Life is Better When You Surf
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"It has a really shitty learning curve," I said to Tim as he sat in the sand with his arms crossed on his knees, still dripping from an outside set. Setting my board down in the sand, I unzipped the chest zip and pulled the flap over my head.
"You get rocked for awhile. It goes with the territory. When I started surfing, I rode one of Dan's thrusters. I got slammed by 40 degree hurricane swell for a year or two before I finally figured out what was going on. It was so fucking cold."
"I just don't feel like I'm going anywhere when I paddle. I can't get any speed."
"Yea, that feeling sucks. It's all about making small adjustments, moving forward and backwards until you get balanced."
"I was trying that." Tim pushed his toes down into the granular and then flicked them up. "Let's go hike up one of those," Tim nodded towards a nearby hill."
"Comme onnn Tim. It just takes time...practice. It's like learning to snowboard or skate. You just have to do it." I flipped my 6'3 hull over and inspected the finbox. Pulling the board up towards my mouth, I sucked at a recently repaired crack along the front of the finbox. No water or air escaped despite my attempts to give my beloved board a hickey.
"I'm going back out."
"Wait, I'll go, just let me chill for a second. Let me catch my breath."
"Alright." Laying back down on the sand, I propped my head on a round rock. A few driftwood structures dotted the empty beach at Andrew Molera State Park. We were the only surfers at the beach on an unremarkable Wednesday. The waves were small but protected from the howling north wind by the point. I closed my eyes and listened to waves break.
Bananas.
Sunset in Big Sur.
Blam's set up.
Hand painted.
Campsite.
Classic sticks.
Girl Scout cookies stacked 7 high and guarded by loyal pooch.
"If you want the ultimate, you've to got be willing to pay the ultimate price.."
Spring green.
Chaco tacos.
This dude is DTVL. Down to #VanLife.
An especially loud crash made me sit up, "When you get it, you're going to rip. It's such a wild sensation."
"Yea, it looks fun," Tim grinned. "Everyone that's riding waves looks so pumped."
"It just takes patience. That's one of the reasons I like it so much. I'm not good at waiting for anything, but with surfing, you have to wait for the waves to be good and the wind to be right. Then, when you paddle out you have to take the right waves. A good surfer is wise. That's not the case with snowboarding or skating. Surfing makes you more wise."
For a minute we sat and watched a few waves roll through.
"You ready?"
"Alright, I'm ready."
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