Surfing Waves

What was going on when you felt the most ?

I was surfing alone at Dillon Beach. The 3 foot faces held up for a few seconds and then closed out, so time after time, I had to turn toward shore and ride the white water in. Finally I remembered Ru Hill's White Water Climb tutorial.


After angling my take off, I turned toward the lip, stepped back and threw both hands in the air. The nose made it over the top before the wave closed out! I turned back down and had a fast and super fun end to the ride. It was an ah ha moment.

Since no one else was there I made a really stupid claim.

When the guy in the green wetsuit, who was on each and every wave, paddled in. That day the waves were only fun waist high runners, but only 1 or 2 in a set with 15 guys at the break. He would catch one, paddle back, flip around as others were trying to come down. I was wishing in my mind, "please go in, please go in". When he finally did, I was so STOKED !

I think the first time I cut out from a 20 foot (Hawaiian) wave was it for me.

What was it like?

I would have to say this past weekend when I caught some near head high waves (I'm 5'2 lol). The drop, the speed, the power! It was just so FUN. I hadn't surfed waves that large on my own so it was a huge challenge for me. I was definitely nervous. I was kind of psyching myself out a bit and not paddling for the really "big" waves, but then I pushed myself and went for one of size and caught it. It felt like my stomach dropped to my toes but I made the drop down the face and did the best bottom turn I've ever done (the power!), trimmed left, and actually exited over the top of the wave before it fizzled out. Honestly, my first thought after that wave was, "Now I know what stoked means."

well it's really difficult to explain but perhaps the best way was to say that it felt like I was never alive before in my life. I think lots of it is the adrenaline but you survived riding this huge dangerous wave and suddenly you are safe to enjoy the feeling and it all rushes into you at that moment. I could feel every part of my body and it all felt great. It's like I was born again right then. I can see why the big wave surfers keep pushing for bigger and bigger waves although I hear some of them the thrill is gone the only thrill they get is wiping out. The effect gets less with repeated waves of the same size

3 times?

1. Wushi in Taiwan when I first started learning. Beautiful sunset in the Autumn. They were setting up the stage for a music festival and they were playing pop music. I caught a super long wave as I watch the sunsets into the mountains. It was gorgeous.
2. Cocoa beach. Clean beautiful day, unfortunately a terrible wavestorm board that had no grip at all. There's a live band on the pier and they were playing endless summer music. Caught many descent waves that day.
3. Driving down to SanO and I was already stoked from the car. It was clean perfect waves that is breaking perfectly for a few hundred meters.

BaNZ wrote:3 times?

1. Wushi in Taiwan when I first started learning. Beautiful sunset in the Autumn. They were setting up the stage for a music festival and they were playing pop music. I caught a super long wave as I watch the sunsets into the mountains. It was gorgeous.
2. Cocoa beach. Clean beautiful day, unfortunately a terrible wavestorm board that had no grip at all. There's a live band on the pier and they were playing endless summer music. Caught many descent waves that day.
3. Driving down to SanO and I was already stoked from the car. It was clean perfect waves that is breaking perfectly for a few hundred meters.

Wot? No music or theme for your third stoked

Each time something clicks and I have finally mastered the skill, like the first successful angled-take-off, making a decent drop, or bottom to top turn kinking. The latest was when I got to put all 5 toes on the nose. That felt like that famous stern of the ship scene from the movie Titanic Now I need to stop the foot bumping style of moving and actually cross step. That and making the cutback to the re-entry link.