Not so fast...

So I move to the beach and become a master surfer and live happily ever after, right?

Well, perhaps. But not quite so fast.

Today I got to use my board (only half fixed, that's another story) for the first time in three weeks, and I really kooked out. It was almost like I forgot everything I ever knew. Mostly, I had the spectacular kind of wipeouts---head over heels somersaults---I haven't had for a long time. I mean, I wiped out so much that I lost a contact lens and had water pouring out of my nose, later, for hours. I was wiping out without even knowing why.

Here's something I noticed today. Bigger outside sets would come by and catch me sitting too far inside. I could see as the wave approached that I was too late to get it. Basically, it was about to break on top of me. When that happens, I usually sit back on my board, point the nose to the sky, and just take the hit. I prefer that to turtle diving under a four foot wave at the last second. Usually the sitting back thing works though I can tell that if a really big bad wave hit you in the back of the neck and back the way waves do when you do this, it would not be good. Today a big wave hit and I got pushed way forward even though I was straddling the board and I nearly lost control of it. I managed to hold on, but barely. I know the sitback thing doesn't keep you from getting pushed back as much as a turtle dive is supposed to but it should keep you somewhat in place instead of taking you nearly to the beach, no?

I struggled for nearly two hours without any rides, took a break to get a new lens, and went back out. I couldn't let the ocean whup my ass like that, not when the waves were only three feet.

Down the beach a bit at the jetty I could see the hardcore crew having a blast getting long rides and trying to knock each other off their boards. I mean, it wasn't the waves.

It took nearly another two hours for me to finally get a ride, i.e., get back to where I was three weeks ago. I really got going and had six seconds of fun, total, for the day.