Paddling Out

One of the hardest things that I have learned about surfing is paddling out past the break.  I live in Northern California, and the surf here can really kick the living shit out of you.  One of my friends, who’s also a kook, won’t even head to my home beach (Linda Mar in Pacifica) because he says he spends 90 percent of his time paddling out to get past the break.

The other day after I got slammed a few times, I came to the conclusion that paddling out is one of the tests a “freshman” kook must pass before he has graduated to a “sophomore” kook.  Being that I am a kook, you know my semi long board can’t duck dive any waves.  Either I have to flip it, try and make the wall before if breaks, go for it straight on, or in some case, all out bail! After watching some of the rippers at Surfer’s Beach in Half Moon Bay, I learned how to use the “channel”.  The channel is a section of the break where one waves ends and another begins.  I also followed some rippers up a rip at Linda Mar.  That didn’t work out to well because I ended up so far out that I kinda freaked out and learned not to paddle straight into the beach but sideways, along it.

The Ocean also has a way of humbling me.  After paddling out to a spot where I thought I was safe, a minute later, here comes a huge wall of water moving at 15 miles per hour breaking 10 yards away from me.  All I could say was “fuck me” and paddle fast enough to either get past it’s break or just suffer the consequences and end up in it’s washing machine.

But as the weeks have progressed, and my miles of paddling through crumbling waves increased, I have grown stronger in my arms, shoulders and lower back.  I have muscles I didn’t think existed!  A few months ago, I could only take a few strokes in the water before losing my breath. Now I can paddle at least 30 yards of charging seas before I need a break.  Plus, my wave catching ability, which has been disgusting to say the least, is much improved.

I guess the surfing God’s have a way of keeping the strong and tossing out the weak.  And yesterday, after paddling out through a really great channel, I caught a sweet long right that lasted for about 20 seconds.  I guess the Ocean rewarded me with a graduation into sophomore kookhood (with my hands raised high and yelling kook style)!