Surf Report #1 - Memorial Day 2006
My 3 regular readers will be pleased to know that that the limbo period
between the close of curling season and the open of surfing season has
finally lapsed. The last six weeks could have been filled with rowing
posts but alas the UM Boat Club has been unable to secure a volunteer to
teach a novice rowing class this year 
This year’s Memorial Day weekend was particularly remarkable for three
reasons: warm (or at least not cold), sunny, and a favorable lunar
phase. I typically spend Memorial Day weekend huddled indoors or
standing in the loft of the Root Beer Barrel surf shop trying to
convince myself to buy a full-length wetsuit even though I will only use
it 1-2 times a year.
I kept a very lazy pace on Saturday - slept until 11:00, ate some
brunch, chatted with the parents. We wandered to CVS and the beach
where we found a strong low wind out of the north that was causing the
sand to blow some. The New Moon resulted in an afternoon low tide with
some sizable waves rolling slowly in off the sandbar. The water was
surprisingly warm. X felt that she would be OK to sit on the beach with
the aid of a tent-like device which we call “The Wind Tunnel.” Having
reached a consensus, we returned to the condo to pick up the beach
gear.
I spent close to two hours on the water. The waves were in the 3-5 foot
range, breaking far out on the sandbar. There were a few surfers on the
beach break, but I pretty much had the ocean to myself. Rolling in
slowly, the waves formed wonderfully; breaking in a nice orderly line.
The speed of the waves made them a little tricky to catch. I typically
wait until a wave is almost upon me and then step in as the crest
forms. That doesn’t work with these kind of waves. You have to lead
them like a conventional surfer, paddling far out ahead when you aren’t
even certain the wave is going to break. I find it helpful to just keep
moving. Paddling into the wind helps since you can get some waterspeed
going even though you aren’t moving much with respect to the beach.
Once you get the timing down on waves like this you are rewarded with
long rides on clear, broad faces that give you plenty of time and room
to travel all around the wave. As an added bonus, once you ride a wave,
you don’t get pounded to bits trying to paddle back out through the
break.
Back at the house, we cooked up some burgers, corn, beans…a “typical”
Memorial Day feast. We tried to get ice cream at Aunt B’s, but the line
was longer than any of us coulf have imagined. We went to Rita’s
instead.
Monday, the wind had shifted to being more off the ocean and much
colder. The waves were considerably flatter as well, so I decided to
skip kayaking. Dad and I played an epic freestyle Bocce match in which
I managed to edge him out by a point in the end. Watching and playing
so much curling definitely left me surprised a few times when balls on
sand did not behave the same way stones on ice do! After that, we just
sat on the beach for awhile talking and napping. Eventually X came down
to see what we were up to and we decided to head back.
Some great surfing. Unfortunately, land-based activities are going to
have me out of commission for the next 3 weeks