I cant go you eeediot....I'm not feeling too good.

Theeees is the song I've been forced to sing for the last 3 weeks. Actually I've gotten out 5 times in 3 weeks, and I'm thankful for those sessions. Got several goodies and 2 Sundays ago I was lucky enough to fall into a super session @ Terramar proper and Igor's.
It was sunny, calm, glassy and nice shoulder highs rolling through.
All the regulars in the line up were totally fixated on the usual left.....and although I was just 10 yards south I had right after right for 30 yard rides and it was like I was "invisible".
No one was taking the rights, any of them.
It was H E A V E N, my first true nose rides , checking out the reef and the long reef grass swaying 10 feet below me and my board..........and this was one week into my illness. I thought, "well....this will kill me or cure me"..... and when that session was over I felt CURED.
Although the illness has lingered on it is finally over( bout 4 days ago)...whew.

Surf on ....

"Hey Kook, I'ma mess you up, bad!!! "

Might have to change the blog name
from; Surfing Terramar
to Surviving Terramar.
Saturday, I arrive at the "playground" about 10 am to coincide with a 2 foot tide and there are 3 cop cars, lights a flashing, in my parking spot. So I park aways down the hill,grab the gear and head off to the walk down spot. A 30 year old surfer is standing at the top of the bluff and down below on the beach are 4 cops and a life guard.
I figure "surfer down". I ask the surfer on the bluff what happened ? He says he accidentally hit one of four scuba divers ( in the middle of the surf area) The diver told him to learn to surf then cut his leash with the divers knife. Wordz were exchanged, they went to shore. At this point the (ego) injured diver pulled his knife on the surfer and told him he and his friends were gonna " f*&k him up bad" evidently at this point spear guns were pointed at the surfer. Surfer says "if you all wanna dis-arm yourselves, I'll go toe to toe with all of you."
They continue the threats, surfer goes to the top of bluff and his car and cell phones the cops.
I BELIEVE THEY ARRESTED THE DIVERS....didn't hang around, paddled out instead, got about 5 or 6 nice ones, some RIGHTS for a change. They started outside, formed a nice peak then the shoulders just jacked up as the wave got to the beach. On a couple I was trying out the rail grab, beat the close out, someday I'm gonna get tubed maneuvers.
It felt good,tight and right.

THURSDAY night went out @ 4pm ( mad rush from work to beach) got in and had a bunch of mediocre stuff........UNTIL it got dark and this creepy low fog came in.Everyone got out except myself and 1 other surfer.
Just then, wild 3 wave sets rolled in from the outside. These appeared as gray/black fat lines charging from nowhere out of the now foggy horizon.
Myself...I got 3 BIG, FAST, LONG,SWEETIES.An awesome and strange finish.
Was SuperStoked the next 24 hours.

surf on....

Killer weekend

Friday was cool. Got in @ 630 AM and there were, to my surprise, waves and lotsa people. Oh yeah Veteran's Day, duh. Well we all got a nice Veterans day gift. Nice off shores, nice rollers, nice vibe.
My 10'2" Chris slick is sooooo perfect sometimes. Those big fat deep rollers just set this magic board free, me too ! My son showed up about 8am with a 9 foot version of the same board and we just surfed it up. We like to switch boards in the water and that makes for even more fun. It is amazing that these 2 boards are the same shape and model, but the dims are different and they behave so differently. I love both of them. I think the Slicks are a bit fragile though.
We had a great time.
Saturday was different. I was in @ 6 and out by 8. Got about 6 decent rides. Satisfying.
Sunday Jason ( my son) and I were in @ 6. Only 3 people in the water and on a Sunday?!?
OK?
We paddle out through some good sized walls and a familiar says " good luck guys, these are a little much for me" and with that he beaches himself.
OK ......So Im thinking there rollin in then it's jack, wall, CRASH. No sweat.
I say no sweat because. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I have been out over 150 days since Jan.1st.
I know this because I grab a shell after every session.
I've done this for this reason.
12/21/05
I watched big Wednesday
I watched big Thursday.
I watched slightly smaller big Friday.
I TRIED TO GO OUT on slightly smaller again, leftover Saturday.
At the time, I was incapable of paddeling out through 4-5 tiers of white water in short intervals.
It disgusted me, my son on the shore video taping my attempts to get outside, and each failure to do so.
That day I said "no more"!
So, on average, I have surfed every other day since.
Well, today I paddled with confidence both going out and
going for some pretty jacked up A frame waves. Got lotsa good ones, steep, fast and beach walls that required getting out of in a controlled way.
My son and I ruled the break today, ruled it.
The hard work, explanations to my wife and to my work, sore shoulders, people wondering about my obsession , have been worth it. I have put myself through 11 months of training and learning and it paying off.
There is still alot to accomplish.....but Im gettin there for sure and loving every session I have.
Life is very good @ 50
very, very good.

About last night....

OOOOO la la.
Very tough day @ the work. Left @ 4pm for home, stripped, suited and grabed the 10'2" to go and check it out. Pure glass,4:40pm,very warm, spring suit, 2 buddies and 1 famililar in the water. Weird little peaks showed. I took 3 to adjust my position on the board then everything turned sweet. After my 2nd semi nose ride through the drained out reef, I ran ashore. stripped to my trunks and surfed into the night with a glowing ember horizon and bright stars.
Cosmic, sensuous, bitchin STOKE.
Surfing and mother ocean never cease to totally amaze me.

Thank you Mother
Thank you God
wooooooooooooooooooo

Careful now..there are snakes in the garden !

We all know they are out there. Most try to avoid them. I have had relatively few encounters at Terramar., they do however become more numerous and aggressive at certain times. Im not really sure what drives that; big waves, nice offshores, famine ? I have observed that in groups they become more aggressive and sneaky. Some are just innocent accidents, some are planned. Yesterday, someone actually yelled out "don't let him have that wave all alone" while I was up on a nice one from the outside. At that, one of the established Kahuna's at Terramar ( there are many ) shoulder hopped me after I had been up for a good 10 seconds. I didnt back down, but never got close enough for me to park my board up his ass, sooooo no harm done I suppose. It was just the concept of the "group" effort to make sure it wasn't a solo ride ?? Sometimes a party wave is cool, sometimes NOT.
This one wasn't so bad......probably.

Here is the snake sneaking up on his victim from behind.

Whoops...the victim catches him in the act , and the snake must turn around and hide so as to avoid identification and escape.

A viscous attack averted by a wary surfer !!

I started surfing here 4 years ago along with my son Jason. He's 19, I'm 50.
This will be an account of the past, present and future. I hope to include graphic details of the good, the bad and the ugly. I am gonna use real names and true stories as I see them. I hope to use alot of photos. Time will tell.