Why is that man sucking on my board?

The prognosis on my board is dire. I've been covering up dings with duct tape since August. It's hard to find anyone to fix a board around here, and the one guy I found quit after doing only half the job. Since then more dings have accumulated, including a serious one on the nose. With only one board, I have no choice but to use it if I want to surf.

Today a new guy (wonder how long he'll last) looked at it. To be more precise, he sucked on it. I was wondering why he had his tongue on my board, and then he explained that this is how he tells if there is water inside; he sucks on it to see if water comes out. I did not know this and believe me, it has to be true because I could not make it up.

Bad news is the board has been taking on water all along. I was scolded for using it with duct tape, for thinking that would keep it dry. I should not use it at all the way it is, he says.

Fixing it would take "hours and hours and hours"; "it's a money hole"; I could tell he doesn't want to do it. But he finally quoted me a price, told me it would take until mid-January, and said I'd be better off just selling it as is.

Oh, and then he said I could get something called an "epoxy stick" and fix most but not all of the dings, at least well enough to last six months, myself. That seems like the no-brainer choice.

Following this discussion, I proceeded to go to the store, get some more duct tape since he'd pulled all mine off, and tape up the holes once more. I was determined to get in the water before dark and I didn't want to take W.'s board because I thought it would be too big for a board I didn't really know how to use. The waves had been head high this morning and there were still some approaching that, but it had had gotten smaller.

Unfortunately, hanging around talking to this guy for an hour in my slightly damp 4/3 suit in the 50 degree weather had made me cold, so I had to go home and break out the 5/3 for the first time this year. Damn, I hate that! My 4/3 is my favorite suit, because I associate it with the nicest weather and waves for surfing, in October. The 5/3 is just so much thicker and harder to get on---annoyingly so today, since I'd forgotten how.

The usual thoughts prevailed on the beach---I don't want to do this, it's too big---but I ignored them. It wasn't hard getting out, but once out I sat so far back I didn't catch waves. No one else was getting very many either, though, I noticed. I had many near misses but didn't pearl, held onto the board, didn't wipe out, wasn't ever scared or out of control. This is getting to be the definition of a good session for me! It's not very much and it's surely not fun, unless you count the satisfaction of trying to do something that's difficult for you, giving it your all, and failing honorably. That's "fun" of a sort but I know it doesn't compare to riding waves. Mostly, what I was doing out there was taking on water, I saw with horror, as the cheap duct tape came unglued and the gash in the nose was revealed.

I did catch one wave nicely, but getting up was only a dream; as always with waves over one foot, I simply could not think how to do it. As soon as I tried to get up to my feet, I fell off.

Because once you're cold, you're cold, I didn't last long, only 45 minutes, before I just had to get out.