Surf Punk

I brought the camera with, but we didn't take any footage. Wouldn't have been much to see.

At quarter-after 10AM I hit All Surf Industry and rented a suit and board for the day. Nice folks. When I told the staffer I was headed to Canon Beach he actually said, "Awesome dude." Trying to keep myself from busting out laughing at this fine surfer stereotype, I thanked him for the goods and loaded up the truck. I headed across the river, picked up my friend, and away we went.

It wasn't a great day for surfing. Air and water temps were decent. The beach wasn't over crowded. Unfortunately the waves were breaking before building up to a good size for riding. I started off getting a feel for the waves using the boogie board my friend had brought with. A wave would start building, I would turn away from it, and the strength of the flowing water would carry me forward. I rode a few small waves this way. During this time my friend managed to catch one wave of a good enough size to get up and ride. The current was very strong, carrying us closer and closer to an outcropping of rocks. We paddled back to shore and took a breather.

While I was playing in the waves with the surf board, we got about thirty minutes of good waves. I lay on the board for a while, looking back at the waves. As large ones rolled in I would paddle forward, feel the board lifting behind me, and hold on as the ocean pushed me forward. During one I managed to get up on my knees before the power behind me faded.

That was the end of the good waves for the day. When we got close to the rocks again I traveled back up the shore to give it another go. The swells were quieting. I played around for a while, but nothing even remotely that good came in again.

So of course I have to do this again some time. Even without actually standing, surfing was great fun today. And next time, I'll catch one big enough to actually ride.