Random Thoughts

There is something so beautiful about being in the curl while riding an overhead wave.  From the curl that forms above our head to the tug of power grabbing on to our leashes, helping us stay within the most powerful part of the wave.  Plenty of this was going on during the last south swell.  There are always these mental snapshots that stay with me for weeks upon months after great sessions.  One of those moments remain from a year ago last winter when I claimed this epic overhead wave at Sewers.  Pure glass and tranquility while the sun shined through that hollow piece of heaven.  And during the last swell, an epic wave from "First" that took me past the "Cove" will be put on the top shelf of my Hippocampus for years to come.  From what I seen to what I heard, to how it felt, the visceral re-experiencing of that moment will keep me from experiencing Nirvana for lifetimes to come.

While we are on the subject of moments that we will hold on to for a lifetime, Swayze got a gash on his fore head so deep that he needed 12 stitches to put it back together.  Yeah, a scar may form there, and every time he looks in the mirror, he'll probably remember that moment as he went head first off the cliffs of a four foot wave at Beacon's in Encinitas.  But then again, anytime he meets a cute girl and she asks "How did you get that scar?"  he can always reply "Surfing." 

I don't know if your like me, but when I see a full moon forming over a week, I try to get as much sleep as possible.  During the span of the full moon cycle, I will be up all night watching taped recordings of Conan O'Brien and Fresh Prince of Bel Air.  But the negative tides that the full moon brings is the trade off.

This sticker reminded of some bad etiquette that produced some uncomfortable heckling in Santa Cruz during the last swell.  A lot of hollering and splashing of water was going down as people dropped in on each other endlessly that day.  I didn't understand why there was so much bad etiquette going down as the conductor was providing endless mountains of water for everybody to enjoy.  One guy just couldn't control his rudder as he paddled into everybody's wave, especially into waves that "the crew" were on.  I ran into another "Beach" guy who was down for the day, and we discussed this matter during lulls.  He brought up a good point that went something like this, "There aren't much waves during spring and summer and when there are, imagine the whole world trying to play in your backyard and you have to get in line to play on your own swing".  I guess I understood it before, but now I got it.  But damn, I felt a lot of empathy for all those getting ran out of the water that day.