On my last night in Maui, we went to a party hosted by the folks over at Quatro/Goya/FWD. They have a kick-ass store that has been well-documented in Dave's blog (note to self -- don't hang out with Dave if you want original content in your blog, he's gonna post everything before you can ;-)).
Anyway, there were some really good windsurfers there, and I had actual conversations with some of them. Some of the folks that were there were Levi Siver, Kai Katchadorian, Keith Taboul, Francisco Goya, and Jake Miller. Sure they put their boardshorts on one leg at a time, but after that, they throw big back loops in double-mast-high waves.
Nevertheless, they were all super friendly and none of them kicked my ass for ogling their girlfriends, so I guess it was a success.
Yesterday, I tried surfing at Ocean Beach. This is the main beach on the west side of San Francisco, and it's pretty well known for being unfriendly. Still, I gave it a paddle and got out through the break. The tide was coming in and the sets were getting bigger and the waves more powerful. I saw one coming that looked like it was going to break somewhere in my vicinity so I decided to try to catch it. Just before the wave got to me, I looked over at Kevin and he had eyes the size of saucers. He was waving his arms with futility to encourage me not to try to catch this shoulder-high close-out. Even if I had wanted to pull out at this point, I don't think I had the choice. The next 20 seconds of my life was pretty much like a pair of underwear in the washing machine. -- Hey atleast the water was warm...
4 comments:
I had one of those moments and that's when I decided surfing wasn't for me. Been getting the urge to try it again though. Early midlife crisis... Maybe, I don't know???
Hey, if you get your hungover ass out of bed, then you can post all you want! ;-)
outdrsmn,
I'm learning that if you want to get into surfing without becoming suicidal, you have to carefully pick your spots and your days.
Also, if you go out on days when you know you'll get beat up, take your beatings and recognize how you're better from them. Any day you're paddling, you're at least getting better at paddling.
Dave -- I think the last day was the only one that I wasn't first out of bed.
ah, the late blog poster. I've put "Windsurfing the East End" Peconic Jeff in that position...he's still showering while I"m posting...and with his photos!
Returning to the Bay area is a pretty good deal. When are you going back to Maui?
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