Bam Thursday Night I get the REDEMPTIONSESSION

Rough week at work.....

AND
after last SUPER SUNDAYS PSYCH-OUT SUCK IT SESSION,
I fly down to the water after work hoping for a buddy to go out with
but no one is available.
So..... I make the challenging paddle out alone and hang outside and they start rolling in.

3 or 4 drop down the face, fly out the back, walled close outs,
the kind where you can
launch over and out
AND
3 or 4 super big, long rights, steep drops and long high shoulders.
I really had a great time !!
in EPIC conditions.

Just what the Doctor ordered

surf on

Sunday's Surfer Psych-Out Seriously Sucked

Got there at 0630
Stood there until 0900
Watching
macking walled close-outs with occasional 10ft faces
kept me and my buddies outta the water.
Then it subsided, then I left.
LUCKILY there is(are) more on the way and a chance for
Sunday's Surfer Psych-Out Redemption Session
coming to break near you ( and me ) or us.

SURF (as in you have to go in) ON !

What I like about this swell, big waves, and a New Year

a New Year is exactly that. It is, as much as time could, or should be measured, a major starting point and ending point discussed among all of us.

HAPPY NEW YEAR all of you, everybody, Happy Happy Joy Joy

So with the New Year we have hope, hopefully.
Well, I hope we have great surf.
This last Wednesday good surf did arrive. I was struggling with a myriad of work issues ,( so what's new?) and needed to surf more than ever.So after watching the clock tick down to 445pm...against my will this ticking down....
I bolted from the Carlsbad Lab out to the sea with my board pre-loaded into the truck from lunch.

I anticipated
not enough time
AND
too much resistance to the "outside" from the big hyped waves at hand.
I
WAS
so wrong

This little 40 minute session turned into one of the best in years ! !
Nice large outside rights...and with my nice large 10'3" big board
I was able to get any wave I wanted.
This board is so suited to those conditions.....a match made in heaven.

I got 8 waves in a 40-50 minute session 7 of 'em were just long steep shouldery rights.
I was hollering out loud from wave number 3 on....
PERFECT !

Thank you GOD, family, friends, tide. sun, and mother Ocean .
THANKS ! !
____________________________________________
Today is Saturday and after a cliff session at 0630 am with the

HOODED CLIFF WARRIORS
I headed home to heed my friend Dave's advice
930-1000 the tide will co-operate
and

check your leash string and leash

I did check the leash less than a year old ..... looked at the string.....but...of course

failed to really do the string check.

Back we went and sure enough at 1000 the tide did cooperate and the waves were breaking nicely outside. Had a paddle channel at Ted's and made it out without much ado.
Got a few and then got another spectacular right...
big and long, glassy and sunny., no drop ins just pure wave fun.
I am so glad this has happened.
I have got my stoke on again,
finally it's here.
I am feeling good about my surfing and being again.
I did drop a ridiculous pitted peak, never really stood on the board with full weight, just dove over the board and said a prayer on the way down. I missed the board and was driven down deep.
Then I felt the leash let go....damn.... the string I was warned about and didn't check.

Took another on the head and began the loooooong, back float trip to the beach amidst some poundings. Dave did come in and we got another string from his truck and went back for more...

A GREAT DAY OF SURF< adrenaline> and fun.

SWEET !

Now for the other holiday part. The day after Christmas I am going out with my son and others when a person stops me just before entering the water and asks "are you Bill ?"
So I know that when this happens it is usually someone who has found this blog and recognizes my face etc..... this is really a diary of mine a journal of sorts I suppose. It always embarrasses me to a degree that people I never expect to see or talk with read my thoughts about life.
Anyways, Taylor, has introduced himself from Ventura I believe, and tells me that he is stoked I recovered from my surgical nightmare et all. I say yeah it's much better out here the in the "scary room" (hospital). He tells me of a prostate surgery he went through and about reading my blog and all.
I was stoked to see a fellow wounded warrior of sorts.
I was very stoked to think my writing may have actually helped another.
I hope this was inspirational to him and others who under go great trauma to their bodies and hold onto the stoke of surfing to get through the recovery period....
no matter how hopeless it might seem.

There is always
HOPE
Hope begets action

Happy new year all

let's hope
always

surf on...

Maui for me and my sweetie

So I am on the plane to Maui today 12/2/11
This comes after a rough week and an abominably hard day at work, trying to clean up everything...
going to trunks city for 7 days.
I hope to forget my worries for awhile and show my lady some good times.
I hope for good surf and that I may find it.
I hope

What I liked about today is

that it was all un-expected.
Yesterday, after work I only had 1 hour of light left to pack the truck up and get to the water and surf...and I choose not to do it.
Last night I saw a picture of a wave from that evening @ Terramar and I wished I could have gone.
In anticipation of a good morning surf if rain,wind, and tide didn't muck it up, I got up @ at 0500 and headed out towards the beach through the pouring rain, and thought to myself that it wouldn't be worth it and turned around and went swimming at the gym instead.
Saw the cam at noon and there were head high glassy lines breaking soft.
Planned the tide turn around and went out with Dave.
Started raining hard.
Got in and had a great time.
4-5 good rights at the palms with glassy shoulder high fat ones.
I expected another hard paddle out but it wasn't a problem.
I expected difficulty getting into these waves, but I brought the right board and it was GOOD.
Stoked
and
thankful.

surf on

I've been there before....

Having to look in the Mirror

Today @ 730AM nobody was out .
@ 8AM I went out

never made it outside...

Simply didn't have the strength,wellness, and will to make it through 4 steps of white water waves to get to the breaking faces. tried 2 times...once at the reef with someone and once at Ted's house. Both were un sucessfull attempts. I will not offer a single excuse although many come to mind LoL.

Point is

I have been here before

I'm stoked for trying
and
I know what must be done.

Got......

only one really decent wave last night,

however it was still good for me. Stood maybe 10 times in weak close to shore knee high stuff, then got an outside wave and made a couple nice turns with the big board and rode it in....
Warm TRUNKED it
nice and glassy
nobody out there really

stoked

The tide is turning...

around now I can feel it.....thankfully I think its coming in.
A month out of the water is a long time, even for, comparatively, a virtual novice as I am.
3 weeks of bad back (thought I was over that,nope think again sucka) and a week of sever flu or whateverness.. Work has been a real piece of work and stress for some time.
But its all winding down for now
all of it,
breathe.

Oh I have done much longer stints..
a hahahaha,
way freakin longer.
But this one has been pretty long as well.
It started almost almost 6 months ago with a lapse in my surfing ability. I plateaued and was , well just really kookin' it up each session.
It was getting to me, to my confidence.
Then, a few months into that crap, I saw a friend commenting to/with my other friends about my flailing in the water whilst going for waves and laughing about
it.
This would have been alright
except
it was behind my back
and it felt not so hot. Well that combo'd up with the rest really tanked me.
I REALIZE IT WAS ME WHO ALLOWED IT TO SNUFF MY STOKE BUT.... IT SNUFFED IT OUT.
Anyways I am getting it back.
I got in the water for the first time in a month... yesterday afternoon.
I only saw one dude, "Hank" that I knew and spoke 1 sentence to, which was fine.
The others were a couple chicks who could surf real well and a few mellow longboarders.
Hot weather, glass, and some small cruisers.
Sweet
STOKED.... yep I was stoked
YEAH
stoked
No more sick
No more bad back
No more bad vibes
Gliding
grinning
Stoking it up, burn on.

It's gonna be hard

Finding my stoke again is hard.
Forces are working against me.
I will find it though.

Got a call from Pat and Dave, my surf buds.
Perfect weather
Perfect glass @ 5PM
Not too crowded
Hot.
Waves.
So very trunkable ! ! !

so many body issues holding me down

I will find it again....just as before...., just not this perfect day.

Wow YDD is BACK

http://yourdailydonkey.blogspot.com/

MAYBE THIS WILL REKINDLE MY STOKE ! ! ! !

Nice day out there....seems like awhile really

First went at 0530, no wind but so drained out. Someone said the water was cold.
I tossed that around then called my buddy DAVE
. "Go out later" says he.
I scramble it a bit more and decide to shine it.
Went home.

Return at 0930 with the incoming tide.
Got a few waist highs with some shoulder.
SUNNY
TRUNKS
A couple FRIENDS
Made it over to the reef for what looked to be better stuff and got 3
2 of those were pretty fun.
Ran into my sons life long buddy John Michael and his dad,

who shaped this latest woody.....pretty board .
Pretty Good day !

surf on...

In Memory of our Best

Thank you all for fighting for US,
sacrificing for our continued freedom and the freedom of others forever !

surf on

Had a good walk on the Ocean today.Thanks South swell

Finally the old fat dude gets a few......every dog has his day and I am so glad I got some of this South Swell. The reef was firing off with occasional sets that were, well, pretty big, considering the last months of our local conditions here. Dave and I chose to stay in between the reef and 5 palms. For every 6 waves at the reef, we might get two for us that were OK. I think the wave ratio for us was better as at about 0700 there looked like 15 or more people there.
I was kinda hoping to just go there and get 1 big one, but I did get about 3 nice rides and 1 very nice one. Got some real length of ride on this nice left. I haven't had that for awhile it seems.

Yep got to walk on the water today and it did the soul good.....real good !

ThE WaVes KeeP On cRAshiNG on mE

for some reason
all kidding aside
the last week of surfing has shaken my confidence level to the ground.
Today I went at about 1000 AM to try to get the tide at the right point.
Trunks,sunny, a few peaks and shoulders starting to show with minimal wind and "almost" glassy conditions....nice
I got a couple rides that were cool...

however
I got a few that weren't cool at all.
again
FOR THE 4TH DAY NOW
superlative pearling,
pitches,
side-o-the-face smack downs,wondering if I'm gonna drive my head thru the board kinda shit.
Of course, all while in the presence of my SUPER alter ego,
3 surfers whom I respect greatly, Ted, mike, and Kyle
and GOD ALMIGHTY.
Thankfully they were the only people out I knew.
My head is still ringing a bit from one super bitch slap I took.
JUST BITCH SLAPPED !
I have cartwheeled, pearled, been tossed over, caught rails, floated into 6 feet of air then free fallen on the board straight down to the bottom,
more in 4 days
than I have in...well, what seems to be 4 years.
Of course that doesn't count the major
medical, life threatening,
cosmic BITCH SLAP of 3.2 years ago,
that lasted, in earnest, for 3 months and dragged on for,
well....
Alrighty then...
I guess, considering,I have hope eternal.
I'm still very stoked....
Yes I am ! !
I am.
Surf on.

What I like about.................Saturdays surf

is that I AGAIN got VERY little and
again will paddle out tomorrow, knowing that it may be the same,
but it will be equally as gratifying, in some strange and beautiful way, as if it were epic conditions.

To a degree that is

surf on...

What I like about ..............this weeks surf

Was getting my ass kicked over and over for no apparent reason other than to remind me that

I have a long way to go
a huh huh

Sound weird ?

Last Saturday I went out and I got about 12-15 waves in 40 minutes
Easter Sunday I went out and I got about 1-2 waves in 40 minutes
and
watched the reef going off in the distance.
Thursday went out with Pat and Dave in the PM
Yeah too high tide but......
I'm catching rails, cart-wheeling off the front of the board on jacking high tiders, falling,
did a truly epic pearl virtually sinking my whole 10'3" big board and my face.
etc.etc
Today, Friday, I take the day off to hang with Laurie on her birthday,
but sneak out for a 0600 am surf.
I paddle out reluctantly(peaky close and soupy on the inside)
and it's a kinda tough paddle.
I finally get outside with only 1 other....Stewart.
I got one actual wave right about then, the rest of it was another lesson in humility.
Paddled for many a shoulder/head high peak caught 3 really.Those 3 were jacking so high by the time I could descend that my 10'3" board was more like a diving board
with nothing but air under 8' of it and the water about 6' straight down.
They weren't floaters, you need water/air mix for that.
They were like trying to fly a surfboard, oh, and that doesn't work.
The last one of "those" was directly in front of 2 who were paddling out and it must have been pretty good from their surface level view point. I heard the F*ck Yeah DUDE all the way down and boom.....really thought I was gonna snap the board in half on that.
Catch in some fast white water, get out and high tail it to the truck.
Up on the cliff a surf bud, Mike, just says

"Don't feel bad"

Ha ha Mike
I don't
This is what I like
cartwheel on
fly on
drop on
pearl on
surf on
surf on
Keep On

What I like about

this morning was that I went in to it with a mission.
A mission to go in no matter what the conditions were.
No waves no matter I'll just paddle my big board, ya know, get strong. Uh Huh
I got in at 0600 and there were only surfers at the reef, or to put it another way, nobody was where I was going to surf, it just looked like so much suckage.
I didn't really give that notion much of a nod, I just talked to a COP for 5 minutes while suiting up,?
stretched
and went in and surfed.(no cramps either, after 2 weeks of Magnesium and supplements+ stretching that damn right leg of)
SO Hands clasped and relaxed behind my back, no slack jawing on the take off/pop ups, no squatting...
I am working on developing a style ? > ! !!? or SoMe KINda Style.
Anywho I surfed alone for 40 minutes AND GOT 12-15 WAVES! !
I KNOW ! !
YEP !
Then the swell started to show and sets of head highs rolled into the south reef (Igor's)
I think I got into 1 more decent wave after a few friends came out.
Solitude and flying across the top of the water...
That's what I like about
this morning.







surf on

What I like about

surfing is kind of a never ending thing I imagine.
I am getting "tips" on how to "develop some ( ANY ) style", from many sources, at this point.
Great..... my deepest fears realized, I'm still kookin in up.
Went out this Sunday am and went deliberately out of the way of anyone so I could work on these issues alone.

Nice call on my part, as I probably got 12-15 rides in less than an hour.
I love that about surfing
that no 2 days appear to be the same.

nothing profound here

surf on

Got a couple

Everything gonna be ok now

.....even if my love described me,on one of my rides this morning, as an arm flailing fledgling quail
with a JFK dismount.
Of course this is accurate
so stoked
flail on

All work and no surf makes Bill a dull boy ! !

Better get some tomorrow,

or
there is going to be trouble
Big Trouble !