Sunday, January 30, 2011

It's happened again!

It looks small and like there is not much happening around the beach.
I can see Warren, who shaped my longboard, has chosen the gentle little waves in the corner to continue battling the pain after the reconstruction of the 2nd of his shoulders as he attempts to get back to riding waves after 4 years out of the water. I haven't ridden the longboard for quite awhile so I decide it is the ride for today and it will be nice to finally get some time out in the water with Warren. Warren is riding a board he recently shaped for himself that allows him to kneel so as he does not have to risk re-damaging his still recuperating shoulder by having to pop-up.
"How is the pain factor Warren?" I ask.
"Killing me. I wish I had taken the last wave in!" he replied.
It was a long wait before he finally managed to find something that would get him back onshore again so as he could get home and fill himself with drugs. So much so that I also gave up, and yet again lugged my 10' single fin back up the beach and returned with Standard and fins in hand. I decided to head around the bay, even though the wind is a bit more onshore, to where I have been enjoying a semi-reasonable bank for a couple of days now even though it does not look that flash today.
I get out there and find to my joy that there are some decent sized sets coming through that are sitting up far better than Pusies ( rhymes with Busies ) a little further around where there are a couple of other punters on stand up wave craft.
It was one of those days when one's initial expectations were exceeded and contained 2 highlights.
A most enjoyable short but fun fins out speed run across a nice big face. Not quite sure why I thought to do that but I think it has a little to do with the Standard being a shorter that the Tracker.
A couple of g-force creating carving turns on one wave that again I have not really found myself imbibing in before this session. Not quite as dynamic as James Sowell aka Mattitude in the pic above but most exhilarating and illuminating all the same.
I am finding more and more that when I get on a hard board it feels like some sort of primitive wave craft with no life in it and the process of popping up, however quick one achieves it, slows the board down and crucial time is lost to best place oneself on the wave. I just love the immediacy of the mats engagement with the wave and on a hard board, I just feel too disassociated with the wave as I am too far away from the face once I am up and it is just plain not as exciting. May as well just stay prone don't ya think?
So I am thinking that my stand up wave riding may be actually confined to a SUP from now on where again crucial time and speed is not lost as one is not radically changing ones position on the wave craft at the point of take off. I am willing to put up with the disassociative aspects of distance from the face as SUPing is just to good a whole body work out not to continue as an alternative to prone wave riding.

5 comments:

  1. that's mattitude from the cotton's meet in the picture

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  2. QUOTE: "I am finding more and more that when I get on a hard board it feels like some sort of primitive wave craft with no life in it and the process of popping up, however quick one achieves it, slows the board down and crucial time is lost to best place oneself on the wave. I just love the immediacy of the mats engagement with the wave and on a hard board, I just feel too disassociated with the wave as I am too far away from the face once I am up and it is just plain not as exciting. May as well just stay prone don't ya think?"

    Exceptionally well said.

    G

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  3. Interestingly, I was going to delete that passage this morning G, having thought about it over night, as I thought I was going a bit too far! So I am stoked that you appreciated it.

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  4. I agree with G, perfectly said, my favorite thing is the peaceful entry into a wave on a mat that you don't get while trying to get to your feet.

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  5. Whew! Another vote of confidence! Thanks LESider.

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