22.2.09

the long and the short

two right points in two days. saturday gone fishin, mid-mornin mid-tide. walked up to the point, waited for a lull. waded out through round rocks and kelp 'till it's deep enough to paddle fins free from danger. head high take offs and clean mellow walls. trying out a wider stance and fadin slow off the top. nothin to watch but fun enough for the pilot.

today paddled out to a different right point, same size but disorganized, like my desk at work. me, blacks and our other fishin friend and later a fellow fisherman on his new trifin. I traded off my log for the two fishes for a few reelin lefts into the point. paddle outside for a couple of bigger sets on the log. drop in, bottom turn to lock the rail and walk north.

interesting switching back and forth between the long and the short. fun. water is still 0 Celsius. the vibes mostly good. all in all good to be in the water with friends, sunshine and wind, piloting surfcraft across space.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fellow fisherman with trifin got a question.

I was actually having fun surfing that day until an incident happened. Another fellow fisherman gave me an ear full accusing me for dropping in on his friend. That totally killed my happy vibe session.
So... I have only been surfing now close to two years and like some advice on surf etiquette.
If myself (positioned outside) and another fellow surfer (positioned inside) was paddling for same wave, the inside person obviously have the right of way but if he/she fails to get up and go, can't I not drop in? Should I have not even paddle at all if I wasn't positioned inside. Do I wait until that person catch a wave for me to even consider paddling?

I would feel really terrible if I irreverently ruined someone else's session.
What should I have done?

cheers.
m.

ras said...

hey m. this is a tricky one. first off that guy was probably off base since his stated transgression was against someone else and not him.

basically whoever has the inside line gets the wave, period. the tricky part is whether you can assume that they'll make the takeoff or not. if they do make the take off and you go then your snaking them. if they don't make the take off it's your wave. to be honest, the day before when you and I were out you dropped in on me twice –not sure if you didn’t see me or you didn’t think I would make the drop. it’s not a big deal but it may be that you don’t notice that you’re doing it.

having seen you surf I would suggest that you simply paddle around more to get into position, especially when it's shifty like it was yesterday. also don't be afraid to ask someone if they are going left or right. you just have to be vigilant all the time and make sure you know where you stand in the line-up. for example, on a really good day at one our points when all the old-school rippers are present, where does a less experienced surfer fit in? I cannot answer this for you. Just be sure you always look over your shoulder before you go.

I was called out by a guy not too long but for a different reason. first thing he said to me was “who the fuck are you? I don’t know you.” those guys exist at every surf spot. I just ignore them because generally their anger has nothing to do with me.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Ras for the advise. And sorry for dropping in on the last session. I do look over the shoulder before every take off but judging who makes the drop and who doesn't does get tricky. I obviously need to learn to judge that better.

Thanks.
m.

ras said...

it's always good to see you in the water and good to see you progress. maybe see you tomorrow -looks like it could be good.

mikel said...

How did you respond to stated brilliant observation? "Well, hello. My name is Ricardo. Pleasure to meet you. Who the fuck are you?" At least he said it instead of just giving you the "who the fuck are you" stare.

ras said...

dude was 6'6" and looked like a lumberjack. I just kept walking and didn't say a word. he was talking about doing shit to my car but all was good in the end. goons of the world can kiss my ass.

thanks for stopping my mike. checkout out your blog and really diggin the prose. I hope there's more to come.