but I've gotten really good waves along the WS with fewer people to contend with.
I brought my GoPro to Maui but didn't once bring it out. I almost did at Baldwin one morning, but as I was walking back to the car I saw a few guys heading into the water with at least one GoPro. I had wanted some scenery picks from inside the tube and 5 other guys all trying for the same thing discouraged me off the idea. I took a few iphone cliff shots of Jaws and Honolua, but will not post them because they don't capture my matting experience.
I returned to CA to rain and storm surf. DH is on a surf trip, I have a cold, and the Oakland BS crew didn't contact me for Saturday surf anyway. The weather is supposed to stabilize mid-week before going stormy next weekend. I'll aim for something between storms, but wont enjoy putting on a wetsuit.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Three sessions later
Mid-week mid-day rush to surf before the wind turns. Waves were big enough to push me to the north end of OB, on the north side of Lincoln. The wind was calm and the swell was short period-ish and mixed up. Crossing waves and surfing a part of the beach that likes to double up anyway. I took out the spoon and got less waves than I wanted but enough to satisfy. Several drops were sudden when the wave hit the bar. I've learned that on late drops I need to find a sweet spot between dropping strait down (which results in a flop which throws off speed) and too much angle down the line (which results in hanging up on the lip.) There is a sweet spot angle that puts me right in the curl, but it's a line that I wouldn't take on a stand-up so I need to get accustom to it.
The spoon needs more grip towards the tail. A few times I got hit by some chop and my legs slipped out of position on the board. In those waves the moment of lost control was the end of the ride. Later I slowed down my approach and stayed put on the board better. I think I'll wax the tail of the board first, because I don't want to put the glued foam on top of the paint for fear it will just pull up paint and not stick to the board. If wax does the trick, great! If not, I'll strip off paint and glue down foam.
Walking back to the truck with the spoon I talked briefly with a guy who said he has a flex spoon too. He said he doesn't ride it much because he doesn't like wearing swimfins. Seriously? I love wearing swimfins! I didn't get his name, number or anything, and in the brief conversation I learned his spoon was made in Florida and he likes it as decoration enough that he wouldn't sell it.
The next session was a return to Baker to meet up with the Oakland bodysurfers. Saturday morning and the start of crab season and there were crab pole set-ups every 20' or so all along the beach. Waves were 2-3' with light onshore wind and not very hollow. I was going to skip it, but the Oakland crew wasn't. I followed them down the beach and had fun for an hour using my "cubit" hand board. I held on to it through a crush and folded back a fingernail. I also noticed it changed my approach to swimming through waves and made me feel less "in" the water. On the flip side, there were some longer rides that I might not have gotten if I was without the extra planing surface.
The plan for the day was to next meet the SF handplane (et. al) crew at Eagles. I headed down there with my wetsuit still on and found the parking lot full. Crabbers, beach-goers, and surfers filled the spaces to capacity+. I saw Kasey watching the waves and chatted with him while waiting for Dave to show up with the others. There were 4+ surfers riding the weak 2' waves rolling in at Eagles. Kasey and I talked about his mid-week session where he was hassled out there. He didn't even realize he was being hassled until later, and I told him I'm pretty sensitive to bad vibes in the water. Dave showed, but the rest were missing. We agreed to take our chances down at OB proper.
Even the far north end of OB was big and messy. I took out Dave's latest creation and was tired even before clearing the outside. The waves were a jumbled mess but surprisingly it didn't seem to matter much when riding the bodyboards. My third wave I rode all the way in and it reformed on the inside for a fun steep section. When that section slammed shut the whitewater rag-dolled me around and sapped the last of my strength. I limped to shore and rested awhile before I could walk back to my truck.
I cleaned up and laid down in the bed of the truck waiting for Dave to finish his surf and claim his board back. It was what I needed and by the time he returned I was in better spirits. We talked a bit more about design and such until Kasey cleared the water. Afterwards I grabbed a Safeway lunch and headed home.
The spoon needs more grip towards the tail. A few times I got hit by some chop and my legs slipped out of position on the board. In those waves the moment of lost control was the end of the ride. Later I slowed down my approach and stayed put on the board better. I think I'll wax the tail of the board first, because I don't want to put the glued foam on top of the paint for fear it will just pull up paint and not stick to the board. If wax does the trick, great! If not, I'll strip off paint and glue down foam.
Walking back to the truck with the spoon I talked briefly with a guy who said he has a flex spoon too. He said he doesn't ride it much because he doesn't like wearing swimfins. Seriously? I love wearing swimfins! I didn't get his name, number or anything, and in the brief conversation I learned his spoon was made in Florida and he likes it as decoration enough that he wouldn't sell it.
The next session was a return to Baker to meet up with the Oakland bodysurfers. Saturday morning and the start of crab season and there were crab pole set-ups every 20' or so all along the beach. Waves were 2-3' with light onshore wind and not very hollow. I was going to skip it, but the Oakland crew wasn't. I followed them down the beach and had fun for an hour using my "cubit" hand board. I held on to it through a crush and folded back a fingernail. I also noticed it changed my approach to swimming through waves and made me feel less "in" the water. On the flip side, there were some longer rides that I might not have gotten if I was without the extra planing surface.
The plan for the day was to next meet the SF handplane (et. al) crew at Eagles. I headed down there with my wetsuit still on and found the parking lot full. Crabbers, beach-goers, and surfers filled the spaces to capacity+. I saw Kasey watching the waves and chatted with him while waiting for Dave to show up with the others. There were 4+ surfers riding the weak 2' waves rolling in at Eagles. Kasey and I talked about his mid-week session where he was hassled out there. He didn't even realize he was being hassled until later, and I told him I'm pretty sensitive to bad vibes in the water. Dave showed, but the rest were missing. We agreed to take our chances down at OB proper.
Even the far north end of OB was big and messy. I took out Dave's latest creation and was tired even before clearing the outside. The waves were a jumbled mess but surprisingly it didn't seem to matter much when riding the bodyboards. My third wave I rode all the way in and it reformed on the inside for a fun steep section. When that section slammed shut the whitewater rag-dolled me around and sapped the last of my strength. I limped to shore and rested awhile before I could walk back to my truck.
I cleaned up and laid down in the bed of the truck waiting for Dave to finish his surf and claim his board back. It was what I needed and by the time he returned I was in better spirits. We talked a bit more about design and such until Kasey cleared the water. Afterwards I grabbed a Safeway lunch and headed home.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Bodysurfing and such
Dave Hahn from California Surfcraft was the core of a small gathering at Baker Beach yesterday. OB was a big mess, but around the corner and in view of the Golden Gate, Baker was giving 6' hollows with light offshore. Baker breaks close to shore and there isn't much ride beyond the drop and pull into the barrel, so it's a place for bodysurfing, hand planes, and bodyboards. We had a group of 6 of us and more "shrapnel" than we could have possibly ridden in a day.
I started by bodysurfing a bunch to get a feel for the conditions. I got inside several large closeout barrels and got comfortable with things. I even found some corners and relatively long rides for what should just be closeouts. I headed back to the pile of devices on the beach and picked out Dave's latest bodyboard creation. It's a 5 layer sandwich of two kinds of cork and fiberglass. From the bottom is goes: double 8oz glass, cork, double 8oz, ultralight cork, then cork on the deck. It flexes a bit under load, duckdives easily, and fits in the larger barrels. I was trying to adjust my approach to the different vehicle and I think it's something I could really get to like. It's not as fast as the surf mat, but it's much easier to ride than the HPD.
I didn't use the arm leash and was able to hold onto it in all but one wave. That one wave was pretty heavy for the day and after the board got pulled from my hands I popped up in a rush to swim after it. As is true with the spoon, HPD, and other low float items, it surfaced right next to me. Two good kicks and it was back in my grip before the next wave exploded.
The group of guys included Dave and I, another guy from SF, and three guys from Oakland. They live close to me, and carpool seems an obvious choice. The leader of the Oakland contingent got everyone's email and will contact me soon I hope.
There were some cameras out yesterday, so if I get any photos sent to me, I'll post them.
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