ego trippin through the weekend

so sore today and my nose and cheeks burn from too much sun and wind. all good remnants of a weekend full of surf. on Saturday evening Blacks and JB and I paddled out at the hamster wheel around six in the evening. the waves were glassy and lining up nicely along the point with the occasional overhead set. it was a ton of fun but lots of work too.

we'd walk to the top of the point and jump into the drift. within seconds you'd be at the takeoff spot. then it was a matter of paddling up the current to try and stay in position until you could catch one. the good ones dropped you off far inside. then it was get out and do it again. quite a tiring session but relatively uncrowded and a great vibe.

yesterday the local surf association held the annual spring surf contest. it was a great time. the contest was a true community event with the men's open including guys from 16 years of age all the way to their mid 30's (yeah that's me). I entered the men's open and the longboard. I gotta say that there's no better way to temper your ego than to compete. the surf was not ideal, two to four feet with howling onshores at a point does not make for ideal conditions but everyone charged it with an open attitude. I had no chance in my first heat of the men's open scoring a meager 3.75 total points out of a possible 20.

in the longboard division I didn't fare much better, squeaking by the first heat with a .1 advantage to make it to the final. I felt good in the water in the longboard final. I got a wave as soon as the horn blew and caught about five or six total in the 20 minute heat. I got out of the water exhausted from paddling against the current but confident in my surfing. I was disappointed to come in fourth place when the winners were announce -I'd really hoped for a top three finish.

but then this morning I had to laugh when I saw a photo of myself trying to inch up to the nose. I look as if I'm constipated. so after a good laugh at my lack of style and form I feel like it was a great learning experience and I'm glad I did it. maybe I'll even enter the longboard division again in the fall.

I think perhaps the most important thing I learned from my first contest surfing experience is that I surf because it's fun. because I love to surf and not because I want to be better than others. so long as I have that outlook I think surfing will continue to be a positive part of my life. and for this I am stoked.


in other news check out my latest entry in Drift Magazine